The Minister for Planning & Local Government has instructed the Eastern & Midland Regional Authority to amend its recently adopted Regional Plan to 2031 on transport matters. I welcome this direction as the changes to the Plan make it more likely that the DART as far South as Greystones will be improved and that the LUAS to Bray, Finglas, Lucan & Poolbeg will be properly planned & designed. I wrote to the Minister some months ago seeking this change. I voted against the changes which were proposed to the Transport Strategy but…
Bus/Train Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Councillor Derek Mitchell
I wrote a paper in 2018 on how to increase the frequency on the single track from 30 to every 20 minutes. This was based on partially double tracking the line, without the need for an expensive tunnel through Bray Head. This was ignored by Irish Rail but the NTA asked Jacobs Engineering to study how to do this. I received their report in May and they consider the idea is feasible, as is a 20 minute service and a quicker journey time. This is subject to some further analysis…
NTA Chief Executive Ann Graham gave a good presentation to the Council meeting on 4th March outlining the problems and the NTAs solutions. On the railway the single line track around Bray Head is a major problem. I wrote a report in February 2018 suggesting partial double tracking as a way of providing 50% more DARTs to Greystones. This was ignored by Irish Rail but the NTA has got international rail experts involved, who will report by the end of March whether this is feasible. Looking forward to report. More trains…
The Irish Times reported that the Metro is to be cancelled to Sandyford. At present the Green Luas line is very overcrowded at rush hour, people can’t get on, and the much higher capacity Metro is needed. The new large town of Cherrywood is being built on the Luas and the very overcrowded M50/N11. In future the Luas is planned to be extended to Bray. The Metro must be extended to Sandyford, as was planned, and further otherwise the existing Luas will be utterly full. The Metro should end in…
Greystones Councillors met on Monday with the National Transport Authority who are responsible for bus and train services. Cllr Derek Mitchell said ‘I was pleased with a very good and open discussion about the problems of Greystones & Kilcoole District. This was better than letters which I felt were more arrogant and I now feel they were taking our problems seriously. We went through a detailed list of rail and bus improvements which we requested.’ The Interim result of a study of providing more DARTs, every 20 instead of 30…
Short Term Proposals: Trains & DART Ensure all DARTs at peak hour services are increased to 8 cars. Complete Jacobs Engineering study on more DARTs to Greystones and indicate how a 20 minute DART service to Greystones can be introduced. Park an extra DART in Greystones overnight to facilitate the morning rush hour. Run 1 extra diesel service south of Greystones at the peak hour as per Iarnrod Eireann’s Rail Capacity Study 2011 and provide additional off peak shuttle service. Ensure that all peak hour diesels have 8 cars as…
The recent transport changes have produced a slower DART and changes to buses. Councillors have produced a detailed list of short and long term measures to get people back onto Public Transport. On Monday Councillors met Irish Rail, Dublin Bus, T.Ds., and a representative of Shane Ross Minister for Transport and outlined the points. The DART Manager, Chris Rafferty said that all Greystones rush hour DARTs would be at least 6 cars and most 8. There had been some 4 car ones earlier which led to overcrowding. He is also…
The new timetable has deleted 3 Northbound services and 1 Southbound leaving 19 and 18. This is a major reduction (15% Northbound) at the same time as a reduction in train service. Naturally more people will use cars on the already overcrowded roads and many new houses are being built. It is also contrary to the future Bus Connects plans for a better service. I have asked the NTA & Dublin Bus to urgently change: a. Previous 07.20 North which schoolchildren got to Bray and elsewhere. They will now be driven….
Chief Executive National Transport Authority. Dear Sir/Madam, DART timetable mess reducing rail usage from Greystones The new timetable has increased the average scheduled journey time at rush hour to 61 mins. from Connolly (15% increase). Some run late by 5 minutes, have less carriages and now do not meet the unaltered bus connections from Kilcoole and Delgany. Many people are very frustrated and have transferred from rail to road. An urgent review is needed to get the DART & connections back on track. DART performance. The previous scheduled time from…
Following many complaints from Residents I checked the performance of Greystones rush hour DARTs yesterday the 12th September. The morning rush hour services and most evening ones were on time and DARTs were 8 cars long. However the early evening train was only 4 cars and was very delayed. Many Greystones people could not get on and were left behind or had a very crushed journey. There are no extra Greystones trains and it is essential all rush hour ones are 8 cars. I have written to the Chief Executive of…