Questions have to be asked as to why we seem unable, as a nation, to deal with complex infrastructure projects.
But why not? The the track is there already. It could and should be done and there should be a link to Shannon and Shannon airport on it it as well and should ultimately form a Cork-Sligo Rail corridor.Originally Posted by Torn-Ado
We just can't build anything in this country until 30 years after it's needed.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
Why would anyone get the train from Cork to Sligo? The teams only play each other 1-2 times a year at the Showgrounds...
The US military (I think) got screwed once when they released some documents with words blanked out, but people could just remove them with a pdf editor.I love the way the figures in the documents were all blacked out but the Times could read them by holding them up to the light.
If it's the same incident then that was an Irish lass who managed that.
We can decipher the US military secret documents, build everything everywhere else in the world but useless at diy in the home.
unfortunately ifrastructure and transportation in this country are used as political footballs preventing the powers that be from carrying out projects that are required.
for example this proposed metro line will not even satisfy demand for today never mind 5-10 years time when it's complete. however for the metro to fully satisfy demand it should be on a larger scale and service more areas which currently wouldn't justify such a service (but will in 10 years if ya get me). Problem is there would be outcry 'Why are ye building it there and not here ... etc,etc', 'Look how much this is costing ... etc,etc'. However if these projects were not politisized then no-one would have the fear of failing at the polls in the next election and therefore carry out what is most needed and not what is most politically beneficial.
Ideally infrastructure, health and transportation should be independently run bodies which draw up what is really needed and then present plans to the Dail to approve or refuse, instead of coming through government departments. This would reduce the breaucratic nonscence and allow the qualified people to propose, work on and complete projects which are needed....... Of course this would never happen as each party in government Need these big projects to be completed in the year of a general elecrtion to retain power!!!! Look what we did for ye this time ... etc,etc
Last edited by galwayhoop; 14/08/2007 at 9:23 AM.
You missed the answer a couple of weeks ago at Galway Races. It was called the FF Tent, and the vested interest there in.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
Sounds good in theory but, in practice and in this country with the amount of passive nod-n-wink corruption that exists already, it could well be a disaster.
Far too much development in this country is developer led for developer benefit as it is.
" I wish to God that someone would be able to block out the voices in my head for five minutes, the voices that scream, over and over again: "Why do they come to me to die?"
Development in Ireland is a disaster. Most railway lines in the country were closed years ago. The result is that most of the development around Dublin in particular was along the railway line. The result is large urban connubations with no facilities, long commuting delays, and a poor quality of life for a lot of the inhabitants. One developer has promised a new station in one area in return for another thousand houses. It's not a replacement train station that's needed. It's more trains. But to get more trains a third line is needed. But there's no room for a third line. Why??? Because over the years greedy developers were allowed by local councillors to build right up to the edge of the railway. Foresight how are you.
"Look at them. They're all out of step except my son Johnny"
Mrs. Delaney
On the old Harcourt Street - Bray line, they were allowed to build on the former track.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
as I said ... Ideally
it seriously is an embarrassment that we would be afraid to set up an 'Independent Body' with no vested interest for fear of the corruption which could/would potentially steer it!!!!
Yes, yes it is. Unfortunately, the country keeps on electing the ones that have made it so.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
Politicians are elected to make decisions not unelected "Independent" bodies. The recent FF lead governments love to setup "Independent" bodies to ensure the Ministers never have to make decisions & can't be blamed. How f***ked up is that.
i am aware of this. however as it is politicians who make these decisions in the main they are in order to ensure re-election of the politician and in turn the party. i.e it is done to benefit the politician/party as opposed to the constituent they represent - fair enough the people get a benefit too but it is usually as a by-product. i mean how many dual carriageways and by-passes we announced/completed or began in the 18 months running up to the last election!
also i am very sceptical as to the timing of the aer lingus announcement and wouldn't be surprised if they were asked by the government to delay announcement till after election in return for no official opposition!
All very good but in theory (not practiced in Ireland) you would not vote for politicians that made bad decisions so there would be accountability.
If there are no new Luas or Metro lines do the RPA officials have jobs? Seems like they have a vested interest in getting approval to start new Project irrespective of the costs.
By right, every county in the country should have a rail service. The fact that some Ulster counties don't even have a service in this day and age is a national disgrace. The fact that in order for you to travel from Limerick to Galway by train, you have to change at Kildare is an outrage, as is the fact you can't go direct from Maynooth to Celbridge, even though it's in the same fn' county.
There should be a line from Cork to Derry connecting with Limerick-Galway- Sligo-Donegal, and from Derry to Dublin via Monaghan. Whether the demand is there or not is not the issue, if you can run a bus service into every nook and cranny in the country, you should build a railway line too. There should also be night trains, and not the joke of a situation where Heuston and Connolly are practically deserted after 8pm. Wouldn't happen anywhere else.
I e-mailed the Dept. of Transport about lack of late night transport with both Bus Eireann and Iranrod Eireann stating that as a public bodies they should offer service even if it wasn't entirely profitable, the minister's secretary wrote back telling me that due to lack of demand it wouldn't be viable.
You run a suitable train every 3 hours or so, and I guarantee you there would be demand for it.
Just think how many fans would travel from matches around the country at the weekend on trains, if they were made available, for example. While there will always be people coming home from working night shifts, and people needing to get to airports/ferryports etc late at night, or early morning. The world doesn't stop between 9pm and 6am you know.
Last edited by mypost; 14/08/2007 at 10:09 PM.
New trainlines,metro or Luas systems are unfeasible in my opinion.They are too costly,cause carnage tearing up the roads and the timeframe is too long for a solution to the problem of lack of public transport we have right now!
The viable option seems to be more buses and bus lanes for Dublin city where the congestion is worst.They are more flexible,suited to a city like ours and it doesnt take training in Sweden to drive one.The billions the government has earmarked for the metro would go further buying hundreds more buses and construction of bus lanes out to the suburbs thus benefiting the majority rather than the minority.
It seems the best thing about the Luas has been for those homeowners near to it who have had their house prices jump in the past 2 years.Meanwhile Dublin Bus have to wait for National Development funds to improve a service that doesnt make loses like the other C.I.E companies.
There is a lot of benefits of rail - they get people out of cars who wouldn't consider buses for snobbish reasons. However, the priority should be on the hundreds of extra buses that you mention. You could open the park and ride car parks now that are planned for the luas and metro stations and service them with buses. You could open park and ride car parks at existing stations/ routes. (Using my own example, there are the services along the N11, but no where to park the car at the likes of Kilmacanogue, Newtown Mountkennedy, Ashford, Bray Dart Station etc). Some of the new proposed Luas lines just don't make sense in the first place - that outer ring that only goes as far as Tallaght instead of going onto Dundrum and the Sandyford Industrial Estate is stupid (thousands working in the area, plus a link to the other line), and could easily be serviced by buses on the M50.
There are two main reasons they won't do this though.
- There's not enough good photo ops for buses as opposed to shiny new trams/ trains/ metro's.
- The Government are ideologically opposed to investing in publicly owned transport, but then haven't the balls to take on the Dublin Bus unions either, so it's just stuck in limbo like a driver stuck in traffic.
If you attack me with stupidity, I'll be forced to defend myself with sarcasm.
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