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IRELAND & NORTHERN IRELAND FOCUS


Deeper Underground


The realisation of a seamless transport network in Dublin took a step closer when a formal application for the DART Underground rail project was submitted.


DART Underground will deliver a second high capacity DART line, which will run underground through the heart of Dub- lin city centre. The twin bore tunnels will be approximately 7.6 Km in length and will connect the Northern and Kildare rail lines, with underground stations to be strategically located at Spencer Dock, Pearse, Christchurch, St. Stephen’s Green and Heuston Station, as well as a new surface DART station at Inchicore.


Irish Rail’s Mark IV Dublin - Cork CAF Intercity Full speed ahead


Translink has a continuous programme of facility and track upgrades. One recent example has been improvements to the Coleraine-Ballymena service, a 70mph line which dropped, in some areas, to speed limits of 20mph because of wet spots and dipped joints.


This had been a bolted track, but over the Car. Parked.


A key aspect of the success of Translink NI Railways is its approach to park and ride facilities. The delivery of new park and ride facilities as part of a station upgrade leads to more people swapping the car for the train. Translink NI Railways has gone from


Learning the ROTA


Translink NI Railways has one of the finest training facilities for rail anywhere in the UK. The idea for the Rail Operations Train- ing Academy (ROTA) was conceived dur- ing Translink NI Railways’ first new trains project and the procurement of the fleet of Class 3000 engines in 2002.


The change to a new train required exten- sive re-training for the company’s drivers and the success of a simulator bought for that purpose has led to the ROTA facility growing to offer further training facilities, including a signalling simulator, which can replicate signal control panels.


The facilities can also replicate emergency offline situations so that train crews and


44 | rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 11


signallers can become familiar with emer- gency procedures. ROTA has expanded to include classrooms, lecture rooms and smart board video systems for track and route knowledge, as well as hazard identi- fication. The facility also boasts a complete suite of competency packages for all train drivers, signallers, controllers, conductors and station staff involved in dispatch.


The facility continues to prove its worth; train crew are already learning the upgrad- ed systems that operate on the new Class 4000 trains being delivered to Belfast.


It all means that drivers will be trained on the conversion programme far in advance of the new trains entering service.


around six million passengers to in excess of ten million in seven years. That figure could rise to 20 million in the next decade if the right facilities are put in place, with the additional ridership coming from motorists abandoning their cars.


course of a three-month closure the line was completely removed, cropped and the existing rail transformed into continuously welded rail.


The works included the replacement of 20% of the line and introduced threaded and additional sleepers. The track was subse- quently returned to full 70mph operation.


The DART Underground will link all rail systems – existing DART, Commuter, InterCity, Luas and Metro - to form an integrated transport network that is ex- pected to treble the numbers travelling on the Greater Dublin rail system to over 100 million passenger journeys annu- ally.


The application in June 2010 by CIÉ, Ireland’s major transport provider, represented a further milestone in the progress of the project, which is con- sidered the most important piece of rail infrastructure to be constructed under the Irish Government’s Transport 21 investment programme. DART Under- ground will transform transport services into and throughout Dublin and will be an enduring transport legacy benefiting generations of future passengers. The application plans for construction to start in 2012 with the line operational from 2018.


The application has been hit by falls in the Irish economy, but hopes for the project to ultimately get backing remain high. Part of the project will be funded through a public-private partnership (PPP), limiting economic fluctuations.


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