DEPUTY SEÁN KENNY COMMENTS ON DART SPUR FROM CLONGRIFFIN TO AIRPORT

Posted on May 4, 2011 3:18 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin North East TD Seán Kenny has commented on the proposed DART spur from Clongriffon to Dublin Airport.

"The idea of a DART railway spur from Clongriffin DART station to Dublin Airport may well be good value for money if Metro North is delayed - the cost may well be considerably less than the €3 billion that Metro North could cost - perhaps around €400 million."

"If DART Underground is proceeded with it makes even more sense - communities and people from Kildare to Dublin could get the train across Dublin City to the airport without having to change trains at all."

"This is a tremendous number of people and in these very difficult economic times, has to be considered as being excellent value for the limited resources that the Government has to spend on public transport. "

"If DART Underground did not proceed and Metro North did, there would be little point in building the spur - congestion issues with the line would remain and this would cause major hardship for commuters in Northside Dublin.
That said, it is important to keep in mind that this spur line is something that would serve alongside Metro North in future years and is not intended to replace it. Metro North remains a vital infrastructural requirement to the Fingal area and should be proceeded with in time."

"Irish Rail were seeking a commitment to the reservation of a rail corridor from Clongriffin to Dublin Airport as part of the Fingal Development Plan."

"Irish Rail want high density zoning around all train stations in Fingal as part of the plan to stimulate growth."

"While this has been done for Clongriffin (and was much more straightforward as Clongriffin was built from green fields), this would probably be problematic for residents around other stations - Skerries, Rush & Lusk, Donabate and Portmarnock appear to be the primary targets for this."