AIRPORT DART LINK IS NOT EXPENSIVE - KENNY

Posted on August 12, 2011 5:39 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin North East T.D. and Oireachtas Transport Committee Member Seán Kenny today commented on a newspaper article detailing the future of Dublin rail transport options.

"The article in the Irish Times, by Frank McDonald, Environment Editor, referred to a source that said the Airport DART spur from Clongriffin was a daft idea and would be too expensive. I think the idea is far from daft, because it is an alternative way to link Dublin Airport to the railway network, and also because it is affordable to do it - the cost would be in the region €200m, less than one-tenth the cost of Metro North. Falling prices of land and falling construction costs all contribute to the lower overall cost of the spur.

"I am also surprised at reports suggesting that the DART Underground project will be deferred - the truth of the matter is that despite the high cost of it, Dublin needs to see DART Underground built for a variety of reasons - firstly, to alleviate congestion on Dublin roads into the future, and secondly, to integrate all the currently existing public transport - including the Luas lines that exist - the Luas BXD line, while being of some merit, will not be as effective a solution as DART Underground would be.

"I know the economy is under severe stress at present, but it is important that we not be short-sighted about why investment in public transport of the scale of DART Underground is needed. I believe that with time, the economy will recover, and I fear that when it does, Dublin will not be equipped with the best public transport options to be able to handle the increased activity around the city. Now is the time to build DART Underground and the Clongriffin Airport spur, not in the future when we realise we should have built them already."