FULL marks to CIÉ for the timely briefing of property owners along the route of the proposed tunnel in Dublin for the new Dart underground service.

Before formally lodging a planning application on Tuesday for the €2.5 billion service, the transport company wrote a few days earlier to more than 4,500 owners informing them of a property protection scheme to be put in place. The company stressed that the best international standards would be applied and it was not envisaged that any structural damage would be caused to properties during construction. In the event of any minor damage like small cracks in walls, repairs would be carried out without delay.

CIÉ estimates that about 800 buildings – including office blocks and apartment developments – are located along the 7.6 km route which will have underground stations at Spencer Dock, Pearse Street, St Stephen’s Green, Christchurch and Heuston Station in addition to a surface Dart station at Inchicore.