Madam, - It is good that Olivia Mitchell, Fine Gael spokesperson for transport, welcomes a debate on the proposed Dublin rail interconnector, for we are compelled to continue it in response to her latest contribution (September 2nd).
By using language such as "a Rolls Royce service", Ms Mitchell seeks to create a false impression that the Interconnector is a luxury the city can do without, and by once again equating its function to that of Luas and the Dublin Port Tunnel, misunderstands its purpose.
We welcome Fine Gael and Ms Mitchell's support for the Kildare route quadrupling, northern and Maynooth line electrification, city centre resignalling, a new city-centre terminal station, and the Dunboyne/M3 spur line - all critical elements of the overall Dublin Integrated Rail Plan. These are essential projects, and build towards the total integrated, high-capacity network envisaged. However, because of past under-investment, these projects will be sufficient only to meet existing latent demand and only very short-term population growth from the commuter lines in the Greater Dublin area.
The forecast population growth, particularly on the northern, Maynooth/Dunboyne and Kildare lines, will quickly outstrip the additional capacity these shorter-term projects can provide. We will condemn another generation to gridlock if we stick our heads in the sand and imagine these populations and new communities are not coming.
They are - and the interconnector (which runs from Docklands to Heuston, not Connolly to Heuston) is the missing link in the Greater Dublin rail network to provide the capacity that will be essential if the Greater Dublin and Leinster region is to function effectively. It is a second Dart line through the heart of the city.
It is simply wrong to state that it has the potential to absorb all available funding for public transport when the €1.3 billion price tag means that a continuation of existing capital investment levels for Iarnród Éireann for a further five years would be sufficient to fund the project. This is in the context of Government proposals to significantly increase the overall capital investment available to public transport generally. As to Ms Mitchell's questioning of the €1.3 billion figure, I would reiterate that Iarnród Éireann doesn't do "back of the envelope" estimates. For example, approved funding for all Iarnród Éireann capital projects under way or completed in 2005 comes to, by coincidence, €1.3 billion, and we are currently more than €37 million better than budget on these schemes.
To answer Kenneth Wilson's question (September 3rd) question regarding the role of the Phoenix Park Tunnel, currently it is not used for regular services as it would simply deliver additional trains into the Connolly Station bottleneck; for every Kildare train that travelled through the tunnel, a Maynooth, Drogheda or Dart service would have to be cancelled. It can play a role if a Docklands station is developed, but once again, it would not generate sufficient capacity to meet the forecast population growth. Similarly, Ms Mitchell's "half-interconnector" suggestion to build it to Pearse only would also fall significantly short of what is needed - not least because city-centre termination is itself a limiting factor in capacity.
In short, we do not propose the interconnector just to give our engineers something to do. We propose it because without it the letters pages, the airwaves and the small talk of the year 2015 would be dominated by the depressingly familiar subject matter of appalling traffic congestion and an under-resourced public transport system. - Yours, etc,
BARRY KENNY,
Manager, Media and
Public Relations,
Iarnród Éireann,
Connolly Station,
Dublin 1.