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ANY CHANGES TO the route of the proposed MetroLink project – including changing the terminus from Charlemont to the city centre – would cost “several hundred million” and result in a further delay to the project.
One expert told The Journal that moving the terminus would mean “a complete redesign of the system” and he believes could result in the delivery of the project being delayed until the 2040s.
It comes after Fianna Fáil TD Jim O’Callaghan yesterday called for the terminus of the proposed underground rail system to be changed from Charlemont to St Stephen’s Green or Tara Street.
The proposed MetroLink will have 16 new stations running from Swords to Charlemont and carry 53 million passengers annually. Construction is set to begin next year, with an opening year of 2035.
Addressing the second day of an oral hearing into the project, O’Callaghan said Charlemont will not be capable of supporting the estimated 10 million people that will visit the station each year, saying it will have a “detrimental impact” on the surrounding residential area.
Independent Senator Michael McDowell also called for the terminus to be changed, with both politicians in agreement that Charlemont was chosen for the terminus in order to facilitate a potential upgrade to the Luas Green line in the future.
MetroLink project director Aidan Foley said the chosen terminus would still allow connections to the southeast and southeast, and would also facilitate an upgrade of the Luas Green line. He said he had visited the proposed location “several times” and thought it was an appropriate location for the terminus.
If the terminus were to be changed, it would be a costly process and could see the project delayed even further.
During his submission to the hearing, Labour TD Duncan Smith asked Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) what impact a change to the proposed route of the scheme would have on the planning process and questioned how much of a delay it would cause.
MetroLink project director Aidan Foley told him it would have “a significant impact” and involve elements of “significant redesign”.
It would also have a negative impact on the cost scheme, he said, adding: “The cost for every year of delay is several hundred million.”
It was initially thought that Foley had quoted a figure of €700 million. However, a spokesperson for TII later clarified to The Journal that Foley actually said “several hundred million”.
There have been a number of figures quoted in relation to the estimated cost of any delays to the project.
Speaking at the Oireachtas Transport Committee on 14 February, TII chief executive Peter Walsh said that it would cost around €250 million for every year that the MetroLink is delayed.
“During the pre-application consultation with An Bord Pleanála, we made it clear that delays to the project, given the scale of it, could be measured in time alone at about €250 million a year,” he said.
Last July, Public Accounts Committee chair Brian Stanley said it had been estimated that each year of delay “would add additional costs of between €100 million and €300 million.”
Duncan Smith told The Journal that he believes any added cost and redesign of MetroLink “could throw the entire project into doubt”.
“The engineering and interconnectivity reasons for the current route are well explained by TII and I believe equally a robust plan for a city that desperately needs this Metrolink. We cannot countenance any calls for such changes or removals of Terminus. It would be grossly negligent to the needs of the city,” he said.
Brian Caulfield, a professor in transportation and Head of Department at Trinity College Dublin, told The Journal that to move the terminus would mean “a complete redesign of the system” which would cost “millions”.
“It wouldn’t be a whole route redesign, but I think once you open up one part of it for redesign, you probably open up the whole thing,” he said.
Caulfield said to look at a redesign, along with conducting further transport modelling and cost benefit analysis, “you’re adding at least another four years to the project at a conservative estimate before we could even get to start dates”.
“When you start to do that, we’re talking about the 2040s by the time this would be operational.”
A spokesperson for the MetroLink project told The Journal that the Charlemont station is “an integral part” of the proposed scheme.
The spokesperson said the station was chosen as the terminus because it provides a short interchange distance to the Luas Green Line and is within a five-minute walk of the proposed Bus Connects A Spine and E Spine routes.
“The capability and flexibility to further extend the metro in the future, whether to connect onto the Luas Green Line or to provide a metro to the southwest of the city, is much better enabled and facilitated by the planned arrangements at Charlemont, which future-proofs the opportunity for such extension,” the spokesperson said.
“Any change to the design of the scheme would lead to significant delays in the delivery of the MetroLink scheme and ultimately result in significant additional costs to the taxpayer.”
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In a Star Trek TOS episode (‘A Piece Of The Action’), Kirk invents a card game called ‘Fizzbin’. He makes the rules up as he goes and even contradicts rules he previously stated. This is all to distract the hoods guarding him. Putin is playing the same kind of game with Trump.
@Numinous20111: President Trump is wrapping up a horrible ( & needless ) conflict that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of brave young Ukrainians & Russians & you think it’s akin to some video game on a spaceship??
@Numinous20111: I, for one, welcome our new Russian overlords.
@Mary Linton: Those klaxons are blarring again. Trump can’t even acknowledge Russia invaded Ukraine. Trump is extorting Zelenskyy once again (dirt on Biden and now 500 billion in resources for US military aid previously sent). Trump claims Zelenskyy is a dictator with 4% popular support. Trump is a transactional sociopath, who holds deep grudges and delays or withholds emergency aid for natural disasters in his own country, or America’s territories like Puerto Rica.
@Mary Linton: for the war to end all Russia has to do is leave Ukraine soil .
There are no brave young Russians,just conscripts forced to die for a mad man
@sean weir: and North Koreans who can’t say no because their families are basically being held hostage back home.
@Numinous20111: absolutely he is.
Macron is great, connecting with The Bronzer.
@Numinous20111: I wish stop acting the bol ix
at this stage he look ridiculous
and the idea to send troops only to keep the greed and war machine going should not even be entertained
@Mary Linton:
Trump is surrendering and getting Ukraine to pay for the privilege…
@Numinous20111: 100 percent mate. Nail on the head
@Mary Linton: So you’re in favour of giving land to a dictator? Trump was bought decades ago by the kgb, he’s doing putins bidding.
Macron having to prize Donald’s small hand off his knee plus Macron having to correct his lies, was epic..
Good to see the President of Peace keeping his word.
All these left wing Jihadi nutjobs are complete warmongers who want both wars to continue on.
They clearly have vested interests in US Weapons Companies
@Jef Gert: My Troll Alert App’s klaxons kicked in 1 minute ago. I’m rating this App as super effective. Maybe the klaxon volume could be lowered though.
@Jef Gert: US bought weapons from themselves, hardly too painful, 100 billion for 500 billion return,good old USA. Now the same as Russia and north Korea and stooges supporting trumps cult
@Numinous20111: why do you need an “alert” when you’re sat there all day everyday hitting the refresh on the journal app
@Jef Gert: You do realise that the US bought weapons off themselves right? I mean even the most maga loving trolls on here cant be that deluded to understand who controls the power brokers in the congress and the senate………heres a clue its the arms dealers
And if you think murica is gonna stop selling arms to the likes of ukraine or israel when these wars are over, well I have some bad news for ya and also some magic beans to sell ya
@Jef Gert: i hope you’re not referring to trump as the president of peace? President of chaos and turmoil more like
@Jef Gert: how’s it going Buster,still talking nonsense I see
@Jef Gert: Trump needs the war to end in order to save face regarding his pre-election claim that HE would end the war (in a day) and so that he can get on with making money out of Ukraine and Russia.
Therefore he contacts his buddy Putin who dictates to him that he will ‘end’ the war but on condition that no land will be handed back, no peacekepers will allowed in Ukraine and Ukraine will not be allowed enter NATO (seriously people can’t see where this is leading!)
Then eventually a ceasefire is announced with Trump taking all the plaudits and delighted with himself.
Russia then spends the rest of Trump’s term ‘behaving’ itself, no doubt as agreed with Trump, re-arming and recovering from the unexpected losses incured over the last 3 years.
Then Trump’s term comes to an end and a rejuvenated Russian army, having learned from all the mistakes of the current war and having consolidated all the current gains takes aim at an underfunded Ukraine that is not a member of NATO and doesn’t have any peacekeepers on the ground.
Trump will be delighted because he can say that he had stopped the war and claim that if he was still there the war wouldn’t have re-started and Putin will be delighted because he will have played Trump and the US like a balalaika.
@Numinous20111: i presume the Klaxon plays the theme from The Muppet Show or Countdown? Where can we get it!
@Jef Gert: President of peace… who is currently doing ethnic cleansing in Gaza to build condos.
@Chutes Idiot: Self praise is no praise…
@Jef Gert:
Your President of peace has caused mayhem since he came into power
Caused untold hardship to the sick,the poor,the vulnerable,and the needy.
He is responsible for the thousands of acres of rotting fruit and veg ,since the pickers have been ejected from the country by him.
@Chutes Idiot:
Macron like other European leaders want peace,but he also was very quick to point out to Trump that it can not happen without guarantees of security,and the agreement of Ukraine.
Trump put his grumpy face on,and was reluctant to shake Macron’s hand.
Doesn’t like it when strong leaders stand up to him.
@Chutes Idiot: dementia kicking in…
Time will tell. Putin may be willing to do a deal in order to save some face after the abject failure of the past three years, and it may suit him to boost Trump, with a view to further undermining Western cohesion and democracy.
Trump is a kind of secret weapon for the despots of the world. They would like to wreck democracy, international cooperation and the rule of law, and Trump is on the same page.
@Brendan O’Brien: It may also suit Putin to break any deal sooner or later, and attack again.
@Chutes I++++: The usual lies from you, whether you’re positing as Chutes I++++, Mary Linton, Rian O’Callaghan or anything else.
@Chutes I++++: I did prove at the weekend that you were behind the ‘Frank Mc Carthy’ account (identical use of language: taking your ‘doggies’ ‘away down the strand’). But of course you continue to lie and deny your multi-account activities regardless, and accuse others of doing what you do.
It’s a full-time occupation for you, which is rather sad.
@Chutes I++++: From last November, actually, not that it matters: you’ve been a full-time multi-account troll on this site for years.
The distinctive and identical use of language does prove that those two profiles belong to the same person.
@Brendan O’Brien:
In other words a useful tool.
@Chutes Idiot: In all fairness he is 100% correct in calling you out and ever since he did you accuse him of the same to muddy the waters and then create more accounts to agree with yourself, it’s beyond me what you get out of it but here’s the thing bud, you’re fooling no one, “I am going to lie to you, you know I am lieing to you and I will continue to lie to you” ring a bell?
If it stops the waste of human life then any sacrifice of gains or aims will be worth it in a negotiated settlement.
@Rose Sheridan: Neville Chamberlain certainly would agree with you.
@Chutes Idiot: If only we had a way of knowing if Chamberlain was right or not. If only.
@Numinous20111: what could Chamberlain do differently? Should Britain have declared war on Germany in 1938? Please inform us what he could have done differently?
@Ger Whelan: yes
100 billion for 500 billion return, stay classy America
Comments open on this one, yet comments closed on the article Macron backs Trump?
@Chutes Idiot: Probably because of multiple account trolls. We had and article about a young girls severe skin condition yesterday and you started banging on with your rascist rubbish on immigration. And you wonder why certain articles are closed for comments.
I have to say, I think Macron is a fantastic leader.
@Jimmy The Mink: I presume your joking? If not you ha
Time will tell whether this works or not, the fact a hated and woke member of the EU came to town and sorted stuff out with grandpa orange, wont go down too well with some of the magaverse. As for Putin being open to peacekeepers, id say take that with a pinch of salt cos this seems like a Russia get out of jail free card, rather than admitting the invasion hasnt been the roaring success he claimed it would be…..
@Patrick Newell: The last line in the article is quite telling, since it reminds me of something from a few years ago.
That so much of the deal talk seems to be giving Putin what he wanted, or at least what he would settle for, is very troubling. That UA ain’t even allowed at the table for talks is not a good look.
My guess is that Putin will make a deal, and then when Trump gives him what he wants, UA will reject it based on all the concessions involved, and then Trump will blame them for not wanting peace.
He’s already blamed them for causing the invasion.
@ben wu: Thats my thinking too, this smells liike a set up where trump and co can blame Ukraine and the war mongering whoever for not taking the deal. Then Putin isnt looking weak which is what this whole “deal” is about cos theres no way Russia is agreeing to peace unless someone gives their soul and since they already have trumps, my thinking is something else will be needed
@Patrick Newell: Yeah, and Trump is trying to lay those foundations down with a number of false claims.
Calling Zelenskyy a dictator is not even going down well with a lot of his party. They know that a suspension of elections during wartime is lawful, and long predates Zelenskyy’s election.
They know who invaded who, and they know that Zelenskyy’s approval rating is way higher than the claim of 4%.
There’s not enough of them publicly calling out those lies.
Trump is a Putin puppet
@James Gorman: perhaps the inverse is true
The human race is a relentless force of consumption, never satisfied, always wanting more. While the masses scurry like ants, diligently working, raising families, and keeping the machine running, the powerful plunder with impunity. We take until there’s nothing left, and when the well runs dry, we spiral into madness, desperate to reclaim what we’ve lost—only to repeat the cycle all over again.
Saw Macron on Fox news last night.He is a real charmer.But hey if it works out its all good.
Fair play to Macron calling out Trump lie on live television
@Dermot Blaine: Trump getting fact checked was cathartic.
December 5, 1994 the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States signed a memorandum to provide Ukraine with security assurances in connection with its accession to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state.
The Budapest Memorandum.
@Margaret E: According to what I can find, they were the third largest nuclear weapon power.
Who provide them with guarantees?
And now don’t want to pay for it?
USA!
Who attacked them? Russia! One of the countries who should protect them.
Russia knew about it from the beginning, so I don’t get why they are crying now?
I can see that only UK so far trying to keep their promises.
The rest is a joke!
@Margaret E: What you found was wrong. Ukraine was not the 3rd largest nuclear power. There were nuclear weapons in Ukraine but Ukraine were not in control of those nuclear weapons. Russia was. For context there are American nuclear weapons in Germany, that doesn’t make Germany a nuclear power. So no Ukraine didn’t give up it’s nuclear arsenal. It gave back Russian controlled nukes that were in Ukraine to Russia.
@Ger Whelan: Weather Ukraine owned them or could fire is irrelevant to the actual agreement. Russia broke the agreement.
@Eugene Burns: Ukraine wouldn’t have been able to launch their ICBMs. They had full control of ~1000 low yield tactical nukes.
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan dismantled the Iron Curtain and the Soviet Union. Trump and Musk are busy restoring it. If you’re an incel far right racist hater cheering them on you’re no lover of freedom. Cop on.
SLAVA UKRAINE
Cork GAA still 31 million in debt. Somebody down there has pulled the wool over the eyes of the GAA.
Negotiations for peace. So concessions and compromises presumably? Any from Russia who invaded Ukraine? No. I didn’t think so. Theres far more room under Trump’s bus than there is on it. I thought Macron was great countering Trump’s lies etc.
Macron, a statesman, versus Trump, a charlatan.
@AnthonyK: “Macron as statesman” bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah funniest thing I’ve read all day
@Ger Whelan: I wouldn’t be a fan, but he wiped the floor with Agent Trump
Look at them there with their tough guy handshake. Cute.
@Setanta O’Toole: we should get our handshake on camera
@Mick O’K: we’d have to get someone else in to recreate the Churchill, Truman and Stalin one. Bill Jennings, maybe.
“I would very much like for you to not have my portrait in your offices.
No portraits! A president is not an icon, nor an idol.
A president is not a portrait.
Put photographs of your children there, instead.
And before making any decision, look them in the eyes.”
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inaugural address on May 20, 2019
https://speakola.com/political/volodymyr-zelensky-inauguration-speech-2019
“The US has twice sided with Russia in votes at the United Nations to mark the third anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the Trump administration’s change of stance on the war.
First the US opposed a European-drafted resolution condemning Moscow’s actions and supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity – voting the same way as Russia and countries including North Korea and Belarus at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
Then the US drafted and voted for a resolution at the UN Security Council which called for an end to the conflict but contained no criticism of Russia.”
Emmanuel Macron has always been a political weasel of the highest order. He goes whichever way the wind blows when it comes to Ukraine. From the very start of the conflict, Macron has been an appeaser of Putin who loudly called for peace without consulting the Ukrainians on what they think. Even after the Russian army committed heinous atrocities in Mariupol and Kharkiv, Macron said that it was crucial “not to close the dialogue with Putin.” He also had the gall to say that Russia invaded Ukraine because they were not given sufficient “security guarantees” from NATO. The European Union was going to fast-track Ukrainian membership at the end of 2022 but Macron blocked it. If you think Trump is bad when it comes to selling out Ukraine, Macron is on a whole other level of insincerity.
@William Jennings: The Mossad loving planrer doesn’t like the French. What a surprise. Bet you still love you freedom fries eh?
@FoxyBoiiYT: Got anything better to do with your life troll? I love France and I’ve visited the country many times. I just don’t like Macron because he is unacceptably soft with Putin, even after the numerous massacres that Russian troops engaged in. Not liking the leader of a country doesn’t mean I don’t like the country itself. You keep calling me a planter, even though I’ve told you multiple times that I’m a Catholic and a proud Irishman. I don’t have the patience to deal with mentally unstable individuals such as yourself. Jog on and bother someone else, you miserable f**k. As someone who is mentally competent, it’s my responsibility not to engage with disturbed people like yourself because it will only make your instability worse. I hope someday you get the help you need.
@William Jennings: Hillarous. The guy who attacks my every word thinks it’s sooo unfair when you are called out for your BS. Hates Ireland, Hates the French, Hates the Palestinians, hates the Pope. Anyone else i missed?
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