From OnBusiness.ie
Yes, our friends at the National Institute for Transport and Logistics is doing a separate audit for Luas, mainly because costs rose from €228 million to about €800 million. (No qualms about the cost of this evaluation of theirs, though. Reminds me of the "investigation" that the great state of New Jersey is engaging in over its own 34-mile "River Line" system, which ended up costing almost $1 billion.)
The NITL is also conducting a general audit of the Irish transportation system, saying stuff like the large investment in roads could have "implications for the future of some interurban rail lines and regional air services". Yeah...the more jammed the roads get, the more we'll need of the rail end of things, that's for sure...! not to mention more fines payable to the EU due to increased greenhouse-gas generation...
BUSRAGE Discussions » Light Rail
NITL to conduct "independent evaluation" of Luas
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Posted 4 years ago #
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It's not hard to see why the costs escalated and you don't need to commission a report at the cost of ??? to do it.
The original plan of a line from Tallaght - Abbey Street - The Green - Dundrum only required one depot, at the Mad Cow. It assumed that the line would commence construction in 1996 with completion in 1998/9.
The amount of two metre high walls sought and got by Residents associations and individuals would never have been part of the original costings.
The other thing that has escaped attention is the detail of finishing used. The amount of granite finishing used is IMHO excessive and should have not been necessary.
The way some commentators write, you would think that the whole thing could have been bought in Brooks Thomas and installed like a train set in someone's bedroom.
[posted by: Luaswatcher]Posted 4 years ago # -
This is really incredible stuff !
Is there a single soul in this City that does not know that the LUAS planning and construction phase was a total mess ?
LUAS is now almost complete and as such it must be commissioned and placed in service as soon as possible.
The ONLY response to what has been a planning and construction disaster should be to ensure that NO senior staff associated with this fiasco is EVER given control of such a project again.
Remember that the RPA is no more than yet another politically inspired QUANGO which owes its existance to a political need to achieve something, IE: The sidelining of CIE and sections of ITSW management.
Remember that Donal Mangan is still being paid his salary as putative Chief Executive in the absence of a High Court judgement on his legal action against the State.
Now that LUAS is almost complete we should be getting ready for a protracted and very interesting case indeed as Mr Mangan seeks redress through the Courts for what many view as as neat a piece of shafting as Brutus ever practiced.
My own concerns are more mundane however,boring even such as the prospect of Trams disgorging 300 persons every three minutes at morning peak onto the area at the top of Grafton St.
Presently we are given to understand that two general traffic lanes will continue in use parallel to the LUAS tracks.
Presently the pedestrian-vehicular interaction at this location is fraught with danger.
The Computer Generated Images used in LUAS/RPA bumph tend to show a very attractively paved open plan space with a handful of cars in view wherever LUAS appears in a City Centre context.
Possibly as Owen Keegan said on Liveline last week,people will take a few days off work and thus allow the streets to appear empty for the first few LUAS days.
However I suspect that further serious infrastructural work will be required here and at other busy LUAS stops in the City...But doubtless that will be from another totally seperate budget...?????Posted 4 years ago #
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