Metro Dart (Overground) V Metro Link (Underground)
Metro Dart 7A is the thick broken blue line on map 3 from Donabate via Swords and Dublin Airport to Blanchardstown on open land all overground using standard rail gauge. This dotted section links up to all mainline rail in Ireland, Belfast line and east coast Dart at Donabate. It links up Cork, Galway, Wexford and city lines at Blanchardstown via existing rail lines with potential to link up with future rail lines. Metro Dart just needs thick dotted sections to be constructed, 12 miles at 1-billion-euro cost. This provides direct rail access to Dublin Airport from all areas of Dublin and All Ireland with rail. All Dublin rail is being upgraded to Dart. It makes sense for a Metro Dart, as Dart and mainline rail already use the same rail gauge.
The most important need for rail transport is to access work and reduce car movements, time is not so important for holidays, shopping and leisure activities. Rail users accessing work on the outskirts of city can take up to 2 hours extra per day if they go via city centre. When train arrives in the centre it can take users up to an hour to get to many destinations on the outskirts and the same back. Outskirts activities are set to increase over time. Now that this problem is known, it should be solved, balance is required, not all via the centre. Metro Dart takes users direct to all destination with less changing as changing adds to travel times. North Dublin and east Dart has no access to Dublin Airport with Metro Link they must go into the city to go back out again to the Airport. This overuse of the east coast rail line will require another Dart beside existing line that would be empty off peak, adding more unnecessary rail cost. Sligo line will come in via Heuston to link with Cork/Kildare line at Adamstown.
It makes no sense to spend 10 to 20 billion Euro extra for one underground rail line that serves only one tenth the area of Metro Dart, when other areas of Dublin and Ireland badly need relief from traffic congestion with more suitable public transport. Dublin city centre is well serviced by public transport, Bus Connects (if done right), upgraded Dart lines, cycleways. Dublin can have a public transport interchange at no cost. Dublin needs improved public transport outside city centre, around Dublin and on all roads into Dublin, especially M11 badly serviced, M1, M7 and M3. House building throughout Dublin mainly on the outskirts must also be served and more Luas lines need to be built. The rest of the country is also badly affected by traffic congestion so why put such funding into one underground project that will reduce so few car movements and will have massive effect on climate change. Dublin Airport is near full capacity and doesn’t experience much traffic congestion. Standard rail gauge vital for linking up and for future rail. The alternative Metro Dart sets out to address all these problems with standard rail gauge for direct linking, less changing as many may have changed or waited already and for direct access to all areas at less cost, this allows funding to be put aside for other projects throughout Ireland. So why put all your eggs in one basket and don’t commit the cardinal sin by pushing good ideas under the carpet or be misled by people from other countries.