20,000 rail users must now switch to roads

SEVERE DISRUPTION on all routes into north Dublin is expected from this morning following the collapse of the railway viaduct over the Broadmeadow estuary between Malahide and Donabate at the weekend.

Up to 20,000 rail journeys a day, split evenly in and out of the city centre, are to be replaced by road transport over the next three months, the shortest period Iarnród Éireann says it envisages the viaduct can be repaired.

The company said Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann and private operators will be providing alternative road transport services, which will include a special service between Drogheda station and Dublin city centre utilising Dublin Port Tunnel.

Dublin Bus 33 route will serve the Balbriggan, Skerries and Rush and Lusk areas, while a peak-time route 33B service will operate directly between Donabate station and Dublin city centre.

Belfast Enterprise services will operate only between Belfast and Drogheda, but Dart services between Malahide and Howth Junction are running normally.

The measures are to be reviewed next week as the busy back-to-school period gets under way.

Iarnród Éireann said it expected some people would resort to car pooling, while others would take advantage of the existing capacity on scheduled bus services. It was not underestimating the “ huge” logistical effort in moving an additional 10,000 people in each direction from rail to road transport each day.

“One of the reasons we have trains is because of the huge volume of people trains can move,” said a spokesman.

The company also revealed further details of the moments before the 20m section of the viaduct across Broadmeadow estuary, north of Malahide station, collapsed on Friday.

Spokesman Barry Kenny said the last train to use the viaduct northbound had left Malahide at 6.20pm, and the last train southbound had left Balbriggan at 6.07pm, arriving at Malahide just before 6.30pm. It was the last train southbound which reported to station authorities that the viaduct appeared to be collapsing.

Mr Kenny said the last safety inspection of the bridge had just been the previous Tuesday. He said “no structural issues were identified in that inspection”. The previous inspection had been in 2007. Inspectors from Irish Rail and the Department of Transport rail-accident investigation unit were now examining a range of factors, including tidal conditions and rainfall, coastal erosion and engineering factors.

However, it has also emerged that a report by International Risk Management Services 11 years ago identified a number of embankments in the area of the viaduct which were then classed as among the most unsafe stretches of railway in the Republic.

While Iarnród Éireann said it has spend in excess of €400 million on remedial works since then, Fine Gael transport spokesman Fergus O’Dowd, who regularly commutes on the line, said questions needed to be answered.

“Minister Dempsey stated in his budget speech last April that the Railway Safety Commission Programme would undergo some cuts. How much was cut from the budget and what areas were affected?”