Madam, – Sydney Parade Dart level-crossing is very familiar to many Dublin motorists, the main reason being how long they have to look at it. These barriers are regularly closed for intervals of 120 to 220 seconds with frequent queues of 60 or more cars during rush hour.
Recently I’ve had a chance to observe this routine in other countries with an automatic level- crossing adjacent to a station. At the French and English stations 50- to 80-second closures were typical, whereas in Oslo the barriers were down and up in a minute. These are three countries with extensive rail systems that confidently operate their suburban automatic railway barriers in less than half the time in Dublin.
Nearer home, the Luas goes about its business without excessive traffic delays when crossing roadways. It also runs up smartly to red lights at very busy locations like Longmile Road/Naas Road junction and on receiving green light it’s on its way, delaying traffic by maybe only 20 seconds.
The question is, why are we waiting so long at Dart crossings? These delays mean that the carbon-saving benefit of the electric train is being negated by fumes emitted by waiting traffic. It’s a complete waste of time and energy and Irish Rail should be obliged to adopt more efficient procedures that I’ve witnessed in UK, France and Norway. – Yours, etc,