Irish Railway Record Society

Journal 168 - Infrastructure

CLONSILLA-NAVAN

Clonsilla-Pace Work on the Clonsilla-Pace section was officially launched on 10 November. The contract has been awarded to SIAC Construction, who is also involved in constructing the adjacent M3 motorway. Services are scheduled to commence in 2010.

Pace-Navan As part of the route selection process for Phase 2, IÉ held public consultation meetings on 13 and 14 January. IÉ proposals were an extension of 34km of double-track from Pace, with stations at Dunshaughlin, Kilmessan, Navan Town Centre, and a terminus ‘at the north edge of Navan’. Newspapers reported that IÉ proposals for Navan were either constructing a station on the former alignment about 1.8km from the town, with a Park & Ride facility or, alternatively, a station 800m from the town, which would cost more due to land acquisition costs.

Two route options were proposed. The first was an alignment largely along the former MGWR Clonsilla-Navan line, with minor alterations to avoid buildings constructed since line closure, and a second which would run closer to the town of Dunshaughlin.

CORK - MIDLETON / COBH

The complete line closure between Cork and Cobh from Tuesday 13 October to Friday 21 November (See JOURNAL 167) facilitated many engineering projects. These included initial work on replacing level crossing XC241 with a new overbridge at 166 miles 150 yards. This user operated crossing has been subject to a 10-mph speed restriction for many years due to poor sighting distances and the possibility of vehicles stopping on the track while attempting to enter the busy N8 Dublin road. A temporary A-type (Attended) level crossing has been installed nearby and will be in place until May. The proposed new bridge is a very substantial structure over both railway and adjacent road and required pile-driving for new support structures in the River Lee. During the course of this work a section of the river wall collapsed into the river on Wednesday 29 October, resulting in closure of the road for the rest of the day and partial closure until next day. A substantial base of rock has been placed in the river for construction of the approach to the bridge. A large scaffold structure was located on the track to facilitate construction of the abutments for this bridge.

During the closure, temporary buffer stops were erected on the Cork side of Myrtlehill level crossing. Four new barriers have been installed at the crossing and signal posts were in place as part of preparation for its conversion to CCTV monitored type.

Eleven miles of cable ducting was installed along the line and the facing crossover and turnout and traps connecting to North Esk freight yard were removed completely. Little Island signal cabin was permanently closed and all signals removed. The block sections are now Cork-Glounthaune-Cobh, with Glounthaune switched in as required. A new Relocatable Equipment Building (REB) was installed at Myrtlehill and another in Cobh on the up side opposite the former shed. Coastal protection has been improved at various locations including near Slatty Viaduct.

Platforms at Little Island, Glounthaune, Fota, Carrigaloe, Rushbooke and Cobh were resurfaced, raised, new coping stones, drains, shelters and lighting installed. A new down platform at Fota has been built on the Cobh side of the level crossing opposite the up platform and the old one on the Cork side taken out of use. All upgraded platforms are 92m long, which is shorter than some were previously. Consequently, trains will now be limited to 4-car length.

On Monday 13 October, the Long Welded Rail (LWR) train hauled by 171+162 followed the 10:00 Cork-Cobh, arriving in Glounthaune at 10:20. It then proceeded onto the Midleton line, ran around its train using the temporary crossovers on the branch and propelled towards Carrigtwohill to off-load rail. It departed Glounthaune at 17:30. On Wednesday 26 November, 073 worked the LWR train from Portlaoise to the Midleton line. On Tuesday 2 December, 162+147 + LWR train offloaded rails near Carrigtwohill.

By end of November, long welded UIC54 rail on concrete sleepers had been installed from Glounthaune to the new station in Carrigtwohill in the Glounthaune-Midleton. Trackbed was in place to Waterrock level crossing (5 miles 25 chains), which also had new barriers installed. Concrete sleepers for the project, from Germany, were stockpiled at Cork Port and other locations such as Waterrock.

At Carrigtwohill, both platforms and the structural steel for the lift shafts were largely complete by the end of November. The car park was under construction. Restoration of the former station building at Midleton was nearly complete and fitting out was taking place. Both platforms were nearly complete and the former signal cabin was undergoing refurbishment.

KILDARE ROUTE PROJECT

Clondalkin down platform was taken out of use on Saturday 27 September to allow for track re-alignment. Clondalkin station closed completely on Sunday 12 October and was replaced by a new station called ‘Clondalkin / Fonthill’, situated to the south at MP4³/₄. The latter station was officially opened next day by the Minister for Transport, Mr Dempsey. The new station buildings are located above the platforms. The up and down platforms were opened and are 175m long. Two additional platforms will be brought into use on the new tracks at a later date. The new station offers extra facilities, particularly improved accessibility for mobility impaired passengers. It also has a 200 space car park. The old station was subsequently demolished and removed.

Work on installing the two additional tracks between Le Fanu Rd and Hazelhatch continued with very little disruption to rail traffic. Line closures have normally been confined to late Saturday night and early Sunday mornings.

During an overnight possession on the weekend of 9 November, the existing up line was temporarily slewed to allow ballast tamper / dynamic track stabiliser 741 position onto the new track. Ballast continued to be delivered by road and deposited by road-rail vehicles. By end of 2008, two additional tracks had been laid throughout with the exception of through the new platforms at Hazelhatch and 741 was at work tamping and lining.

A new long turnout on timber bearers (sleepers) from the proposed up slow to the up fast was installed at the site of the former Cherry Orchard station near Le Fanu Rd i.e. going from 4 to 3 tracks.

Replacement OB11 at Cloverhill (Inchicore side of former Clondalkin station) was largely complete, but there has been a delay in its re-opening due to property issues associated with approach roads. It was due to re-open in November, but is now expected to re-open in ‘late March or early April 2009’.

The new station building at Kishoge was nearly finished at the end of 2008. It has 3 platforms; down slow, up slow and up fast.

At Hazelhatch, a new turnout on concrete bearers was installed the Dublin end. At the Sallins end, a new long turnout on wooden bearers (sleepers) from proposed up fast to up slow was in place. The station building was also complete and was being fitted out. The new bay platform is No. 3, the up slow is No. 4 and the up fast is No. 5. The existing up platform No. 2 has also been extended at the Sallins end and cut back at the Dublin end. The existing down platform No. 1 has been extended at the Sallins end, but this extension was not in use at end of 2008. A substantial new footbridge with lifts for mobility impaired access has been installed, but the original metal footbridge remained still in use.

WESTERN RAIL CORRIDOR (WRC)

Ennis-Athenry Re-laying continued through the autumn and winter using IÉs track re-laying gantries and new long welded rail on concrete sleepers. IÉ also used a mobile road-rail mounted flash-butt welding plant to weld rail on a two-week trial. Deliveries of ballast and sleepers were generally by road to 4 - 5 stockpiles on the route, with ballast then loaded onto a train for spreading. Rail was delivered by train from Portlaoise, more recently via Limerick and Ennis. German manufactured concrete sleepers were road-hauled from Cork docks. By end of 2008, re-laying was completed from Athenry (MP59⁷/₈) to 32 miles 600 yards at Crusheen. Preparation was well in hand for re-laying the remaining distance to Ennis (MP24³/₄ miles). All bridge excavations had also been completed. Platform construction work was well advanced at Ardrahan and Craughwell.

In January, local newspapers reported that an appeal against granting of planning permission for the new station at Gort had been dropped following an agreement between IÉ and Coen Holdings Ltd. It was also reported that Garraun had been selected for the location of the station at Oranmore instead of the original station location.

On Thursday 2 October, a ballast train hauled by 141 loaded at Tubber and then discharged north of Tubber. It departed for Ardrahan at 12:30, where it re-loaded and stabled.

Limerick-Ennis Flooding regularly occurs at Ballycar and the line was closed from 5 February until 27 March 2008. IÉ said ‘As the railway line is not the cause of the flooding, and it affected a much wider area, the Office of Public Works (OPW) will need to develop a flood relief scheme. We liaised with them on this issue during and since the flooding earlier this year, and have offered to share the costs of an initial study to assess the full requirements of any flood relief scheme’.

In November, the OPW said ‘In view of the fact that the railway line was the only significant beneficiary it has been indicated by the OPW that we will not be managing or commissioning a study or any proposed works for the area. Resources, both financial and manpower, are already fully committed for the foreseeable future to other approved projects in our national priority programme of flood relief schemes. Our financial allocation for such works has been further eroded as a result of recent Government announcements in relation to cutbacks and savings in public expenditure’.

In response, IÉ advised ‘We are progressing with a study, which we are funding, to examine all options to address the problem into the future’. However, the water level at Ballycar again rose during the winter and was being closely monitored by IÉ.

Ennis Platform upgrading works in October, November and December meant long trains could not be handled. Passengers from the Fridays-Only 17:05 Dublin-Ennis had to transfer in Limerick to a 2700-class railcar instead of having a Mk III train throughout.

TRACK

Dublin-Cork Both up and down roads through Ballybrophy station were excavated and re-laid. Work commenced in late September and continued until mid-December. The old track was welded rail laid on timber sleepers as the station area is boggy. Additional pile driving was required to stabilise the platforms faces on up and down main lines and very substantial machinery was used. Temporary buffer stops protected the worksite. Access was via a temporary road across the branch line tracks and all branch trains operated to/from Roscrea with bus connections. During the work, Dublin-Cork line trains in both directions operated via the loop. The new track is welded rail on concrete sleepers. The south ground-frame on the up side, generally used by permanent way machines, was removed.

On 7 December, the trailing crossover operated by ground frame, which connects the Infrastructure Depot at Kildare with the down Dublin-Cork line, was renewed. The new crossover is powered by Westinghouse Type 63 point machines operated from a local panel released by CTC in Dublin. New axle counters are provided for detection on the crossover and associated headshunt. These are superimposed over but not connected to the existing down mainline track circuits.

IÉ awarded a contract to BKS Surveys Limited, Coleraine, for a detailed ground and aerial survey of the Dublin-Cork line. ‘As a minimum, this topographical survey shall extend either side of the railway embankment as far as it is necessary for the further design [sic] and obtain ground details adequate for performing cross sections at 25 m interval’.

Mallow-Tralee The Mallow Beet Factory ground frame was removed on 30 November, eliminating access to the Beet Factory Siding. However, a large number of bogie flat wagons were left in the sidings.

Athlone-Galway To facilitate installation of CWR with derailment protection on the Shannon Bridge, the up loop at Athlone Midland was taken out of service for the month of November.

Dublin-Rosslare Europort In November, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council sought ‘submissions or observations with respect to a proposal  for the construction of a New Metals Walkway, including a deck over the DART rail line, adjacent to Queen's Road and Upgrade of Marine Road, Crofton Road, and Queen's Road, Dun Laoghaire’.

Dublin-Belfast The up and down junction points at Howth Junction were renewed like-for-like over three weekends. The first two weekends were 8/9 and 15/16 November with the line closed from 22:15 Saturday until 10:00 Sunday. DART and outer suburban trains were replaced by buses north of Connolly. The down turnout was renewed the first weekend and the up turnout the following weekend.

The third closure was from 21:30 on Friday 28 November, all day Saturday and Sunday. This was for the renewal of the moving switch-diamonds. The up line was closed for the entire period while the down road was handed back for the 09:35 Dublin-Belfast on Saturday. All DART services were cancelled north of Connolly, while outer suburban services additionally called at stations Malahide-Connolly. Outer suburban trains ran to/from Connolly rather than Pearse. The 06:50 Belfast-Dublin and 07:35 Dublin-Belfast on Saturday were substituted by bus between Drogheda and Dublin Connolly. The latter was particularly busy due to shopper traffic. The line was handed back with the crossover fully ballasted and welded up.

Limerick-Waterford Re-laying work between Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir took place in November and December. The 08:50 and 11:45 Limerick Junction-Waterford and 09:35 and 12:30 Waterford-Limerick Junction were replaced by buses, but there was also periods of complete cancellations and cancellations between Limerick Junction and Carrick-on-Suir.

Waterford-Rosslare Europort There was further re-laying between Wellingtonbridge and Rosslare Strand at the end of October.

Limerick-Ballybrophy Further re-laying took place in October and November between MP38³/₄-40⁷/₈. The 10:10 Ballybrophy-Limerick was cancelled for periods in October and November for the work.

Procurement In December, IÉ advertised for 100 hollow steel sleepers for 2009 that can be used for conveying and protecting cables across plain track. It included an option to purchase a similar quantity in 2010 and 2011. IÉ also advertised for a 1-year contract with an option to extend to 2 years for mobile flash butt welding services using a road-rail vehicle.

ELECTRIFICATION

From Monday 13 October until Tuesday 16 December, there were alterations to Rosslare line services to facilitate Overhead Line Equipment (OHLE) inspection and repair. Sections between Dublin and Greystones were closed at night, preventing empty Rosslare line trains running. The 16:52 Maynooth-Enniscorthy operated through to Rosslare and the 19:23 Gorey-Dublin Connolly, 20:05 Enniscorthy-Dublin Connolly and 05:44 Arklow-Rosslare Europort were replaced by buses. The 16:40 Dublin Connolly-Gorey remained in Gorey to form the 06:00 to Connolly next morning.

SIGNALLING

ECP The Galway line CTC Emergency Control Panel (ECP) was re-located from the relay room at Athlone Midland to the Level Crossing Control Centre located in the former goods store at Athlone Southern on 8 November. It is now sited adjacent to the Mayo line ECP.

Tullamore On 3 December, the up main starting signal was moved 21m towards Galway, shortening the standing room available for crossing trains to 262m.

BRIDGES AND TUNNELS

Replacement of UB777 at 147 miles 1,188 yards Manulla Junction-Castlebar resulted in the closure of the line from 18:35 Saturday 15 November until 12:00 next day. Saturday’s 17:45 Dublin-Westport and Sunday’s 07:45 Westport-Dublin operated to/from Claremorris, with bus connections to/from Castlebar and Westport and 2600-class railcar Claremorris-Ballina.

UB158 at 115 miles 1,254 yards Athenry-Galway was renewed with a pre-cast concrete deck on the weekend of 29/30 November. Saturday’s 19:15 Dublin-Galway operated to Athenry only. On Sunday, the 08:25 Galway-Dublin started from Athenry. Bus connections operated Athenry-Galway.

UB251 at 0 miles 1,625 yards Wexford South line (Wexford-Rosslare Strand) was renewed on the weekend of the 5/6 December under a complete line closure. A new underpass was installed at Martin’s level crossing on the Dublin side of Rathdrum and the face of the up platform at Arklow was cut back using a large concrete saw. All trains were replaced by buses south of Wicklow on both days.

Preparation work continues on UB7 under planned weekend possessions for deck renewal programmed for September 2009. This is the bridge on the former GS&WR Amiens St-Glasnevin Junction line over the former MGWR line and Royal Canal at 0 miles 630 yards at West Road.

LEVEL CROSSINGS

Barriers The programme of converting manually operated level crossings to four-barrier type continues. Streamstown in the Claremorris - Manulla Junction section was converted on 2 October.

Ballymurry Automatic Half Barrier (AHB) in the Knockcroghery-Roscommon section was converted a 4-barrier CCTV type on 16 October. New colour light distant and (stop) home signals were installed, with the new 3-aspect up home acting as a distant signal for the nearby Curry CD-type level crossing and Curry’s down home signal converted to 3-aspect to also act as a distant for Ballymurry. Control of both Streamstown and Ballymurry was transferred to Athlone Level Crossing Control Centre (LCCC) on 16 October.

Cortober (Kellegeher’s) level crossing XS087 just south of Carrick-on-Shannon station was converted from a user operated crossing to a 4-barrier CCTV type controlled from Athlone LCCC on Thursday 13 November. The loop and main up starting signals at Carrick-on-Shannon loop (just north of the station) received a third aspect (yellow) and now additionally act as up distant signal for the level crossing. A new red-green up stop signal protects the crossing. The down distant for Carrick-on-Shannon was converted to a 4-aspect signal and additionally acts as the down stop signal for the level crossing. A new green-yellow down distant signal is provided 1,900m from the down stop signal.

Garraun (XG167) Automatic Open Crossing 122 miles 310 yards Athenry-Galway was converted into a 4-barrier CCTV type on Tuesday 16 December. New distant and stop signals were installed, with the down stop signal acting as the distant for nearby Rosshill crossing.

Control Control of Waterford line CCTV crossings at Ballybay, Gowran, Highrath, and Mullinavat was transferred to Athlone LCCC between 6 and 10 October. Control of CCTV crossings at Ballinasloe, Woodlawn and Athenry stations was transferred from Mainline CTC in Dublin Connolly to Athlone LCCC on 11 December.

Closures New bridges are being constructed to allow further user-worked level crossing closures at 56 miles 350 yards Geashill-Tullamore, at 79 miles 600 yards and at 82 miles 1,100 yards, Athlone-Ballinasloe, at 16 miles 1,134 yards to close XT052 (Ballinkeen) and XT053 Banteer-Millstreet.

Copyright © 2009 by Irish Railway Record Society Ltd.
Revised: February 27, 2009 .