Bridge collapse forces thousands onto roads

A MAJOR traffic plan is being put in place in north Dublin next week to cater for thousands of rail commuters forced to take to the roads after the collapse of a bridge on the Dublin-Belfast railway line last week.

Gardaí expect a significant increase in traffic volumes on several main routes north of Dublin as well as the M50 as schools reopen.

Rail passengers on a commuter train narrowly escaped a potentially fatal accident last Friday after it passed over a 20-metre section of the viaduct at the Broadmeadow estuary between Malahide and Donabate moments before it collapsed into the sea.

The accident has forced Irish Rail to announce alternative travel arrangements due to the loss of many northern commuter belt services with the closure of the railway line between Malahide and Skerries.

Around 10,000 daily train passengers face disruption to their travel plans as a result of the closure, expected to last at least three months.

Gardaí have warned rail passengers taking alternative road transport to expect delays on northern routes especially during morning and evening rush hours. Commuters are advised to leave early and to allow plenty of time to reach their destination. They are also being asked to organise car pooling arrangements if possible.

A Contingency Traffic Management Group has been established to coordinate the extra number of vehicles expected to use the M1, N2 and M50 over the period of the disruption.

The group comprises representatives of Fingal County Council, Dublin City Council, Irish Rail, Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, the National Roads Authority and An Garda Síochána.

Additional gardaí will also be deployed on the main Dublin-Belfast motorway and Dublin-Derry route.

Scheduled intercity train services will continue to operate in both directions between Belfast and Drogheda with direct bus connections between Drogheda and Dublin’s Connolly Station.

Irish Rail estimates that delays of approximately 30 minutes can be expected to normal journey times.

Northern commuter services have also been extended from Dundalk/Drogheda to Donabate while a special shuttle bus will operate between Donabate and Malahide to link up with DART services. Additional capacity has also been added to DART services between Dublin’s Pearse Station and Malahide.

Special direct bus services will also operate between Drogheda train station and Dublin Connolly via the Dublin Port Tunnel.

Similar direct services will operate from Balbriggan, while Dublin Bus will provide additional buses on the 33X service from Skerries, Rush and Lusk to Dublin.

Meanwhile, Irish Rail’s inspection system has been questioned after it emerged that it was warned about possible damage to one of the viaduct’s piers by local sea scouts five days before the bridge’s collapse.

An Irish Rail engineer inspected the structure on foot of the report the following day but reported that there were “no visible structural issues” and concluded that any markings on the pier were “cosmetic.” A track monitoring vehicle which passed over the viaduct two days later also reported no obvious problems.

The accident is being investigated by the Railway Safety Commission.