Let me get this out the way first: Dublin is lovely. I'd never been before and I was delighted to find a charming, walkable city with plenty of history and architecture. The Liffey running through the centre is truly inspirational, the people are wonderful, and the whole city feels abuzz and lively. I saw the Steve Coogan production of Dr Strangelove, and it was funny and clever (although I'm not really sure why it exists when the film is already perfect) and it was great to fly to and from another country without the hassle of passport control and immigration. If only we were in Schengen and the EU, eh kids?
You can sense the but, can't you?
Dublin's public transport network is principally built around buses, and long time readers of the blog (hello you!) will know how I feel about that. Buses are fine for pootling around towns and cities; they're very valuable, and there should be more of them and at a reasonable price. However, major European capitals should offer something more.
They do, at least have trams. The LUAS network forms a cross overlaid on the city centre, meeting around the grand central avenue of O'Connell Street. It runs out to the suburbs in the north and south on the Green Line, using a former railway track in the south of the city, and east and west on the Red Line from the new Docklands development area. It's a good, modern system that has plenty of stops but at the same time, it feels inessential.
The south side of the Liffey is the centre of Dublin; it's where the parliament is, the cathedrals, Trinty College. The Green Line scrapes the edge of these, with a stop by Trinity and another at St Stephen's Green, but it's well away from the heart. Similarly, the Red Line crosses the river and slides to the west of the centre, but the Castle, the City Hall, the national museums - these are all a walk from the tram lines.
It feels like there should be a third line somewhere, paralleling the Red, forming a square across the city. This didn't stop me and the BF from riding it whenever possible, because we both like trams and both dislike buses, but it didn't feel like an option to explore the city. The trams themselves were never busy - we always got a seat - so it also felt like Dubliners didn't prioritise using them either. If we hadn't been going to see Dr Strangelove at the theatre in the far flung Docklands, it's possible we wouldn't even have bothered.
They also put their platform signs in the wrong place. Rather than being at head height, so you can see them out of the window as you pull into a stop, they're at street sign level. This might be neater and stop people from cracking their skull on them but it also makes them less than practical. And if you're a dull middle aged man who likes taking pictures in front of transport signs, it's bloody annoying.
I'm forty eight, LUAS. Don't make me bend down.
Dublin also has a commuter rail network, the DART system, which acts as an S-Bahn through the city and out the other side. It's an electrified train system that runs through Dublin's main station, Connolly, but it suffers from the same problem as the trams: it's too peripheral.
We walked through Trinity College and out the other side so that I could ride the trains a little bit. We were headed for Pearse Station, Ireland's second busiest station, its entrance buried under an elaborate viaduct.
Inside there are only two platforms, though this is clearly a relatively recent change. Pearse has the high grand roof and expansive circulation space of a previously much bigger station. It's a great space, and I was suitably thrilled by it.
Then the train arrived.
I should say, right up front, that these trains are on their way out. Irish Rail has already commissioned their replacement,
the 90000 Class. They're going to be both electric and battery run, allowing the DART network to be extended without electrifying the tracks, and as a user of Merseyrail I can only say I hope that Irish Rail have kept the receipts. So what we're seeing here is a relic of a bygone age, the 1980s to be specific, an era of railway design that will never be remembered fondly.
Look at the state of it though. It's basic, ugly, and noisy. I bet the people of Dublin can't wait for the replacements to arrive. They make Pacers look like an attractive and vibrant transport option.
We took the DART to Connolly Station, Dublin's main terminus and the place where long-distance services end. The DART platforms are out on the edge of the station, rather like 13 and 14 at Piccadilly, meaning there's a long walk up and down stairs to reach the main concourse.
It's nice enough, as a station; it reminded me a little of Preston, with its red brick walls and overarching roof. The biggest problem with it was the stench. The DART is the only electrified system in Ireland, meaning the rest of the routes are diesel run, and the trains waiting on the platforms gorged a thick noxious scent of fuel. The emissions had nowhere to go, trapped under the roof, and so we walked through a horrible cloud of diesel. The BF, who is asthmatic, found it especially revolting.
Unsurprisingly, the passenger concourse is separated from the tracks by doors to try and keep a little of the muck out, but I do wonder what it would do to your lungs taking that route every day.
Much like the trains, the passenger space has a 1980s feel to it, specifically the food court of a town centre shopping mall. It was a bit tired and in need of some love. This is your introduction to the city, and it deserves to be better.
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I wandered outside for the sign shot. There's a tram stop here too, though it gets a limited service; the Docklands extension left it bypassed, and so signs urge you to walk round the corner to Busáras stop instead for more frequent trams.
Connolly is currently sponsored by Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Again: do better.
What Dublin really needs is a metro. That way it could send its trains underground, through the historic areas, linking up with the suburbs and also getting to the airport (at the minute you have to get a
bus into town, and that's simply not on). Fortunately, there is a plan for that: the
Metrolink - although, you'll be unsurprised to learn it's mired in controversy, political animosity and going through a lengthy consultation phase rather than putting any spades in the ground.
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The hope is that it will be open by 2035, though that's a lot of crossed fingers and smiles. I must once again note that it skims the city centre, shadowing the Green Line to such an extent that it's proposed it'll actually absorb one of the branches eventually. St Stephen's Green to O'Connell Street is currently three stops on the LUAS, and Metrolink will reduce it to two; I'd have thought it was an ideal opportunity to open up new journeys across the city. You'd lose the interchange with the DART at Tara but you could use the Red Line to get to there.
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There are plenty of nice computer graphics, mind, and a sense of optimism on the website, and I really hope it gets built. I just feel it could be a little better.
That was all far more negative than I planned on it being. I really did enjoy my time in Dublin, and would happily go back any day. It's a great place and I want it to be the very best.