Four major consortia engaged in DART Underground PPP process

 

 

Iarnród Éireann News Release
3rd August 2010


FOUR MAJOR CONSORTIA ENGAGED IN DART UNDERGROUND PPP PROCESS


Iarnród Éireann has announced that four major international consortia have entered the pre-qualification phase in the Public Private Partnership procurement process for DART Underground.

The consortia are:

BBI Consortium (Balfour Beatty Capital Ltd, BAM PPP Investments Ireland bv, Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras, S.A.)

City Connect Consortium (Macquarie Capital Group Ltd, Cintra Infraestructuras, S.A., Global Via Infraestructuras, S.A.)

NascRail Consortium (OHL Concesiones S.L., Soares da Costa Concessoes SGPS, SA, Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c., Bombardier Transportation (Holdings) UK Ltd, Pierse Contracting)

Toto Consortium (Toto Costruzioni Generali S.p.A., Societa Italiana per Condotte d’Acqua S.p.A, Ansaldo STS S.p.A., Condotte Immobiliare S.p.A., Torrena Scavi S.p.A., Rocksoil S.p.A.)

The strong interest in the PPP process represents a vote of confidence in the project from the international market, and Iarnród Éireann will now commence the assessment process, which will be completed over the coming months.

It is the latest boost for commuters who will benefit from DART Underground, with the project having been confirmed in the Government’s Capital Investment Programme last week. DART Underground will also provide an important stimulus for the economy, on the employment side alone creating up to 7,000 jobs during each year of construction and thousands more indirectly as a result of the significantly improved access that the project will deliver to retail, commercial, leisure and tourist destinations in Dublin.



DART Underground to transform rail service

DART Underground will run underground through the heart of Dublin City Centre. The tunnel will be approximately 7.6 Km in length and will connect the Northern and Kildare rail lines, with underground stations at Spencer Dock, Pearse, St. Stephen’s Green, Christchurch and Heuston as well as a new surface station at Inchicore. It will, for the first time, link all rail systems together into an integrated and cohesive network-DART, Commuter, Intercity, Luas and Metro.

DART Underground is set to be developed with a capacity for up to 20 trains each direction per hour, allowing up to 64,000 commuters to use the line hourly. With capacity for DART services to operate up to every 3 minutes, the line will complete the transformation of Iarnród Éireann’s Greater Dublin area’s rail service capacity from up to 33 million passenger journeys annually now to over 100 million passenger journeys.

The twin tunnels will be constructed using two Tunnel Boring Machines, launching from the Docklands, at an average depth of 24 metres, or some 80 feet, below ground level. The underground stations will be constructed using techniques that will minimize the effect for the local residents, communities and environment. There is potential for more than 75% of the spoil from the construction of the project to be removed by rail. This in turn has the potential to reduce the traffic impacts during the construction phase.

The new line will dramatically increase frequency and capacity for commuters on DART Northern, Maynooth and Kildare lines - the three fastest growing population corridors in the country - and relieve the current congestion at Connolly Station. Development plans also include the extension of the DART network to Maynooth, Hazelhatch/Celbridge and the Northern line.

DART Underground provides the missing link that that will deliver a fully integrated rail network for the Greater Dublin Area , linking all modes and ensuring that suburb to suburb, as well as suburb to city centre, journey’s can be made by a frequent, high capacity public transport network. DART Underground will open up a web of new rail connections, including-

· Spencer Dock Station with the expanded Luas Red Line

· Pearse Station will become a central transport hub as both DART lines interchange there, opening up a variety of new rail connections and options. Pearse will also link with outer Commuter services.

· St. Stephen’s Green will have convenient access to the Luas Green Line and the proposed Metro North to the Airport and Swords.

· Christchurch with future Luas City Centre-Lucan line.

· Heuston Station links to Intercity services from the South and the West, outer Commuter trains and the Luas Red Line.

· Inchicore with the Kildare DART line and the planned Luas City Centre-Lucan line.



PPP Process and Cost Benefit Analysis

The response from consortia seeking to engage in the PPP process confirms the findings of a recently completed business assessment of the DART Underground project, which concluded that the economic case for this key infrastructure scheme is strong and that overall the completion of the system is crucial to the future economic development of Dublin. It forecasts that DART Underground will generate almost 2.5 times more benefit than it will cost to build and will deliver significant wider economic benefits.

The formal procurement process for the PPPCo commenced on 12th May with the publication of the Contract Notice and the four submissions from the international consortia were received in advance of the deadline of 20th July.

Under the PPP contract the successful private partner will be responsible for the design, construction, financing, commissioning and maintenance of the tunnel, stations and associated facilities over the period of the PPP contract. At this stage, the contract is envisaged to last for between 25 and 35 years, including the design and construction stages. In return the private partner will receive an annual availability and performance based payment. Iarnród Éireann will at all times retain responsibility for the operation of DART services through the tunnel, which will be handed back to Iarnród Éireann at the end of the concession period.

The project has also submitted a Railway Order application on 30th June. The project intends to have the PPPCo contract awarded by mid 2012 and construction completed and passenger services commenced through the tunnel by end of 2018.



Business Case - Key Conclusions

Colin Buchanan & Partners Ltd, a leading international transport planning and economics consultancy, recently completed the business case for the project. In their review of the project they have reached the following key conclusions:

· The economic case for DART Underground is strong. The Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) is 2.4, meaning the scheme generates 2.4 times more benefit than it costs and represents an investment in the future economic development of Dublin and Ireland.

· DART Underground will generate ‘wider economic benefits’ in particular agglomeration (encouraging businesses to cluster together and as a result improve their productivity) and enabling more productive jobs to be created in Dublin’s Central Business District (CBD). The wider economic benefits will increase GDP by some €450m per annum in 2020.

· DART Underground will reduce the need for passengers to interchange by providing direct routes for many trips while at the same time permitting new interchange opportunities, linking the disparate lines into a rail network. It will increase capacity, thereby reducing crowding, improving journey quality and enabling new development, especially in the CBD.

· DART Underground will increase frequencies and improve reliability, and it will encourage a modal shift of trips from car to rail (removing 25m car km per year by 2030) thereby freeing up remaining road traffic. It will have a minimal impact on the urban landscape as it will be predominantly underground.

· Access to Dublin city centre is currently constrained by a lack of public transport capacity and congestion on the road network. As a result, growth in recent years has been focused around the edges of the city and not the Central Business District (CBD). Failing to support the CBD and allowing the outward spread of employment is deemed to be detrimental to both the economy and for public transport and the environment.

· The existing rail network is constrained by the terminal at Heuston Station and the infrastructure at Connolly Station. Construction of the tunnel will enable better use of the existing assets. The tunnel will run through the CBD, improving its accessibility and encouraging future growth. It will add capacity to and link the two main growth areas at Docklands and Heuston.

· The new line will enable interchanges with Intercity Rail, Dublin Bus and LUAS / Metro North at Docklands, Heuston, St Stephen’s Green and Christchurch.

· In summary, DART Underground will produce a step change in rail efficiency, accessibility and quality across the wider Dublin area. It will facilitate integration to the benefit of all public transport modes and users. It will deliver a significant increase in the peak hour capacity of the commuter rail network and support local authorities, particularly Dublin City Council, in their objectives for more sustainable development patterns including higher densities. This is an investment in the future of Dublin and Ireland and one that will benefit the city and the country for decades to come.


Issued by:
Corporate Communications
Iarnród Éireann