| Belfast Rapid Transit System | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The idea of a rapid transit system for the city of Belfast has been proposed for many years. In April 2008 a "Strategic Outline Case" was published which decided that a bus-based system (such as used in the Netherlands) would be more cost effective than a light rail system (such as the Luas in Dublin). The system will consist of modern vehicles with a tram-like feel and will be segregated as much as possible from general road traffic. The ultimate ambition seems to be for four routes running from the city centre to the north, east, south and west with an additional line to Titanic Quarter. The scheme is included on this web site as it will involve the construction of new dedicated roadways, and the modification of the existing road network to create segregated routes for the buses. In November 2008 the Northern Ireland Executive committed to proceeding with a pilot rapid transit system, consisting of three routes running from Belfast City Centre. As of 2012 these routes are confirmed to be:
More detailed maps of the routes can be seen in this
document. The Regional Development Minister said in
November 2008 that he expected the scheme to run
at five-minute intervals at peak times and attract
5.5 million passengers per year. He also said that
he would be seeking additional funding from the
private sector. It seems likely that the buses
will be supplied by Wrightbus,
based in Ballymena, who are a global leader in
this technology. Although work had been due to begin by 2011 back
in 2008, the scheme was put on the longer finger
after the budget cuts of January 2011. At the time
of writing (Sep 2011) the first two routes are
planned to be open "by 2017". The Financial Case for a Bus-Based System In April 2008, the DRD released figures that they say shows that a bus-based system is more economically viable than light rail. These figures are shown below and were sourced from this press release. Certainly the bus based system is much cheaper to both build and run, although it is likely to attract less patronage. Most of the criticism of the decision not to build light rail has been to do with the international "prestige" of light rail and the fact that it is seen as "better" by many users. In April 2008 the DRD said "The study found that bus based rapid transit produces positive economic results but light rail does not. This is because the likely numbers of passengers do not warrant the extra cost of light rail. There will be the option of migrating to light rail in the future should the demand increase."
Photos
A Wrightbus
"Streetcar" being used on York's FTR bus-based
rapid transist system in April 2007.
The former railway line to Newtownards through east Belfast is currently used as a cycle path and walkway. This route may be utilised as the main route for the rapid transit system through East Belfast. BUT SEE below update for 8 Oct 2011. Picture taken July 2007 from North Road bridge. [Wesley Johnston] Updates 1 May 2012:
The DRD have published their Consultation
Report into last Autumn's public
consultation (along with an Equality
Impact Assessment) on 24th April. The main
findings of the consultation are:
The report concludes by noting that an Outline
Business Case will be published late in 2012 that
will consider the emerging design more
specifically, especially the impact on specific
junctions and property along the route. There will
be another round of consultation after that.
Although there is a question mark over when
funding will be available, it does seem as if
development of the scheme is progressing well. Personal
comment: While supportive of the scheme in
principle, I did make a submission
to the consultation outlining my concerns about
the 'pinch point' that will be created citybound
at Quarry Corner (similar to that at
Greenisland). 15 Jan 2012: I
have just realised that I did not write an update
for the official announcement that I mentioned in
the previous update - apologies. The Route Options for the
pilot phase of Belfast Rapid Transit were
announced on 12 October, and the public
consultation ran from then until 6 January. The
report is accessible
here. Although the consultation was about
"route options", in practice the report goes
on to reject all but one option for each of the
three routes and therefore would be more correctly
described as a "preferred route" announcement. The
preferred routes are as follows (the route in
Belfast City Centre itself is not yet finalised):
These are bold proposals, in that they will
require significant reallocation of roads space
from general use to public transport. The most
controversial element (in my view) is the decision
to route EWAY along the stretch of Upper
Newtownards Road from the Outer Ring to Quarry
Corner, as this is part of the strategic road
network, unlike the remainder of the system. This
decision has been made due to significant public
opposition to the use of the Greenway
route. Advocates of Rapid Transit have raised
concerns that DRD may be tempted to save money by
downgrading the quality of the vehicles used on
the system, and so we hope this does not happen.
Meanwhile, measures to prepare the city centre for
rapid transit are well underway, with Phase
2 of the enabling measures already underway
(and Rapid
Transit Enabling Measures planned). The DRD
is still being vague on when exactly construction
work on the Rapid Transit system itself will
commence. It is currently planned to be in
operation by 2017 (see update 12 Sep 2011). There
is no update on cost, which was last estimated at
£150m four years ago. 8 Oct 2011:
Information leaked
by the BBC yesterday indicates that the plan
to use the Comber Greenway has now been abandoned,
with some kind of announcement expected in the
coming week to coincide with the commencement of a
public consultation on 12 October. The reason
given is "cost", although there has been significant
public opposition to the proposal. Watch
this space. 12 Sep 2011: The new "Transport" Minister today
offered some more information on where we are
with this scheme during
the first session of the Stormont
Assembly of the autumn. He noted that there
would be a three month consultation exercise,
beginning next month (October 2011). An
"outline business case" will then be completed
"in 2012" at which point the planners will
seek permission from the Executive to proceed.
He confirmed
that there are no plans to commence major
construction work before 2015, but did comment
that the budget for the period to 2014-15 does
include money "for the planning and commencement
of initial implementation measures",
presumably the detailed design, etc, and
possibly some minor works such as adjustments
to road junctions that will be affected.
Finally, he said that "the target date
for the operation of the system is 2017"
but went on to say that "that is very
much an aspiration and is subject to
available finance". So I don't think
we can say anything firm about if or when this
scheme will be implemented. 14 May 2011: My scepticism about the timescale for this project (see previous update) seems to have been well founded. Speaking at the Annual Dinner of the Chartered Institution of Highway Enginners Northern Ireland, the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Regional Development Malcolm McKibbin said "funding to begin to implement [the Rapid Transit System] will not be available until at least 2015" (quoted in Plant & Civil Engineer, May 2011). So this means that we are probably at least four years, and possibly more, away from work actually beginning on the ground. 7 Mar 2011: The Minister answered a question on the status of this scheme in the Assembly three weeks ago. He did not give any dates, but did say: "this project is identified in the Programme for Government as a key project for Belfast, and we want to keep it live and on the books. Although I would prefer that we were much further ahead with the capital commitment to rapid transit, we will continue with the preparatory work." This does not sound like the description of a project that is likely to start on the ground next year, as was being said last summer. It sounds more like a project that is on a longer finger, awaiting funding or more progress on design work. We shall have to wait for more information to see where we are with this scheme. 14 Jan 2011: The DRD published their draft budget for 2011-15 yesterday. Despite savage delays to many schemes, this scheme appears to have survived. The budget states that "The spending proposals would also allow the Department to fund the development of a bus based Rapid Transit system on a pilot network of three routes connecting East Belfast, West Belfast and Titanic Quarter with and through the City Centre." It's not clear, however, if there will be delays. Currently work on the first scheme is scheduled for the end of 2012 (see previous update). 15 July 2010: Roads Service have released a public information leaflet about the scheme. It doesn't say much that we don't already know, but it does say that commencement of the first route is now expected "during 2011". However, this is contradicted by the DRD's own End of Year Report issued a few days later. In relation to the scheme it says "We have been advised not to undertake public consultation on the preferred routes whilst this process is ongoing. This has resulted in a delay in taking forward the project by 9-12 months. The three routes set out in the Strategic Outline Case will now be taken forward in a single Outline Business Case. This includes further route options which will require full public consultation. The revised target date to commence work on site for the CITI-route is end of 2012." CITI is the route connecting the City Airport and Titanic Quarter, and is likely to be the first one built. 28 Mar 2010: In the Assembly earlier this month, the Minister said that the public consultation into the details of the three routes of the proposed rapid transit system have been deferred until "early 2011". This is apparently due to the existing public consultation on the legislation that will allow rapid transit to operate. He said "there was a possibility of confusion arising if the public were also being consulted on the details of route alignment options during the enabling legislation process." This has not prevented debate about the route - the most controversial part is the plan to route the rapid transit system along the Greenway (a former railway line and current cycle/foot way) through east Belfast. Such is the strength of feeling locally, that it has spawned a campaign group - Greenway to Stay. The DRD has already spent considerable sums on the Greenway proposal, and has even bought a site related to the scheme, but it seems if a route along the Upper Newtownards Road will also have to be considered. At the project launch in November 2008 it was stated that work on the rapid transit system would begin "in 2011". With a consultation into routes not planned to begin until early 2011, this timescale seems increasingly unlikely to be achieved. |
