New Freight service- Ballina - Waterford

[jhb171achill]

14 minutes ago, Barl said:

That's definitely true! One of the reasons these reports are 'simplified' with colourful charts or provided with non-technical summaries is so those who provide the funding can understand them easier.... Not sure if it makes much difference really though as you say

The fact that such things have to be simplified into comic form for the benefit of those to whom they are addressed - is downright scary!  

[Mayner]

55 minutes ago, Barl said:

That's definitely true! One of the reasons these reports are 'simplified' with colourful charts or provided with non-technical summaries is so those who provide the funding can understand them easier.... Not sure if it makes much difference really though as you say

In a past life I prepared accident investigation reports (not rail), the reports were highly technical, the lawyers job was to prepare a Summary of Facts that was simple enough that a Judge or a member of a Jury could understand, the same applies to strategic planning reports that set out broad objectives especially for investment that is dependent on public money.

If Irish railfreight was profitable IE would not have cut back its operations 20 years ago and open access operators would have entered the market by now under the EU open access directive, transporting freight by rail in order to claim carbon credits to offset emissions from high polluting industries is a modern day equivalent of the medieval practice of selling plenary indulgences. 

Personally I don't see Rosslare as a viable container port with a relatively underutilised container port with excellent rail connections 30 miles away in Belview as the crow flies.

Pallas Green appears to be far down Glencore Resources priority list in terms of Zinc mining https://www.glencore.com/dam/jcr:3c05a365-e6ae-4c1a-9439-960249a42e35/GLEN_2020_Resources_reserves_report.pdf, probably worth more keeping the ore locked up underground to prop up  international ore prices and share value than actually mine the minerals in the Irish ore bodies.

Edited December 1, 2021 by Mayner

[Broithe]

38 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

The fact that such things have to be simplified into comic form for the benefit of those to whom they are addressed - is downright scary!  

Elsewhere, I have mentioned the Japanese chap that I worked with on the Big Island - our management had no idea what was going on, but did have the capacity to allow or deny funds for a project. He applied, with a hand-drawn graph as the main evidence for his proposal. They felt that it was all too vague. So, he got a printed version done - no new calculations, simply a print of his back-of-the-envelope sums - this became viewed as a 'computer prediction' and so it was true now - he got the money for the project.

[airfixfan]

The Rail Freight policy of Translink for NI  under the control of Stormont and the DFI could fit on the back of a postage stamp!

[DoctorPan]

As one of those so called over priced consulants, I feel like I must defend certain aspects of my job (especially considering I'm in rail!)

 

• Consulants will only report on what the client wants.

Sometimes reports will come out and to the lay person or anyone with passing knowledge in the subject will go, "Hang on, you've not mentioned X, Y or Z!" When in reality, X, Y and Z were mentioned in a draft version of the report but their inclusion didn't back up the aim of the report that the client wanted or political reasoning caused them to be cut. Some good examples would be some of the choices for DART + projects, such as no new stations in South West and I'm sure the public will say the same about Coastal when it goes live in the New Year.

 

• Reports conflicting with one another.

One report might come up with a lovely concept design for Rosslare but another might not even mention it. It again comes down to the purpose of the report and what crititiea meant to be used. I've had logical designs thrown out in the MCA process for simpler in concept designs but ones somewhat unworkable in practice and are going to be mired in derogation and plenty of communication from my friends in Blackrock.

 

More often then not, the purpose of these reports is something to try and draw blood from the stone that is the department of finance for funding for some expansion. As someone who has and is working on Irish Rail civil projects, a massive constraint the company has is lack of funding, which leads to half arsed solutions to a problem that could be solved with a bigger cheque.

[K801]

IE Rail Freight 2040 Strategy aims to have a five-fold increase in operations, including over 100 new weekly services across the network with new low carbon modes of transport.

 

https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2021/1201/1264252-mayo-freight/

[Ironroad]

6 hours ago, DoctorPan said:

When in reality, X, Y and Z were mentioned in a draft version of the report but their inclusion didn't back up the aim of the report that the client wanted or political reasoning caused them to be cut.

This is the key point. Who commissioned the report and why? What was the remit?   In my experience external consultants are often used to promote a particular view point regardless as to whether it is valid position.