Local County Councillor James Carroll will attend Wednesday’s Oireachtas Transport Committee which is due to discuss the collapse of the Dublin-Belfast train line’s viaduct at Malahide.

The chairman of CIE John Lynch and other Iarnród Éireann officials are due to appear in front of the transport committee next week to answer questions about the incident.

“I have been informed that the line will re-open at the end of November.  We will wait and see if this timetable can be delivered,” said the new local councillor who is a commuter himself.

Original plans not to re-build the fourth pier, the one that collapsed, and instead replacing with a span between piers three and four, have been scrapped in favour of rebuilding it.  The weir underneath the piers is currently being repaired. A crack allowed the water flow to be disturbed which, in turn, undermined the pier that eventually collapsed.

Piles as deep as 20 to 30 metres will be driven to support the rebuilt pier and the other piers will be strengthened.

“The Summer’s heavy rain could have been a factor in the viaduct’s collapse and it is could be a serious cause for concern elsewhere and I will try to get some of my questions answered so that we can ensure that disruption is minimised and normal service can resume as soon as possible,” Cllr Carroll added.

ENDS