The general election may not have been called yet, but the Taoiseach began limbering up at Heuston Station yesterday. Bertie Ahern was sauntering down the concourse to catch a train to the new Adamstown station in west Dublin when someone whispered that the entourage might miss the train.
Without missing a beat, Mr Ahern broke into a trot reminiscent of his jog around the constituencies in the last election campaign. At times, he even reached canvassing speed as his handlers struggled to catch up with him.
To the relief of all, he caught the train and 12 minutes later, it was pulling up at the State's newest commuter station.
Adamstown is served by Kildare commuter trains, with 33 services per day calling at the station, starting at 7.04am. The station has a 300-space park and ride facility and 100 bicycle spaces.
It is all part of the Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) plan for Adamstown. This involves the delivery of an entire town with infrastructure such as retail, leisure and civic facilities. Just 150 residents have taken occupancy of their new homes so far, but it will eventually be home to 25,000 people.
A bus service has already been put in place and a park and children's playground are ready. The first primary school will open in September and a childcare facility is under construction.
The €10 million station is the first privately funded station on the Iarnród Éireann network, being funded by Chartridge Ltd, a company formed by the developers of Adamstown.
Cutting the ribbon on the station, Mr Ahern said it was "a compelling example" of what could be achieved with intelligent planning and project management.
"There is no better example of joined-up Government policy in the areas of planning, housing, transport, education, health and social and family affairs," he said.
Unknown to Mr Ahern, a fine example of joined-up thinking was going on behind his head as he spoke. A billboard advertising one canny Fianna Fáil candidate was being displayed on a van that drove up and down the road as the speeches continued.
The Deputy Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Labour's Éamon Tuffy, said that he was not going to play politics on this occasion, but he did point to the "nervousness" and mistrust in the local community when the Adamstown plan was first mooted. "Would the trains be delivered? Would the buses be delivered, etc? I think I can honestly say that the council and the developers have delivered our bit and we look forward to the Government in the future delivering their bit," Mr Tuffy said.
He said it was "remarkable" that the new station was standing on open fields, awaiting further development. "So far 1,300 houses have been approved and 900 are under construction," he said.
While Mr Ahern proclaimed himself very happy with his train trip to Adamstown, he didn't avail of the return service. Instead, he hopped into his waiting Mercedes to attend the opening of a new private hospital in Lucan.
