On August 20th part of the Broadmeadow viaduct on the Malahide Causeway collapsed into the Malahide estauary, shortly after the 18.07 Balbriggan-Connolly train passed over it, due to corrision of the bridge supports. Thankfully no one was injured, but the collapse crippled the Northern Rail Line. Bus shuttles here very quickly organised and the frequency of the one return journey on the 33X Skerries-Dublin City service was considerably increased.

The service operates from Custom House Quay, where Harristown's AV340 is seen loading up on September 18th 2009. Ringsend's EV4, seen to the right, will shortly work the 17.20 33D to Donabate, photos of this service can be found here.

 

Harristown's RV545 emerges from the Santry portal of the Port Tunnell. The 33X , which reaches this point via the Port Tunnell, is shared across the depots in the fleet, which each garage operating at least once on the route. A full index of vehicles which have appeared on  the route can be found on the Garaiste webthread for the route.

Phibsboro's VT62 sets down in Lusk Village. VT's have played a prominant part on the shuttles for much of the rail replacement service, as their higher capacity was welcomed. VT's typically operate the first early morning and first early evening services on the 33X.

VT26 entering Rush village Northbound. VT's typically operated the early evening departures, VT26 was operating the 16.10 on this occasion.

Skerries is the larger of the towns along which the route serves,  with services proceeding to Mourne Abbey via Strand Street and Dublin Road.

RV615 sets down outside the Skerries Community Centre on the Dublin Road. A number of RV's were reinstated from storage to meet the increased service requirement on the 33X. Prior to the start of service, RV615 had only recently been stored following a stint in Clontarf Depot, where it has since returned to.

The terminus for most of the special replacement service is Mourne Abbey Estate in Skerries. Donnybrook's AX449 is seen here on October 19th 2009 shortly after arriving with the 15.00 ex Custom House Quay.

RV616 is seen here at the 33 terminus in Balbriggan. Although the service offically started and terminated at Mourne Abbey, the services in the evening contunied through to Balbriggan , in order to give easier access for a return to the depot.

It was announced in late October / Early November 2009 that repairs on Broadmeadow are proceeding well with reopening on the 16th November. Dublin Bus intend to carry on a limited service before scaling back the 33X to pre August 2009 levels. However with demand high on the service, it will be intresting to see in the long term if the 33X recieves additional servives.

***Note - their will be an additional update to this feature on November 13 / 14th 2009.***

33X aside, it should be noted that the Enterprise Dublin-Belfast service was terminating at Drogheda. A number of private operators were used to shuttle between Dublin Connolly and Drogheda but towards the latter end of the campain JJ Kavanagh vehicles were mainly used.

The replacement coaches are seen here at Drogheda on November 5th 2009 collecting from the 14.10 ex Belfast.

Relevent Links to this Feature

Garaiste 33 / 33B / 33D / 33X Discussion Thread

Irish Terminus.com 33B / 33D Feature

Dublin Bus Service Arrangements : Northern Commuter