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Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Irish Rail are making some big changes to the Dart and want to hear from you

A public consultation is taking place on running six Darts an hour.

A NEW CONSULTATION process is underway that could see a big increase in the number of Dart services operating.

Public consultation has been launched for what would be a big expansion early next year.

It would see the intervals between services reduced from 15 minutes down to 10 minutes – meaning that commuters would be able to avail of six trains an hour.

Speaking about these potential changes, Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe said that it would mean “less congestion on carriages at peak times and enhanced reliability, both of which will be welcomed”.

Over the past two years passenger numbers have grown from 36.7 million in 2013 up to 37.8 million in 2014.

What else could change?

It has also been proposed that there be a shift in the weekday start time for the Dart service.

These changes would see:

  • The Malahide service, which currently starts at 6.30am, moved back to 5.50am,
  • The Howth service, which currently starts at 6.05am, moved back to 6am,
  • The Bray service, which currently starts at 5.40am, moved back to 5.35am. 

The new proposals also include changes to Irish Rail, and if successful passengers commuting from Dundalk and Belfast will see a shift in how frequently their trains operate.

The draft schedule includes changes to the timings of all services operating out of Connolly, although a lot of services will not see their frequency impacted.

What can the public do? 

The draft schedules are currently online and members of the public are able to view them on the Iarnród Éireann website.

Customers are able to submit forms expressing their views and proposing any further changes they would like to see made, which will be considered at a later time.

Draft schedule revisions for routes out of Heuston will be proposed in the New Year for Spring 2016. 

Read: People had very mixed feelings about the rail strike being called off

Also: Rail strike talks continue into the night

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50 Comments
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    Mute Paul
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:04 PM

    Six DARTS an hour?! The ‘we’re sorry to announce……’ guy will be hoarse in no time

    225
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    Mute Not_Rod_Ten©
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:22 PM

    Could you make a special carriage for the junkies and people who smell of pee.

    214
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    Mute Dublin Mope
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    Nov 24th 2015, 6:53 PM

    signal failures, junkies and pee. What an age we live in. I for one am glad to be alive!

    15
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    Mute Meehawwl O'Buachailla
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    Nov 24th 2015, 7:38 PM

    That’s the Luas red line you’re thinking of, not the Dart.

    28
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    Mute David G
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:12 PM

    So we can wait at the level crossing at Lansdowne road for 8 minutes every 10 minutes from now on.

    127
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    Mute john
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:17 PM

    Exactly the gates could be down for up to 2 minutes before a train passes, Serpentine Road also very bad for this!

    61
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    Mute David G
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:20 PM

    2 minutes if you are lucky

    23
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    Mute arnie
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:26 PM

    With a ten minute service these roads with level crossings will become unbearable can you imagine the que at Merrion gates

    52
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    Mute Keith Gregg
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:35 PM

    They need to build over headbridges to ease traffic

    42
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    Mute Éamonn Mac Eochaidh
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    Nov 24th 2015, 4:49 PM

    D4 problems.

    65
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    Mute john
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    Nov 24th 2015, 4:56 PM

    At least I have my latte to keep me warm while waiting at the gates :P

    26
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    Mute David G
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    Nov 24th 2015, 5:12 PM

    There is Plenty of low paid workers around D4.

    16
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    Mute Darren Norris
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    Nov 24th 2015, 5:45 PM

    Take the Dart to work, then you wont be waiting at these gates :)

    46
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    Mute arnie
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:23 PM

    Consulting/promising the public a ten minute service while in dispute with your staff in the labour court ,and not even managing to run a 15 minute service as it stands,shows you how delusional Iarnród Éireann management really are

    89
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    Mute phillius fogg
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    Nov 24th 2015, 2:59 PM

    Try reducing train fares to encourage more passengers to use the services at present its not cost effective to travel by rail

    83
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    Mute arnie
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:31 PM

    Well said and also try getting fares collected on the northside to which a huge amount of teenagers travel for free due to the lack of revenue collection done there Howth /Malahide to Clontarf free for all the last few years don’t know why regular commuters even bother to pay when revenue walks out the door on a regular basis with stations closed and no tickets been checked anywhere

    53
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    Mute Ben McArthur
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:38 PM

    Really? Couldn’t speak for everywhere but if you look at Dublin it’s pretty competitive. E.g. Raheny to Pearse is €2.05, which is just under 27c per km. Civil service expense rate for the same trip daily in a car would be 39c to 59c per km, depending on the size of the engine. That’s before you park.

    The AA reckons that people underestimate the running cost of their cars by an average of 50%.

    45
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    Mute Thomas Farrell
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    Nov 24th 2015, 5:08 PM

    Raheny to Pearse is 2.70 not 2.05

    6
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    Mute Al
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    Nov 24th 2015, 5:18 PM

    Raheny- Pearse

    Cash Single €2.70

    Leap Single €2.05

    30
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    Mute Meehawwl O'Buachailla
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    Nov 24th 2015, 7:36 PM

    Are some people still paying cash?

    11
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    Mute Alanearls
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    Nov 24th 2015, 2:50 PM

    What time does the navan ti dublin train start at?

    37
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    Mute Jim Kearney
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    Nov 24th 2015, 2:54 PM

    Doesn’t Matter. Because your insignificant

    62
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    Mute John
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    Nov 24th 2015, 2:54 PM

    2042

    53
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    Mute arnie
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:24 PM

    Exactly alanearls more empty promises

    5
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    Mute Inanimate Carbon Rod
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    Nov 24th 2015, 4:22 PM

    Dublin to Navan train line. If it never got reopened in the Tiger years with sitting Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey from Co.Meath then there isn’t a snowballs chance in hell it’ll ever get done. I feel sorry for the thousands who bought houses up that way on the promise of reopening the rail line but it just goes to show that FF are not to be trusted on their word

    26
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    Mute Mr G
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    Nov 24th 2015, 4:42 PM

    Wow 6 trains per hour. Break out the champagne. It’s something we can be proud of.

    30
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    Mute Jamie Moran
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    Nov 24th 2015, 4:32 PM

    Looks like Howth Services will actually be reduced in the morning time?

    Also darts should start at 5.30 and end at 1.30

    27
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    Mute Le Lapin Noir
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    Nov 24th 2015, 3:29 PM

    How about replacing those bellicose, entitled drivers with an automatic system like they have in some US cities?

    24
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    Mute Neal Ireland Hello
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    Nov 24th 2015, 4:09 PM

    Does that happen on DART style trains?

    4
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    Mute _doesnotcompute
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    Nov 24th 2015, 5:09 PM

    Unions won’t be having any of that

    4
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    Mute Michael Fehily
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    Nov 24th 2015, 4:11 PM

    The big addition to rail DMA rail services next year will be the 15 min interval services from The Kildare line to grand canal dock via pheonix Park tunnel. This will allow a connection to the Dart lines. This will mean that passengers from as far away as Newbridge will be able to travel to Howth, Malahide or Bray with one stop at Tara st or Pearse or GCD station…that’s where dart will need extra services to cope with the new connections..
    Apologies for too much information, but it will be fantastic when it kicks in..

    20
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    Mute Keith Gregg
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    Nov 24th 2015, 6:50 PM

    would have been better with DU so the dart could run to newbridge.

    8
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    Mute John O'Flaherty
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    Nov 25th 2015, 2:04 PM

    That’s not what’s planned I am afraid.

    What’s planned is two services per hour at peak times, and one per hour off-peak.

    1
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    Mute Keith Gregg
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    Nov 24th 2015, 6:49 PM

    If we had Dart Underground, there could be 12 an hour, granted going to different termini, still we have two non-connecting light rails lines that go overground in densely congested areas. Would be much better to have been underground, and not go at a snail’s pace through D1/D7/D8. We need way more investment in rail, it could solve so many problems.

    18
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    Mute Cal Cryton
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    Nov 24th 2015, 7:25 PM

    And what people don’t understand is DART underground would also solve our housing crisis. New apartment complexes would be more likely to get planning permission and of higher density if they were built near quality transportation.

    15
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    Mute Michael Fehily
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    Nov 24th 2015, 7:46 PM

    Keith…totally agree with you. Unfortunately as long as FG stay in power we will never see any significant transport infrastructure..

    9
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    Mute Keith Gregg
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    Nov 24th 2015, 7:49 PM

    I voted for chastity bono. All joking aside though…I aim to vote out FG, whether my countryfolk join with me remains to be seen. I won’t vote in FF btw

    5
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    Mute Fred Coloe
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    Nov 24th 2015, 4:17 PM

    Unless I’m mistaken….the dart stops at every station during peak hours. S really the crossing gates only need to come down when the dart is ready to pull off. A dart every 10 mins will mean gates are down permanently. God help the cities economy!

    14
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    Mute _doesnotcompute
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    Nov 24th 2015, 5:10 PM

    “God help the cities economy!”

    Wow, hyperbole much? People will just find an alternative route.

    9
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    Mute Luke Victory
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    Nov 24th 2015, 8:44 PM

    What IR really need is handles hanging from the ceiling to hold onto on the busy peak time commuter trains, relying on the person next to you not to fall over isnt a great solution.

    12
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    Mute Diarmuid
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    Nov 24th 2015, 5:46 PM

    Carriage for people with bikes, shuttle bus services between Dart and Luas, cheap park-and-ride facilities…

    11
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    Mute Peter Buchanan
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    Nov 24th 2015, 7:10 PM

    Keep bikes off trains during peak hours !

    9
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    Mute Cal Cryton
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    Nov 24th 2015, 7:21 PM

    How about massively improving the Maynooth line into connolly, which covers almost as much population as the dart.

    For example, there are three trains that leave between 8am and 9am , and three trains that leave between 9am and 10am. So the frequency at rush-hour is the same as the frequency in non-rush hour. Crazy.

    9
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    Mute John Reid
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    Nov 25th 2015, 12:22 AM

    What Irish Rail really needs to do is to run Dart services beyond the 11.40 pm (approx) cut off point. The practice of having the last Dart depart before midnight is absurd, particularly on a Friday and a Saturday, and is at variance with many of the vibrant cities of the world.

    At least on a Friday and a Saturday there is a Nitelink service (however, one only departs ever hour until 4am), but from Sunday to Thursday night, after the last Dart and bus departs before midnight, citizens and tourists are completely at the mercy of the grossly over-priced taxis of Dublin. How much better would Dublin’s business and night-life be if people had a good public transport option operating in the early hours?

    7
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    Mute Mindfulirish
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    Nov 24th 2015, 9:19 PM

    How about speeding the Dart up by 100%. Most companies need to be quicker and more efficient yet Irish rail and especially the Dart is getting slower with less carriages. I suppose the lengthened the platforms to give a few quid to their builder friends as within a few months they reduced the number of carriages. Real Irish.

    7
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    Mute Paul Dunne
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    Nov 24th 2015, 11:36 PM

    how can the dart be speeded up when it stops every 2 minutes? .

    5
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    Mute Cupid Stunt
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    Nov 24th 2015, 6:03 PM

    The extra five mins will make a lot of people really happy, but I wonder as a result of all these changes are we also going to see another increase in fares.

    5
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    Mute Peter Morgan
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    Nov 24th 2015, 6:05 PM

    Diarmuid, back in your cage and stop thinking of sensible things to do. A juicy banana is coming your way.

    2
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    Mute Peter Buchanan
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    Nov 24th 2015, 7:09 PM

    Any increase in length for the Roslare trains ?

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    Mute wiklagirl
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    Nov 24th 2015, 8:18 PM

    Mainly similar timings but 1637 and 1736 from Connolly will depart 3 mins earlier – last train will depart 1900 instead of 1838. Extra morning (only) stop at Grand Canal so arrival times will be later – 0851 in Pearse.

    1
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