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IARNRÓD ÉIREANN IS preparing to extend the Dart network out to Co Kildare and Co Meath under plans for the new Dart+ West, with a railway order application to be lodged this week.
The plans include 40km of electrification and resignalling along the Maynooth and M3 parkway rail lines and a new Dart depot west of Maynooth station.
In the city centre, a second station entrance is planned on Preston Street at Connolly Station, rail capacity enhancements – also at Connolly – and a new station at Spencer Dock with an interchange with the Luas red line.
Coras Iompair Éireann, the railway operator’s holding company, intends to lodge a railway order application with An Bord Pleanála on Friday.
A public consultation is due to open on 5 August and last eight weeks until 30 September.
The Dart+ West will serve Maynooth, Leixlip, Clonsilla, Coolmine, Castleknock, Navan Road, Ashtown, Broombridge, Pelletstown, Drumcondra, Spencer Dock and Connolly on the Maynooth line, as well as Hansfield, Dunboyne and M3 Parkway on the M3 Parkway line.
However, it is expected to take until 2029 before the project is operational, with construction due to commence in 2024, subject to An Bord Pleanála’s approval.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said that “many younger couples and families have made their homes” near the tracks.
“Dart + West will give these communities a reliable and direct rail connection to the city and offer an end to the commuting and congestion that too many have had to deal with on roads into the city,” the minister said.
“It will also mean that they can connect with the other light rail, bus and inter-rail options around the city.
“This is the first of many railway orders to come, which will transform travel in the Greater Dublin area and help us meet our climate targets.”
Homeowners and occupiers of lands that are affected by the railway order application are to be contacted before Friday, Iarnród Éireann said.
The work includes the closure of six level crossings and the provision of replacement accesses where required for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists “to ensure increased service frequency does not result in road congestion at level crossings or impact on connectivity within communities”.
Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann Jim Meade said the provision of Dart services would “transform commuting for the existing and new communities along this railway corridor”.
“It will make travelling with us more sustainable, more frequent and more reliable,” Meade said.
“This is the first DART+ project to submit a railway order, DART+ South West and DART+ Coastal North and South will follow. The DART+ programme, when delivered, will truly revolutionise commuting in the Greater Dublin Area and assist in meeting Ireland’s climate action targets by reducing reliance on the private car and providing sustainable high frequency, high capacity public transport.”
Anne Graham, CEO of the National Transport Authority, added that passenger capacity and service frequency would be significantly improved across the rail network in the Greater Dublin Area over the coming years.
“DART+ will allow more people to make sustainable travel choices and will contribute to reducing our emissions by providing a reliable alternative to the private car,” she said.
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Just imagine if somehow the Dart could miraculously make it’s way Dublin Airport
@Lisa Jones: this. I don’t understand why it hasn’t happened, when we’re virtually the only European capital without one.
@Zack Twamley: No we’re not. Not even virtually.
@Ajax Penumbra: well we are one of the few cities with an airport of (in normal times) such high demand without a rail connection.
There are other counties outside of Dublin, that need an upgrade of Rail services… As we are being constantly told by the Green Party to leave our cars at home and take public transport as we seem most of the public transport is non-existent in the rural areas
@Paul Maguire: yep, Dublin Dublin Dublin.
@Paul Maguire: we need to start at the beginning. Electrifying the railway out to Maynooth and Dunboyne, big population centres, is a first step. It doesn’t preclude other developments.
@Paul Maguire: They have opened the rail link from Cork to Midleton and I think more stations on the Cork network are in the pipeline but Limerick has huge potential for commuter rail, including a possible link to Shannon, Galway network should be extended to Tuam.
@Ciaran O’Mara: Think Navan and Naas are much much larger population centres than Maynooth and Dunboyne.
@Paul Maguire: this might shock you.
For heavy rail infrastructure, Dublin has had nothing but piecemeal development for the last few decades. The last major change was the extension of the dart to Malahide and Greystones which only added a few extra miles. Same with Dunboyne. Other then that we’ve had the existing infrastructure with a few capacity enhancements.
Outside of Dublin however there has been lots of development including the doubling of track on the cork line, extension of commuter services to Middleton, the western rail corridor and a significant upgrade to the intercity and regional rail stock serving communities throughout the country.
Still nothing for Navan town?
@Séan Ó Nuanáin: and to be fair it wouldnt take that much to run it as far as Navan. Shoud be prioritised.
@Séan Ó Nuanáin: I actually emailed the Department of Transport about getting the train station up and running and i was told that it was not financially viable.
@Daniel Muldoon: fair play to you for being proactive at least!
What about a DART+ North West to Donegal
@Diar O Doc: Anything north west of Dublin would be nice but i do agree they should be running a line all the way to Donegal. I live in Cavan and our only options are car or bus (If you can find one where you are going).
@Diar O Doc: Unfortunately the population density outside of the greater Dublin area does not support a high capacity rail traffic network.
Covering all the same stations that are already catered for (Maynooth line)..Struggling to see the huge advantages of this..
@James Heffernan: twice the number of trains, bigger trains, electric not diesel, no level crossings, much safer and more efficient signaling, inter-run wth existing dart.
@Ciaran O’Mara: Sounds like a lot of nothing to me..When taking into account other services around the country the service what we have at the moment is grand..It’s not like we are going from a grand service to a state of the art service, we are going from a grand service to something a small bit better. Not something to get overly excited over..
@Ciaran O’Mara: Thanks for highlighting the changes though.
@James Heffernan: Its just to give them good press to make it look like they are actually doing something.
40km of electricity poles and one new station. They would call that a day’s work in China or Japan.
“End to commuting and congestion”? Have you ever been on a Dart or train in the morning? Stacked tins of sardines have more personal space
Its about time they upgraded those lines. The only problem is they are talking about a depot west of Maynooth which means the depot itself will be in Kilcock. So the town of Kilcock will have to deal with all the negetives of a depot and receive none of the positives. I dont see why they cannot provide the service from Kilcock. The population of that town has doubled in the last 10 years and still there is nothing being built in the town only more housing estates. Theres no longer room in the schools there for kids. Why is Ireland so backwards.
@Mark McCormack: then the depot would have to be other side of Kilcock and someone from Enfield would be saying what you’re saying now.
So is navan getting left out again
@Hugh Mc Donnell: and Wicklow/Arklow.
There are other counties outside of Dublin, that need an upgrade of Rail services… As we are being constantly told by the Green Party to leave ourselves at home and take public transport as we seem most off the public transport is non-existent in the rural areas
Coolmine and Clonsilla stations are useless to a large section of D15 unless you have a car. Only bus that even goes near them is the 39 and that’s not a frequent service (and is not timed to work with the train timetable) I’m all for this, but would like to be able to actually get to a train station!
I’ll certainly be attending the next FFG golf day,best to get in early…..
What about the level crossings at Coolmine and Clonsilla to mention just two, are they going to close them off ???. Ashtown another one.
@Alan Dignam: Ashton level crossing being replaced with tunnel … Coolmine level crossing being kept
@Alan Dignam: Ashtown for sure is being re-done with new road layout and bridge so there won’t be a level crossing.
@Alan Dignam: it says six level crossings to close so that would be all of them to maynooth. (Ashtown, coolmine, porterstown, clonsilla, barberstown and blakestown.)
what about metro.
@Susan O’flaherty: what about it? This is for the DART?
Said the same thing 20 years ago about Drogheda an Dundalk, population of over 100,000 people still waiting.
Luas to Tallaght spends miles running along the Grand Canal and the up the middle of the Naas Road and then skirts around Kingswood. So I wouldn’t necessarily assume the majority of people would live beside a new track anyway
Might try sorting out what we have at present, packed rolling stock and cannot open the windows. Third World.
There used to be a line from Tullow to Dublin that had a station at the end of the road. Incredible to think that you could live in the countryside and not need a car.
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