Increased-frequency Dart services will see trains running every 10 minutes on weekdays from April 10th, Iarnród Éireann has said.
Northbound and southbound Dart trains in Dublin will run at 10-minute intervals between Monday and Friday as part of revised timetables, while services will run every 15 minutes on Saturdays and every 20 minutes on Sundays.
Members of the public made 2,400 submissions as part of a public consultation process on the new timetables in December, and Iarnród Éireann said it is continuing to review the customer feedback.
The company said that extra customer demand means it has become a necessity to increase the frequency of Dart services.
It said the availability of extra journeys will increase peak Dart capacity by more than 20 per cent.
However, staff unions are threatening strike action as they say their members have not been consulted over new rostering arrangements that will be introduced as part of the move.
Drivers also contend that carriage lengths on existing services will have to be reduced in order to cater for the proposed extra trains.
National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) general secretary Dermot O’Leary has accused the company of making a “premature announcement” on train times, and encouraged a greater degree of co-operation between the company and staff ahead of the implementation of the new timetables.
“One would expect that those in charge at Irish Rail would have addressed all of the issues involved and avoid the risk of embarrassing [Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe] into making what now transpires to have been a premature announcement,” he said.
Although major events such as St Patrick's Day and the Easter Rising centenary celebrations will occur before the new timetables kick in, Iarnród Éireann said "enhanced service plans" are being developed for the occasions to cope with the expected spikes in demand.
Public consultation
Public consultation is also ongoing over plans to revamp the Dublin to Belfast Enterprise rail service.
Iarnród Éireann said revised schedules for the service will be finalised once the consultation process is completed.
It is believed that changes to the Enterprise timetable will include an extra express morning peak service from Dundalk at 7.55am and Drogheda at 8.20am.
Dart services will continue as normal up until April 10th.