Brennan asks Irish Rail to postpone DART disruption

The Minister for Transport has added his weight to the row over Iarnród Éireann's announcement that weekend DART users face up to 18 months of disruption as the line is upgraded.

Weekend services on the south side of the city from Grand Canal Dock to Greystones will cease this week for at least nine months. As well as the DART, the Dublin Connolly to Arklow/Rosslare service will also be affected.

Once this refurbishment is finished, work will begin on the northside line to Howth. It is expected the upgrade, which will cost €176 million, will be completed by October 2005.

The Minister for Transport, Mr Seamus Brennan, has asked Iarnród Éireann to take whatever steps possible to minimise disruption to DART passengers. A Department spokeswoman said he has asked the company to look into postponing the upgrade until after Christmas or on a "station by station basis", rather than shutting down the whole service.

It is understood the Minister favours the halting of refurbishment works for every weekend during the month of December. Iarnród Éireann said today the work will be suspended for two Saturdays in the run-up to Christmas to facilitate shoppers.

Dublin Bus also said it will double bus capacity on southeast Dublin routes over the weekends to facilitate DART customers. Iarnród Éireann will also supply Dublin Bus tickets for Rail Only Weekly, Monthly and Annual Ticket holders.

The Dublin City Business Association and the Small Firms Association claimed the disruption would have a huge negative effect on trade.

Mr Eoin Ryan, Fianna Fáil TD for Dublin South East and chairman of the Dáil Committee on Transport, said it was an "absolute disgrace".He said: "The fact that the planned closure comes as a surprise to the vast majority of Dublin commuters is a clear indication that any information campaign carried out by the company was clearly inadequate."

Progressive Democrats TD for Dún Laoghaire Ms Fiona O'Malley described the row as a PR debacle for Iarnród Éireann. She said it was "an utterly contemptible way" to treat the public. "To give customers four days notice of such a dramatic suspension of service is unacceptable," she added.

Fine Gael spokesman for Dublin, Senator Brian Hayes, said commuters holding monthly or annual tickets should receive a refund. "The Director of Consumer Affairs must examine this case of a monopoly service provider accepting €76 for monthly tickets and €750 for annual tickets when it knew the service wouldn't be available to the customer," he said.

The Labour Party's transport spokeswoman, Ms Roisín Shorthall, a Dublin North West TD, accused Iarnrod Éireann of showing "contempt" for DART users."Only four days notice has been given of closure of the southside line with piecemeal alternatives being put in place," she said. "Of course the upgrade . . . is welcome and overdue. But to do so in such a shoddy manner is a slap in the face to the thousands of people who regularly use the DART."

The Green Party transport spokesman and Dublin South TD, Mr Eamon Ryan, said the announcement has turned into "yet another tale of transport woe for the capital" due to the lack of notice. "The people of Dublin will accept the hardships that come with the construction of new public transport infrastructure, but only if they believe that there is a well co-ordinated plan in operation," he said.

Sinn Féin south Dublin representative Mr Daithí Doolan also criticised the length of notice given. "As a resident of Pearse Street and user of the DART I know firsthand how much this will inconvenience local people," he said. "The least we might have expected is a reasonable amount of notice."

However, Iarnród Éireann rejected the claims, insisting it had mounted a public information campaign to inform commuters of their plans.

Iarnród Éireann spokesman Mr Barry Kenny said: "We announced this work back in March when we had funding approval and obviously at that stage we were very clear that throughout the programme of works there would be closures of sections of the DART."

He also rejected concerns the work could take longer than planned. "By doing a full week's work at the weekend that's how we target it, that's how we get it done quickly and efficiently," he said.