Organisers of an international festival in Dún Laoghaire have welcomed a decision to allow the Dart service operate during their festival weekend.
The Dart has been closed to the southside at weekends over the summer to allow for upgrade work at the stations and organisers of the Festival of World Cultures, in August, had feared the loss of the service would have a serious impact on the festival.
Now in its fifth year, the mostly-free festival attracted 160,000 visitors over three days last August, and organisers Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council estimated some 70 per cent of these travelled by Dart.
An initial request to operate the Dart on the weekend of August 27th and 28th to facilitate the festival goers was refused. But following a meeting with festival organisers and representatives from Dún Laoghaire, Iarnród Éireann agreed the service could run.
To make up for the loss of the August weekend, the Dart upgrade works will be extended to take in the weekend of September 17th and 18th.
Spokeswoman for the festival Jody Ackland said they were thrilled and grateful the Dart would now operate. "We will be encouraging festival goers to use the Dart over the weekend. It will be taking people into the heart of the festival," she added.
