Long awaited DART launched again

The extension of DART service to Greystones was launched yet again yesterday, this time by the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke.

As if expecting media criticism of the service - which was initially launched by the then minister for transport, Mr Michael Lowry, in 1995 and has been launched twice since - Iarnrod Eireann had all the answers.

Yes, new DART carriages are an estimated 12 inches above the station platform, rendering them less than completely wheelchair-friendly, "but they are built to exactly the same floor specifications as previous carriages, and in any event each station has a ramp which can be fitted," said Iarnrod Eireann's spokesman, Mr Barry Kenny.

Yes, yesterday's launch included just three trains leaving Greystones in the morning, and yes, two of these only go as far as Bray, but transfers can be undertaken to Dublin from Bray.

Yes, the return fare from Greystones to Dublin, at £4.60, is almost twice the return fare from Bray, but it is five miles farther and prices are "under review", according to Mr Kenny.

Yes, the service has been announced before: first in 1995; then again in April 2000; and again in May 2001. Yes, the Greystones extension did take longer to build than the entire original system, but "This is the service we always promised you," said Mr Kenny.

There were no hitches yesterday, no trains broke down and no staff shortages delayed trains as happened at a previous launch. In the company of Ms O'Rourke the train sped past station platforms, making the 18-mile journey from Pearse Station to Greystones in less than the predicted 45 minutes.

There are 26 new DART carriages which have been deployed in service on the whole DART line. They have capacity for 200 people, 40 sitting and 160 standing, figures which underpin Iarnrod Eireann's expectation that it will carry 25,000 passengers at the morning peak this year.