The extension of Dart rail services to 600,000 people, trebling the current network, is finally moving forward with the grant of permission to bring the Dart to Maynooth, Co Kildare.
The Maynooth Dart, first announced almost 20 years ago, has been approved by An Bord Pleanála, with services expected to start running on the line by the end of the decade, Irish Rail said.
The €1 billion project, Irish Rail is calling Dart+ West will double train services along the Maynooth line from six to 12 per hour per direction, increasing hourly passenger capacity from 5,000 to more than 13,000 each way.
Dart+ West is the first phase of Irish Rail’s plans for a major expansion of Dart services, which also includes the electrification of the rail line to Drogheda, Co Louth, Celbridge, Co Kildare and a significant upgrade in capacity to Greystones, Co Wicklow.
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Once completed, the full Dart+ programme aims to treble the current network from 53km to 150km and the number of people living within one kilometre of a Dart station would increase from about 250,000 currently to 600,000.
The extension of the Dart to Maynooth was part of the Government’s Transport 21 strategy published in 2005. However, Dart expansion programmes fell victim of the economic crash and the project did not reemerge until 2020, rebranded as Dart+.
Irish Rail at that time intended to apply for permission for the Maynooth line in mid-2021, but following public consultations which resulted in changes to the project, deferred submitting a Railway Order application to An Bord Pleanála until July 2022.
The board had been due to issue its decision in March 2023 and Irish Rail had hoped to begin construction in early 2024.
However, in March 2023 the board wrote to Irish Rail to say it would be unable to meet the deadline but intended “to determine this application by before the 15th of December 2023″.
The December deadline was also missed and following several more revisions the board has issued its decision this month.
Irish Rail spokesman Barry Kenny said the company would now be working with the National Transport Authority (NTA) towards expediting the procurement and construction elements of Dart+ West as well as preparing the final business case for funding approval.
“This is a crucial milestone in a programme which will ultimately double the capacity of the Greater Dublin Area rail network, and treble the electrification of the network.”
Irish Rail was “aiming for the end of the decade” for the first Dart services to begin operating on the Maynooth line, he said.
Dart+ West will involve the construction of a new station at Spencer Dock and electrification of the rail line to Maynooth and the M3 Parkway, near Dunboyne Co Meath, as well as the closure of level crossings and construction of new bridges and station infrastructure.
While the board granted permission for the line, it has refused permission for a new maintenance depot to the west of Maynooth station due to potential flood risks.
Irish Rail will be required to seek a separate Railway Order for “alternative/updated proposals for a depot”, the board said.
Mr Kenny said revised depot proposals will be submitted in a “timely manner” and that this will not delay the development of the Dart+ West line.
An application for the next phase of the expansion, Dart+ South West, which will bring the Dart to Celbridge, was submitted to the board in March 2023 and is awaiting decision.
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