Iarnród Éireann welcomes granting of Railway Order for DART Underground
Iarnród Éireann has welcomed the decision of An Bord Pleanála to grant a Railway Order the equivalent of planning permission for the construction of DART Underground. (Full An Bord Pleanála decision)
DART Underground will be the single most important piece of infrastructure in the state to ensure a modal shift from private to public transport, and free future generations from urban gridlock in the Greater Dublin area. It also links all rail modes - DART, Commuter, Intercity, Luas and proposed Metro - to form an integrated cohesive transport network.
The DART Underground rail line, which will run from Docklands to Inchicore, would increase the capacity of the Greater Dublin area's rail service to 100 million passenger journeys per annum, from a passenger total of 30 million passenger journeys annually today.
The project also has the strongest economic benefit of any transport scheme included in the Transport 21 programme.
Although construction of the project has been deferred due to the reduced availability of capital funding, the Government has stated that it will be reviewed in 2015 for the next capital investment programme. This ensures that Iarnród Éireann will be in a position to develop the line should funding be provided. The completion of the Railway Order process and granting of the Order will ensure that the project can be speedily resumed.
DART Underground is not a stand-alone project but is the vital link in a wider package of measures, including:
electrification of the lines to extend the DART to Balbriggan, Maynooth and Hazelhatch
signaling and track capacity enhancements to allow more trains to run more frequently
significant expansion of the fleet and train depot facilities. All of these works will pave the way for the completed DART Underground to fill in the crucial final link that will release the full potential of this expanded and improved rail network into and out of Dublin.
Click here for full information on the project, including project notes and other schematic drawings.
