New Dart service for Co Kildare commuters after plan for expansion to Kilcock confirmed
Dart services are to be extended to Kilcock, Co Kildare, in what will be the first expansion of the electric rail service in more than 30 years. By 2031, the fast-growing commuter town is to have Dart services running every 10 minutes at peak time – a significant improvement on the nine trains that connect it to Dublin daily. National Transport Authority chief executive Anne Shaw said it would be a milestone for the Dart+ expansion programme and for the wider public transport network. “It will give the local community more frequent, more reliable and more accessible services, making sustainable travel a realistic option for many more passengers,” she said. READ MOREGerry Thornley’s team of the Six Nations: France lead the way and no England player makes the XVMeath home built without planning permission is seized by gardaí, ending 20 year legal sagaWar in Middle East live updates: EU countries decline Trump’s call for help with Strait of Hormuz; Irish embassy in UAE warns against sharing photosOscar winner Jessie Buckley to her husband: ‘You, Fred, I love you. I want to have 20,000 more babies with you’The last expansion of the Dart was in 2000 when services were extended to Malahide and Greystones. Plans were in place under the Dart+ project to extend the service to the university town of Maynooth in Co Kildare, but the latest decision means it will go further west to include Kilcock. The announcement coincides with a revised proposal for a large new Dart depot, planned for just west of Kilcock instead of between Maynooth and Kilcock as previously intended. The depot will house and service carriages for use across the Dart network. It will have a maintenance shed, automatic train wash, vehicle inspection unit and administration offices along with a test track. A second track will be laid to run between Kilcock and Maynooth and a new access road will be built. It is expected to provide 100 additional jobs when fully operational. Kilcock station will be upgraded and expanded to accommodate the extra services while continuing to be a stop for intercity services between Dublin and Sligo and Dublin and Longford. A new platform and fully accessible pedestrian bridge with lifts is also part of the proposed works. All the plans are open to public consultation and feedback can be submitted until April 27th. After that, the design for the project will be finalised and it is hoped a Railway Order application – a planning application for rail projects – will be ready to be lodged with An Coimisiún Pleanála later this year. Minister of State with responsibility for Rail Seán Canney said the plans were a first step in the longer-term goal of doubling the track on the rail line between Dublin and Mullingar to accommodate a greatly expanded range of commuter services. Simultaneously, Irish Rail is working on proposals to extend the Dart to Hazelhatch, Celbridge and Drogheda and to increase services to Greystones. It has ordered 285 new carriages in preparation for the expansions as part of a plan to have 750 new carriages in service. .
