DART+ South West Public Consultation begins

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan T.D., Lord Mayor of Dublin, Hazel Chu, Mayor of South Dublin, Ed O’Brien and Cathaoirleach of Kildare Co.Co. Mark Stafford joined Iarnród Éireann’s CEO, Jim Meade to formally open the first round of public consultation on the Emerging Preferred Option on DART+  South West at Heuston Station today. 

Funded by the National Transport Authority, under Project Ireland 2040 and the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) with powers delegated by the European Union TEN-T core network, the DART+ South West project, as part of the DART+ Programme. The project will deliver an improved electrified network, with increased passenger capacity and enhanced train performance between Hazelhatch & Celbridge and Heuston and Glasnevin/Docklands area via the Phoenix Park Tunnel.  

The project will:

• Continue the four-tracking of the rail line from Park West & Cherry Orchard Station into Heuston, extending the works completed on the route in 2010.
• See track improvements and bridge modifications, where necessary, to facilitate electrified train services.
• See the Phoenix Park Tunnel upgraded to allow for significant extra services directly into the city centre.  
• Include a feasibility study and concept design will be undertaken for a future new station at Heuston West.

The Emerging Preferred Option is also compatible with future stations at Kylemore and Cabra, although the construction of these stations is not part of this project.  

DART+ South West benefits include: 

• Increase of train frequency from the current 12 trains per hour per direction to 23 trains per hour per direction on this corridor.
• Quadrupling of passenger capacity from 5,000 passengers per hour per direction to 20,000 per hour per direction, with higher capacity trains set to be ordered in the coming months. 
• Enhanced public transport opportunities for communities along the route for work, education and leisure purposes.
• Facilitating the development and future growth of existing communities, which will greatly benefit from the connectivity that DART+ South West will deliver.
• Alleviation of road congestion. 
• Building a sustainable and connected city region, supporting the transition to a low carbon and climate resilient society. 
• Facilitating people to make sustainable travel choices by encouraging a move away from private cars to a reliable, efficient and safer public transport network. 
• Improve multimodal transport connectivity through interchange with the Luas at Heuston, Bus Connects and the proposed MetroLink. 

 Current Project Status

The first phase of public consultation on this project is now live. It is designed to present the Emerging Preferred option for provision of DART+ South West to communities and stakeholders along the route.

All are encouraged to review the full details at www.dartplus.ie, which also features an interactive virtual room. A dedicated phone line, email address and online feedback form are all available at dartplus.ie. Due to the current public health restrictions, in-person consultation is currently not permitted. A series of webinars for communities along the route will commence next week. 

Upon completion of this consultation, all submissions will be carefully considered by the project design team and these will be used to inform the subsequent design development. Once this design work is complete a second round of public consultations will take place. This will be followed by more detailed design work before the lodging of a railway order application to an Bord Pleanála, A statutory consultation period will take place after lodging of the application and it is expected that An Bord Pleanála will hold an oral hearing on the application, which will be open to all members of the public. 

Speaking at today’s Launch, the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan T.D said: 

"We want to encourage more people to make the switch to public transport by making it faster, more frequent and more accessible. The Dart+ South West project is critical to our overall plans for Dublin and the surrounding counties. I encourage everyone to take the time to engage in this consultation process and feedback your views on how we can create a rail service that serves the needs of all its users”.

Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann Jim Meade said: 

“DART has been one of the nation’s major public transport success stories and DART+, with DART+ South West will bring  sustainable, fast and frequent train services to tens of thousands of new and existing customers. We encourage commuters, residents, communities and all stakeholders to participate in the public consultation to ensure we understand and incorporate their views in the ongoing design process.”

Anne Graham, Chief Executive of the National Transport Authority said:  

“I very much welcome the fact that the first round of public consultation on DART+ South West is now open. This development is a clear indication that real progress is being made across all elements of the DART+ Programme.  Thanks to DART+, passenger capacity and service frequency, travel options  will be vastly improved for people across the rail network in the Greater Dublin Area in the coming years.   DART+ will allow more people to make sustainable travel choices and will contribute to reducing our emissions by providing a reliable alternative to the private car.  NTA looks forward to continuing to work with Iarnród Éireann in making DART+ a reality.”