Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)

The renewed programme for Government contains a commitment to the provision of a safe and efficient network of rail services. Under Transport 21, rail services, including commuter services, have expanded significantly resulting in substantially increased capacity for passengers. The 67 new intercity carriages on the Dublin to Cork line and the 177 new intercity rail cars have provided increased capacity on all major intercity and commuter routes. An additional 51 intercity rail cars will begin to arrive in Ireland next year. A number of other projects have also been completed, including the reopening of the Cork to Midleton line, phase 1 of the western rail corridor and the Kildare route. Work is continuing on phase 1 of the Navan line which is due for completion this autumn.

The DART underground project, including associated resignalling, electrification and rolling stock projects, will lead to a trebling of capacity for commuter services in the greater Dublin area, providing for up to 100 million passenger journeys per annum. The Docklands Luas extension opened last year and the extensions to Cherrywood and Citywest are due for completion in late 2010 and mid 2011 respectively.

A decision on the railway order for metro north is expected this summer. This project and the DART underground project are key priorities for public transport in the renewed programme for Government.

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