Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. While the provision of DART services is an operational matter for Irish Rail in conjunction with the National Transport Authority, NTA, I have been in touch with both parties in respect of this issue today. Irish Rail states that a peak times, over the past 18 months it has operated a mix of four, six and eight-carriage DART trains. It monitors closely the numbers travelling to ensure it provides as efficient a service as possible by matching the train size to actual demand. This includes allowing for full loading, which on some services increases the levels of standing passengers. Irish Rail has stated this is the norm in urban rail systems internationally at peak times. This initiative delivers fuel and maintenance savings with associated environmental benefits. As Irish Rail is anxious to maintain service frequency, train size is its main means of adjusting to current demand levels. It of course will increase train sizes if services are unable to cater for the numbers travelling. It has already done so with some peak and off-peak services as demand patterns change and will do so in the future. This will be a process of ongoing monitoring and review and should the company perceive significant growth in demand, it has the fleet capacity to respond to it.

I have been informed by the National Transport Authority that it has given conditional approval to Irish Rail's request to reduce the number of DART carriages in operation for the period 19 September to 31 December 2013. The NTA is reviewing on an ongoing basis the operation of the reduced DART carriage numbers by means of the information contained in a four-weekly report produced by Irish Rail, any other feedback or reports received and by raising queries with Irish Rail as required. In addition, the NTA shortly will carry out a customer survey to assess the impact of the reduced number of DART carriages on commuters. The information gathered from the above activities will be used to inform the NTA's approval of Irish Rail's DART carriage strategy.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, and I, together with the departmental officials, have been engaged almost constantly over the past 18 months in dealing with the financial situation in CIE and its subsidiary companies, including Irish Rail, to ensure a return to financial stability to enable them to continue to provide an essential service to the public. Irish Rail has incurred accumulated losses of €130 million in the past five years, a position which I am sure all Members will agree is unsustainable. My Department and the National Transport Authority are working with Irish Rail to increase the efficiency and attractiveness of existing rail services.

The Government continues to provide substantial Exchequer investment in the rail network despite the significant financial challenges. In the past two years, almost €385 million has been invested in Irish Rail. Despite the reduced level of funding available, my Department has allocated more than €135 million towards the rail network this year. In addition to safety-related works, Irish Rail is undertaking infrastructural works to improve journey times such as removing or upgrading level crossings, providing automated ticketing machines and improving station facilities, all of which contribute to making the railway more competitive and attractive to passengers. In addition to capital investment, Irish Rail also received a total allocation of €127 million in 2013 for public service obligation services. Given the pressure on the public finances, there is no possibility of additional funding by the Exchequer. The board of CIE also is pursuing a range of measures to address the financial position, including cost reductions across the three operating companies in order that its rail and bus services can be provided efficiently and cost-effectively over the plan period.

I am scheduled to meet the chief executive of Irish Rail tomorrow. I already have tabled a number of questions to him and I give the Deputies a commitment that I will raise this issue directly with him on a face-to-face basis tomorrow. Furthermore, Irish Rail has assured me that over the coming weeks, it will be engaged in adjusting and monitoring the requirements on the DART line in accordance with the needs for various different forms of carriages, particularly at peak times. Members will appreciate that the majority of travel on the DART, that is, 65%, takes place either in the morning or evening and the other 35% of travel takes place during the other 14 hours of the day. Irish Rail must tweak and concentrate the carriage numbers in respect of peak hours and I have stressed that point to the company as recently as today.

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