Dáil debates

Thursday, 16 September 2021

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions

Rail Network

11:50 am

Photo of Eamon RyanEamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The key initial development is those new ICR units which can fit within the existing train, adding an additional carriage. They are very imminent. Going on memory, they will be coming in 2023. It is not a long delay. The next iteration is the new battery-electric DART trains and they will be a significant improvement and improve capacity. They do not require the full electrification of the line as the battery will kick in where there are not overhead rails. The timeline for that is not certain yet but it will not be that long. We have a major problem in that there are so many public transport projects and roads projects. Regarding the timelines, a lot of the physical construction on some of the rail investments will happen over a period but that new fleet coming in will provide immediate capacity increases, under the 2023 plus timeline that I mentioned. That will be very significant for commuters on the northern DART lines but also elsewhere on the network.

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