Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for the opportunity to address this issue on behalf of the Minister for Transport. Improving public transport services and infrastructure is central to improving citizens' quality of life and addressing our climate action challenges. This Government is committed to a fundamental change in the nature of transport in Ireland.

The Minister for Transport considers it useful to clarify the planned proposals related to the DART+ coastal south project, the current position of those proposals and related issues. Modelling undertaken by the National Transport Authority, NTA, for the DART+ programme related to facilitating increased rail services on the Rosslare to Dublin line. This includes an option that would allow Rosslare train services interchanging with the DART at Wicklow or Greystones in order to connect seamlessly to DART services to or from the heart of Dublin. It must be stressed that this is an infrastructural modelling exercise and the NTA has advised that no decision has yet been made to alter services on the Rosslare line. As a Government we need to provide more options to people so they can make the switch to sustainable mobility. Within the greater Dublin area, work on the DART+ programme is continuing in order that it can become part of those options.

As the Senator may be aware, under the greater Dublin area transport strategy adopted last year, it is intended to further expand the DART system to Wicklow town. Design work is ongoing at present by the NTA on the DART+ coastal south project to plan for the enhanced DART service level to Greystones. A public consultation will be undertaken in relation to those proposals later this year. In addition, initial planning and design work is currently ongoing by the NTA to establish the feasibility of operating an hourly DART service to and from Wicklow town and Dublin using battery-electric trains that could operate along the unelectrified section of the railway between Greystones and Wicklow. Under this arrangement, one DART per hour arriving at Greystones would be a battery-electric train, which would be able to continue further south along the unelectrified line and terminate at Wicklow town train station, with the same approach in the opposite direction. South of Wicklow, the provision of a diesel train shuttle service between Rosslare and Wicklow could provide the potential for a much more frequent train service along the southern sections of the south-east line.It should be stressed that this is an infrastructural modelling exercise by the NTA and no decision has yet been made on the matter.

As regards the issue of coastal erosion, coastal railway construction and maintenance have always been challenging. Throughout its history, interventions have been required to protect the east coast rail line from impacts on embankments, water coming over the line and coastal erosion. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, understands that Iarnród Éireann has, over many years, managed the coastal defence of the east coast Dublin to Rosslare line and monitors the coastline erosion rates at key points along the railway on an ongoing basis.

The east coast railway infrastructure protection project, ECRIPP, was established to deliver the necessary enhanced coastal protection to the existing railway infrastructure in a number of key locations on this rail network. The primary focus of this project is to address, implement and protect the existing railway and coastal infrastructure against the further effects of coastal erosion due to climate change. The Minister assures the Senator that this matter is taken seriously and that appropriate remedial action is under way.