Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 423: To ask the Minister for Transport the extent to which commuters from Dublin to Kilcock can or will be accommodated in the context of Transport 21 or otherwise and as planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30847/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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A number of projects under way or in planning under Transport 21, will be of significant benefit to commuters on the Kilcock to Dublin route. Railway services to Kilcock have benefited from the major investment in recent years on the Dublin-Sligo line, where, since 1999, over €150 million has been invested. This investment has funded track renewal, re-signalling, level crossings, platform lengthening and other safety investment. Investment also covered the new rail car fleet introduced in December 2005 on the route, which delivered an increase in services from three each way per day to five each way per day.

In 2005, Iarnród Éireann placed orders for 150 high-specification Intercity rail cars, funded under Transport 21, at a cost of €322 million, to serve the national Intercity network, including Dublin-Sligo. These rail cars are set to enter service during 2007 and 2008, with Dublin-Sligo scheduled to be the first route to benefit from the new fleet in 2007. This will enable services to increase on the route to every two hours each way.

The M4 Leixlip to M50 junction road scheme is scheduled to commence construction in 2007. This scheme will involve the widening of the N4 to 3 lanes from the M50 roundabout to the existing M4 Motorway at Leixlip, with the provision of a grade-separated interchange (flyover) at the Newcastle Road junction.

This work comes in addition to the substantial upgrading which has already been undertaken on this route in recent years including the bypass of Kilcock itself. The works now being planned will further increase the capacity of this route to deal with the growing number of commuters living in the catchment area of the N4.

Phase 1 of the M50 Upgrade Project has started on the carriageway between the N7 and N4 interchanges and is due for completion in mid-2008. Phase 1 includes the replacement of the existing M50/N4 roundabout with a freeflow junction which, coupled with the N4 widening works, should result in improved traffic flow from the M4/N4 to the city centre and via the upgraded M50 to the greater Dublin Region.