Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 444: To ask the Minister for Transport the extent to which he expects all elements of his Transport 21 plan to proceed as announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29490/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the Deputy to my reply to similar Parliamentary Questions no. 20, 36 and 56 of today's date.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 445: To ask the Minister for Transport the full impact to which he expects Transport 21 to positively impact on commuter needs in the greater Dublin area in the next five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29491/09]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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Transport 21 continues to provide the strategic framework guiding Government investment in transport up to 2015, for Ireland as a whole and in the Greater Dublin Area. The programme aims to expand the capacity of our transport network, and increase use and accessibility.

Great progress has been made since the beginning of Transport 21, both nationally and in the GDA, with a number of projects already delivered, many more currently under construction or being rolled out, and future projects being planned that will positively impact on commuter needs in the Greater Dublin Area.

On the roads side, the following projects have already been completed in the Greater Dublin Area: · Dublin – Border section of the M1 motorway · N7 Naas road widening · M50 Dublin Port Tunnel · M50 Upgrade Phase 1 · M50 Upgrade Phase 3 and introduction of barrier free tolling · N4 Leixlip to M50 Junction.

Construction is continuing on the following major road projects (expected completion date in brackets): . N3 Clonee to North of Kells (Q3/2010) · M50 Upgrade Scheme Phase 2 (PPP) (Q4/2010) Each of these schemes will improve traffic flows, reduce congestion and give greater certainty on journey times to commuters.

On the public transport side, the following projects have already been completed in the Greater Dublin Area: · Docklands railway station · 40% capacity enhancement on Luas Red Line. A number of rail stations have also been delivered: · Adamstown Station · Parkwest and Cherry Orchard Station · Clondalkin Fonthill Station · Hazelhatch & Celbridge Station. These stations allow commuters living in these areas to access Dublin city centre by public transport.

Dublin Bus has received 300 additional and replacement buses which were part-funded under Transport 21 and the majority of these have been delivered into service, increasing capacity for Dublin's commuters. Quality Bus Corridors at Pearse Street, South Clondalkin, Kilmacud Road Upper, the North Quays and Rock Road have improved priority for buses and led to improvements in bus journey times.

Construction is continuing on a number of public transport projects. Work continues on the Kildare rail line upgrade, due for completion in Q1/2010. This will see the four tracking of the rail line from Cherry Orchard to Hazelhatch allowing for separation of long distance and commuter services and will improve speed and capacity for commuter, regional and intercity services.

Phase 1 of the Navan Rail line from Clonsilla to Pace is due for completion in Q3/2010 and it will allow for 15 minute peak hour frequency commuter services into Docklands Station in Dublin city centre and a 30 minute frequency off-peak.

The Luas Extension to Docklands is expected to be completed in Q4/2009, and is expected to be in service in early 2010.

A Dublin rail resignalling project (Malahide – City Centre) is due for completion in Q4/2012 and will accommodate an additional five train paths per direction per hour (up from twelve at present to seventeen) in Dublin's city centre area.

Real time passenger information on Dublin Bus (Q4/2010) is part of an overall plan to address disruption caused by traffic congestion and ensure greater predictability of service by providing commuters with real time bus schedule information on-line, by mobile phone and at bus stops.

The College Green Bus Priority Scheme (July 2009) is a measure that will ease congestion and improve bus journey times through the city by permitting only public transport vehicles and bicycles to pass through the College Green area during peak times.

The Luas extension to Cherrywood is due for completion in Q3/2010. The Luas extension to Citywest is due to open in Q1/2011.

The integrated ticketing project is being implemented on a phased basis to Q1/2011. This project aims to have a single form of ticketing across all modes of public transport.

In addition, a number of key public transport projects will commence construction in the GDA in the coming years, subject to statutory and procurement processes. These include the Metro North project. A Bord Pleanála oral hearing commenced on 1 April 2009. Two consortia have been short listed to proceed to the second stage of the procurement process. The line will be capable of accommodating growth to over 100 million passengers per year. The estimated journey time from the City Centre to the Airport will be 20 minutes and to Belinstown in North Dublin, 30 minutes.

Applications for railway orders are expected to be a made to An Bord Pleanála by end 2009 for:

· The DART Underground project, which addresses capacity constraints in the city centre and along with the Kildare Route Project and associated works, will facilitate a trebling of passenger carryings on the GDA rail network over time

· The cross-city Luas line BX/D, which will connect the existing Tallaght and Sandyford lines