Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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443. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport further to Parliamentary Question No. 207 of 23 November 2017, the programmes he plans to implement to address congestion in the greater Dublin area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52937/17]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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444. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the steps he is taking to ensure short and medium-term relief for severe congestion on the Swords Road and the Drumcondra Road corridor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52938/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 443 and 444 together.

I wish to advise the Deputy that following the mid-term review of the Capital Plan, Budget 2018 provided for an increase in the multi-annual capital investment for public transport with a four-year capital envelope of €2.7 billion over the period 2018-2021. The increased funding will allow rollout of a number of key programmes to address congestion and emerging capacity constraints on our public transport system to address congestion in the greater Dublin area and I would like to set these out as follows.

The four-year capital envelope for public transport includes investment of over €770 million for the BusConnects programme to address growing congestion in the Dublin region in the short to medium term.  This programme, which was launched earlier this year by the National Transport Authority (NTA), is a plan to fundamentally transform Dublin’s bus system, so that journeys for passengers by bus will be fast, reliable, punctual, convenient and affordable. It represents a reimagining of bus transport for the Dublin region. At the heart of this proposal to develop continuous bus lanes as far as is practicable along the busiest bus corridors along with a network of park and ride facilities at key locations.  Work is ongoing on the redesign of the bus services network and also on infrastructure proposals for Core Bus Corridors which will be an integral part of the programme.  When this work is completed the proposals will be launched for public consultation in the first half of next year.  The results of the public consultation will inform the final decisions to be made on the network redesign and the Core Bus Corridors including specific routes and corridors.

The four-year capital envelope for public transport will also enable increased investment in the order of €130 for sustainable transport projects in our main cities including Dublin.  This investment is aimed at traffic management measures, bus priority and other smarter travel projects in order to allow transport infrastructure to function more effectively and to ease traffic congestion. 

Over €110 million will also be invested in new urban cycling and walking routes in our main cities, including Dublin, which will provide additional sustainable travel options to complement increased capacity and faster, higher quality public transport.

Around €230 million is being provided to progress DART Expansion and associated mainline rail enhancements. This will enable acceleration of the initial stages of the overall DART Expansion Programme, focusing on providing additional fleet to enhance capacity, and extending the electrified DART system. Specifically, it will allow substantial progress on electrification of both the Northern rail line as far as Balbriggan and the Maynooth line. Notwithstanding the funding constraints over the last few years, a major upgrading of the City Centre Re-signalling programme was progressed and is already well advanced to completion. Furthermore, limited design work has been carried out on electrification of the Northern Line to Balbriggan to date. Following the additional funding announced as a result of the capital plan review, it is intended to reactivate the design and planning work for this project during 2018.

I wish to also advise the Deputy that in the interim, the NTA, in conjunction with Irish Rail, continues to examine short and medium term options for meeting increased commuter demand on the Northern commuter line. This includes reconfiguring existing maintenance practices and refurbishment of existing rolling stock that can be put into service in 2019 coupled with the commencement of a procurement process to invest in a new fleet to meet longer terms demands.

As a follow-on project from Luas Cross City, I was delighted to recently announce plans for the Luas Green Line Capacity Enhancement Project which will commence in 2018. The purpose of the project is to address current capacity limits at peak hours on the Luas Green Line and to cater for future demands.  This will include lengthening of the existing Green Line tram fleet and the purchase of additional trams to meet future passenger demand.  In advance of this Luas capacity enhancement project, a complementary project to lengthen the platforms at Green Line stations has already been successfully carried out.

While a longer term solution to address congestion in the greater Dublin area, the 4-year capital envelope progresses preparation of the Metro North project. Construction work on this project will start in 2021, with passenger services starting in 2027.  The 10-year capital plan to be published in the coming months will include the funding for the period to complete this significant addition to public transport.

Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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445. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to reports that the National Transport Authority, NTA and Dublin City Council intend to ban taxis east west and west east through College Green in Dublin; the future plans for College Green; when the plan will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52981/17]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the much anticipated new Luas cross city line opened on Saturday 9th December. It will not only serve to reduce traffic congestion in the run up to Christmas but should also result in a reduced need for cars to travel into and through the city centre into the future.

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for transport policy matters generally. However, in relation to the specifics of traffic planning and management in particular areas, such as the possibilities referenced in the Deputy's question, responsibility for these issues rests with Dublin City Council working closely with the National Transport Authority.

I have referred your question to the NTA for their consideration and direct reply to you. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within 10 working days.