John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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91. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to outline the lessons that can be learned from the implementation of the August rail timetable changes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42056/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport.

Irish Rail in conjunction with the National Transport Authority (NTA) conduct an annual timetable review. As part of this annual review process, Irish Rail implemented the 2024 service changes on August 25th this year. These timetable alterations were designed to deliver a more regular interval pattern throughout the day on all commuter routes and to enable the greater use of Grand Canal Dock as a turn back location for all commuter services where possible, as opposed to using Pearse Station as a terminal, which has historically created further congestion issues.

Irish Rail conducts a public consultation prior to implementing any changes, with draft timetables available for review by the public. The consultation for the 2024 timetable started on the 30th of May, with a closing date of the 13th of June. As with all major timetable changes, Irish Rail closely monitors its implementation to identify any issues which arise which may impact service performance.

Since the implementation of the new timetable on August 26th, there have been a number of timing issues leading to congestion in the Connolly Station area. Therefore, a number of further changes were introduced on September 16th to improve punctuality on these rail services. Unfortunately, despite these interventions, the service issues have continued and as a result, on the 14th of October Irish Rail will revert to a version of the timetable that was in place prior to the August changes.

As the issue raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for Irish Rail, I have referred the question to the company for direct response. Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.