Iarnród Éireann has commenced work on a new underground second DART line through the heart of the city centre.
The DART Underground rail line, now proposed to run from Docklands to Inchicore, will complete the trebling of the Greater Dublin area's rail service capacity from 33 million passenger journeys annually now to 100 million passenger journeys upon completion.
DART Underground will be the single most important piece of infrastructure in the state to ensure a modal shift from private to public transport, and free future generations from the gridlock which cripples the Greater Dublin area today. It is a central part of the Government's Transport 21 ten-year transport investment plan. It also links all rail modes - DART, Commuter, Intercity, Luas and Metro - to form an integrated cohesive network.
This project is funded by the Irish Government under the Transport 21 investment programme; it is also being part-funded by the Ten-T Executive Agency of the European Commission. Elements of this project will be undertaken as a Public Private Partnership (PPP), Iarnród Éireann and the Department of Transport are currently examining a number of options for PPP.
The line will dramatically change Iarnród Éireann's DART and Commuter network. Northern line DART services from Balbriggan and Howth will branch off the existing DART line after Clontarf Road, going underground at:
Docklands Station where the line will connect with the Red Luas. It continues to
Pearse, connecting with what will be the Maynooth/ Dunboyne (M3) to Bray/Greystones DART line; then at
St Stephen's Green it connects with the Green Luas and the Metro to the airport before continuing to
Christ Church connecting to Luas Line F, and onto
Heuston, linking with Red Luas, and Iarnród Éireann's Intercity and Commuter services before continuing above ground to Hazelhatch.
Iarnród Éireann is already working with the Rail Procurement Agency to develop plans for key interchanges such as St Stephen's Green, which will see DART interchange with Luas and Metro with the opening of the Interconnector; and other key interchanges around the network associated with Transport 21.
The Docklands to Inchicore Interconnector will deliver:
A second high capacity DART line through the heart of the city centre, a 7.5 kilometre underground line
Dramatically increased frequency and capacity for services on the Northern, Maynooth and Kildare lines - the three fastest growing population corridors in the country – and relieving the current congestion at Connolly Station
A fully integrated rail network for the Greater Dublin area, linking all modes - DART, Commuter, Intercity, LUAS and Metro - and ensuring that suburb to suburb as well as suburb to city centre journeys can be made by a frequent, high capacity public transport network
Two high capacity DART lines proposed as Balbriggan/Howth to Hazelhatch; and Maynooth/Dunboyne(M3) to Bray/Greystones, with DART extensions to some routes likely to be delivered in advance of the DART Underground
A trebling of the number of passenger journeys by DART and Commuter rail annually - up from 33 million today to 100 million
A critical piece of urban, regional and national infrastructure
Between 6,000 and 7,000 jobs directly in each year of the construction phase, with many thousands more jobs indirectly
Current Status
In preparation for a Railway Order application later this year, Iarnród Éireann has announced a number of revisions to the proposed line.
The most significant change will see the DART Underground tunnel, a second high-capacity DART line through the heart of the city centre, extended to Inchicore. The new line - which will dramatically enhance frequency and capacity on all routes in the Greater Dublin area, as well as linking all rail modes into an integrated network – is now planned to be extended from the original proposal of Docklands to Heuston, to a Docklands to Inchicore tunnel.
The benefits of this include:
Underground stations at Docklands, Pearse, St Stephen’s Green, Christchurch and Heuston, with the tunnel entrance (portal) now located at Iarnród Éireann land at Inchicore
• Provision of a surface DART station at Inchicore to benefit the local community
The extension of the tunnel to Inchicore would dramatically reduce the impact of the tunnel’s development on existing rail services during the construction phase, by avoiding the crucial Heuston area
The extension removes the requirement to increase the number of tracks between Inchicore and Heuston to meet the underground line, which would have required significant property acquisitions and would cause serious disruption to residents, as well as road and rail users.
No major road artery to or from the city will be affected by the portal areas.
Further changes to the project include:
Removal of Kildare St exit from St Stephen’s Green Station
Following the decision to relocate the entrances to the Metro North/Dart Underground common concourse in Saint Stephens Green North the access strategy was re-examined and the Kildare Street Entrance removed. This will significantly reduce the impact on Saint Stephens Green during construction without compromising accessibility.
Alignment and station location at Pearse changed
This will ensure that there is no requirement to acquire a small number of housing units adjacent to Pearse, and avoid any impact on Merrion Square.
The revisions were presented to communities along the route in April 2009 in a series of public consultation meetings, and have been designed to minimise the impact of construction of the day-to-day life of the city and on existing rail services.
Further public consultation will take place in the lead-up to the Railway Order application.
