Some £800 million should to be spent on suburban rail in the seven year period to 2006, according to the DTO. Measures include the extension of existing station platforms to facilitate longer trains and more carriages; the re-signalling of the Howth to Barrow Street lines to accommodate three additional peak hour trains; the phased implementation of 46 additional Dart cars to create up to eight new trains at a cost of £53 million; the purchase of 58 additional diesel railcars to bring all morning peak hour trains to eight cars at a cost of £63 million and track improvements to continuous welded rail on the outer suburban routes.
The Maynooth suburban line is also scheduled for major improvement with a twin track between Dublin City and Maynooth leading to an large increase in capacity.
Options currently being evaluated include the reopening of the Navan line, an additional rail link through the city centre and separation of inter-city and suburban trains.