£2.5bn Dublin transport plan is near completion

The Dublin Transportation Office is finalising an investment programme for the capital, including major upgrading of DART and suburban rail services and additional Luas light rail lines.

The programme, which is understood to cost £2.5 billion, is due to be submitted shortly to the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, and will then be considered by the Government for inclusion in the National Development Plan.

CIE has set up a high-level Dublin Area Task Force, including representatives of Iarnrod Eireann, Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus, to formulate and oversee a direct investment programme amounting to £800 million.

Some of the major elements include an extra 16 carriages for DART, in addition to the 10 already ordered; a new signalling system on the Howth line to accommodate three new peak-hour trains, and upgrading of the track for Arrow services to Kildare.

One of the largest items, costed at €63.2 million, is new rolling stock for the non-DART suburban railway services, involving a total of 58 new Arrow-style railcars. A bus interchange facility is also planned for a site adjoining Connolly Station.

Under the CIE plan, Dublin Bus would order 76 new buses per annum over the next five years at a cost of €96 million to replace older buses. In addition, it is proposed to expand the fleet by 220 buses, including 140 Continental-style articulated vehicles.

CIE maintains that the major schemes currently approved - such as Luas - would address only existing shortcomings rather than provide capacity for the large-scale growth in public transport now required to relieve Dublin's worsening traffic crisis.

Dr Ray Byrne, head of programmes and projects, has informed Dublin Corporation that CIE's latest programme would result in an increase in peak-hour public transport capacity of up to 34,000 by the end of next year and up to 120,000 by 2006.

At a lunch hosted by South Dublin Chamber of Commerce yesterday the Minister said she expected that CIE would conclude its own evaluations of short to medium-term suburban rail investment proposals later this year.

She said the Government was committed to improving public transport in the region. "We gave an immediate response to the Short-Term Action Plan prepared by the DTO by providing €70 million of investment in buses, suburban rail and cycle facilities."

The Minister maintained that Luas was ahead of schedule, with construction of the Tallaght to Abbey Street line due to start next spring. She also said that she expected to receive Judge Sean O'Leary's report on the Sandyford to St Stephen's Green line shortly.

CIE is expected to submit an application for a light rail order for the Abbey Street to Connolly Station line in August. It would also be appointing consultants "shortly" to undertake a geo-technical survey of the proposed city centre underground section.

Ms O'Rourke's Department is also considering in detail a report by consultants that the private sector should build and run the whole Luas system, as well as a rail link to Dublin Airport. CIE has recommended that this should branch off from the Sligo line.

The Department is allowing time for interested parties to make submissions, but the consultants recommend that a private operator be selected by spring 2001 to allow time for staff recruitment to take place before the first trams run on the system in winter 2002, she said.

"Improving public transport in the greater Dublin area is a major challenge but it is one that is being tackled on a wide number of fronts and we are making considerable progress. I expect to see significant improvements in the next few years," the Minister added.