MYSTIC VALLEY RAILWAY SOCIETY

By James Scannell

During the second half of 2007, the major development in public transport was the publication by the Fianna Fail Progressive Democrats Green Party Government elected to office earlier in the year of their Programme for Government. It announced the following developments and are to be initiated over the next 5 years which is the term of office of this government. –

Connecting the Luas (street car, tram system, light rail transit) to the Green and Red lines in the Dublin Downtown area.

Extending the Luas Red line eastward into the Dublin Docklands area where the Irish financial Services Center is located, and other developments are planned, and westwards to Citywest, a major business park.

Extending the Luas Green line southward from its Sandyford terminus to Cherrywood Scientific and Industrial Park. Extending the Luas Red line to Lucan, a town west of Dublin.

Various other extensions of the Luas lines.

Examining the feasibility of re-opening the Western Rail Corridor from Ennis, Co. Clare to Claremorris, Co. Mayo along the west coast.

Opening the Cork-Midleton rail service.

Opening the Navan rail line, formerly used for freight only.

Constructing an Interconnection line between Hueston Station and the Dockland area to allow the integration of all existing and new Dublin suburban rail lines and facilitate interchange between them.

The opening of Metro North, Dublin’s first metro from St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin City to Swords via Dublin Airport.

Opening Metro West connecting the western Dublin suburbs of Tallaght and Ballymun through Clondalkin, Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown.

Under this programme feasibility studies will be completed within 2 years into Luas style light rail transit systems for the cities of Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford.

It’s also planned under the Transport 21 policy document to electrify the Dublin to Maynooth, Co. Kildare suburban rail route to provide faster journey times and increased frequencies of service. Plans on this project is now underway.

Currently the establishment of the Dublin Transport Authority, which will have overall responsibility for all surface transport in the Greater Dublin Area, has to take place.

On 8 December new DART timetables (schedules) came into operation and will remain in force for 12 months. One change to the Outer Suburban Service operated by diesel railcars is that the former Dublin to Gorey, Co. Wexford service has now been further extended southwards to Enniscorthy, Co.Wexford to cater for the growing population of commuters in that area. It is aimed at reducing the number of automobiles used by commuters coming into Dublin as long-term government strategy is to encourage people to use public transport wherever it is available to commute to and from work as an alternative to automobile use.

In Northern Ireland, the Minister for Regional Development has indicated to the Northern Ireland Assembly that plans on the future of Northern Ireland’s rail network will emerge once he has time to study the findings of a railway steering group set up in 2006.