DART late late show
Trains delayed 8,484 times so far this year making it the worst in more than a decade
DART commuters have endured the worst delays for more than a decade, with more than one-inseven journeys this year running at least five minutes late.
The rail service, which runs from Greystones in Co. Wicklow to Howth and Malahide on the northern outskirts of Dublin, has had more delayed trips than any year since 2010, when it was late on 9,101 occasions.
According to data obtained by the Irish Mail on Sunday under a Freedom of Information request, the DART was five minutes late no fewer than 8,484 times as of November 20, putting it on track to beat the 2010 total.
The figures show 15.4% of all DART trips so far this year arrived behind schedule, a rise from the 12% recorded last year.
And the DART delays have progressively worsened as the year went one. The last two months have recorded the lowest proportion of on-time journeys of any month since Iarnród Éireann began keeping monthly records in 2018.
Between November 6 and December 3, just 70.8% of trips arrived within five minutes of the scheduled time. The month before was even slower, with fewer than 70% (68.9%) of trains avoiding delay, meaning passengers were left waiting more than 30% of the time.
Until October 2023, no month on record had seen a punctuality rate of less than 80%.
The figures come as Irish Rail hopes to break ground on its DART+ project next year.
Under the rail programme, the service will extend as far north as Drogheda and create stops to the west of Dublin for the first time, increasing the length of the network from 50km to more than 150km. According to the Irish Rail website, DART+ would also ‘improve frequency to meet demand’.
Gary Marshall, a spokesman for the Dublin Commuter Coalition, called on the Government to ‘push major infrastructure projects faster’ to tackle DART delays.
He told the MoS: ‘DART+ would have many benefits in terms of better frequency, more coverage, more capacity, less pollution and less maintenance issues. But it’s been stuck with An Bord Pleanala for far too long. The Government needs to focus much more and dedicate more funding and staffing to deliver these projects. Long term, the Government needs to push major infrastructure projects faster.’
The DART, which was introduced in 1984, aims to run every 10 minutes between Malahide and Bray on a weekday. Trains to Howth and Greystones on the ends of the line run slightly less frequently. The line, which stops at 31 stations, goes every 15 minutes on a Saturday and twice an hour on a Sunday.
Irish Rail introduced a new late-night DART service earlier this week, with trains running until 1.30am on weekends. The routes will also operate on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in the build up to Christmas and on New Year’s Eve.
In response to queries from the MoS, an Irish Rail spokeswoman insisted the rise in delays this year were due to ‘factors outside of Iarnród Éireann’s control’.
She said: ‘We are continuously working to maximise DART punctuality, on an intensively operated network which is largely twotracks (and single track between Bray and Greystones).
‘2023’s punctuality performance is notable for the impact of “force majeure” factors, i.e. those which are outside of Iarnród Éireann’s control. A total of 28% of all DART delays are attributable to such factors, including road vehicles striking level crossings or bridges, weather impacts, trespass, and emergency service incident response.’
‘Passengers were left waiting 30% of the time’