Dart+ plans would see diesel trains stop in Greystones
PLANS being made for DART+ to Maynooth would involve stopping the peak hour diesel trains from Arklow, Rathdrum, Wicklow and Kilcoole in Greystones. Passengers would then transfer to the two DARTs per hour from Greystones.
This is being done to allow 13 DARTs from Maynooth onto the North South line in the peak.
‘I am totally opposed to this as it will mean more people will use their cars, clog up the N11, and (this would be) be bad for climate change,’ said Cllr Derek Mitchell, is Chair of the Wicklow Transport Committee.
There are currently two early morning diesel trains, one before the peak hour and one during.
‘In 2018, I prepared a plan to provide two peak hour ones and lengthen them to cope with the population increase. This seems to have been rejected,’ said Cllr Mitchell. ‘The Maynooth project will take four years and I urge interested Wicklow and Wexford people to make a submission to DARTMaynooth@Irishrail.ie before October 7. This shuttle will also increase the journey time from Arklow to Dublin by 11 minutes.’
In a submission to the DART+ plans, Wicklow Transport Committee has proposed a solution.
‘Of the 13 peak hour trains from Maynooth to Connolly, 2 (or possibly 4) should go to Spencer Dock instead of joining the North South line, leaving space for 2 peak hour Wicklow trains,’ reads the submission. ‘The modelling should be run taking the Wicklow/Wexford service into account, including increasing the length to eight carriages. This should be supported by a bus lane, with express buses, on the N11 from Newtown. The study on this is well behind schedule. The population is expanding as required by the Department of Environment population target instructions and proper public transport is required. The line was built as the Dublin & South Eastern Railway in the mid 1850s and the South Eastern trains to Dublin must not be cancelled.’
Minister Simon Harris has also called upon Irish Rail to retain diesel train services to Dublin. ‘I fully support the submission by my colleague Cllr Derek Mitchell to retain an uninterrupted diesel train service between the South East (Wicklow/Wexford) and Dublin City Centre,’ he said. ‘I have sought a meeting with the Minister for Transport to discuss these changes in addition ensuring additional public transport is put in place on the M11/N11 with park and ride facilities and shuttle buses for commuters.’