DART+ (DART Expansion)

I have been an advocate of spurs from the proposed Hazelhatch 4-track line for many years.

I think Dublin should look into the possibility of a spur to/from Tallaght as part of this project, in order to deliver a rapid line into the city along this corridor which would have a catchment of about 100,000 people.

I am also in favour of examining other potential spurs from the Hazelhatch route, to take advantage of the enormous capacity which will be available to the city’s transport network, if the DART Underground project comes about, which I hope will happen.

I would be thinking, broadly, of eventual spurs towards Lucan and up towards the Maynooth line at Clonsilla – with a possible connection there - via some of the areas of the city which are most in need of a rapid connection with the centre of the city.

Given the huge capacity of the Hazelhatch line, and the potential which it offers, other spurs might make sense.

On this board, only one person has come out with a clear position against the idea of such spurs. This person is quite pointedly against such an idea, and He/She has stated that they would only be in favour of a spur to Naas, but not to any areas within the County Dublin area. A very odd view, in my opinion, given that the highest population in the area is in County Dublin.

It has to be noted that this person was, and may still be, an owner of a property in Clonsilla. There is an obvious question as to whether this is influencing his/her position when posting on this board.

There is a fear that this poster's position might not be very objective.

If there’s a decent alternative connecting Liffey Valley or Neilstown directly with the city, via a direct route into the City Centre via the DART Underground (if it happens), then we don’t necessarily need to pay the high prices to live in Clonsilla.

But if we’re at the end of a spur line to Naas, we’re still at the end of the day living in Naas, fine and all as it may be, but not influencing house prices in County Dublin, for example in places like Clonsilla.

marno21 wrote: »

Surely the Luas Red Line can serve Tallaght sufficiently? Especially if DART Underground is built to take Kildare line traffic into the city centre and save them all having to squash onto the Luas at Heuston (I'm aware the PPT has helped here but it's not much use for intercity services or outside of peak times).

Priority after Luas to Bray, Metro and DART Underground should be some sort of rail on the R114 corridor.

The Red line is okay, as things stand, but if the DART Underground is built you'd certainly want to see an improvement in the connection between Dublin and its biggest suburb. It's currently around 44 minutes, which is probably one of the longest you can find anywhere that a rail connection exists between a capital city and its largest suburb.

Given the enormous excess capacity which would be available along a Hazelhatch - Dart Underground route, if it is built, the Clondalkin-Tallaght corridor would then be one which would yield an obvious, immediate improvement for many people.

Eventually Dublin should certainly be aiming at around an 15- to 20-minute connection between the centre and its largest suburb.