DART+ (DART Expansion)

Any idea why ML is not yet approved by government and RO submitted?

It's certainly better than not having built the station at all.

Is there any info on what the costs of opening now are? Presumably there will be TVMs, passenger information displays, lifts, car park lighting, etc. which didn't make sense to have there before the station opens.

I believe it was originally kitted out with barriers and TVMs but they've all been wrecked over the years and have to be completely replaced,most of the interior has been trashed.

i would have thought the main story was the stunning incompetence and waste of taxpayers’ money.

But there are also serious questions about how dysfunctional things work (or don’t) in Ireland.

Prime land beside a train station undeveloped while land outside Dublin gets redeveloped for people who then have insane commutes.

These issues need to be fixed or else they’ll happen again and again.

Iirc, the station was paid for by the developer when it was initially built - will they provide funds again for the works needed now? Or will it be the state/Irish rail that are providing the €3.8 million?

I was under the impression is was part of the Kildare Rail Project. This involved Quad Tracking Hazelhatch - Ballyfermot and a couple of stations along the stretch for Dart and Intercity rail.

How can it be good forward planning when after all these years the station is unopened and the land beside it undeveloped?

Good forward planning would have been if the station had have opened in tandem with the land being developed.

As it happens, two weeks ago SDCC started a public consultation on proposed Social and Affordable housing development comprising of 263 residential units on a site located on lands within Clonburris SDZ;

Density is disappointing but that is probably due to the development surrounding the single storey traveller accommodation.

You would hope that much more density is planned for the other side of R136. Really the station should have been the focal point of a village with shops and a public space. The car park is there now but the plan should be to eventually develop that space also.

A frankly bizarre piece of journalism. If you didn't know the project you would think from that interview that the canal was to be permanently removed. She claims that construction can make animals leave, ok so we'll just all live in tents and never build or renovate anything again. Animals leave areas and return to them all the time

And sure why not just let cars pass through the level crossing after midnight. No interviews with normal folk who want to get to work and get home, only fruit cakes on canal barges get air time. I wonder has she carried out a study on the health impacts for the canal wild life generated by the NOx, PM10 and PM2.5 particulate emissions from her diesel powered canal barge.

I don't really see the issue why the canal would be a big problem in providing train services to the Ashtown area.

The amount of construction work to actually build the underpass to let cars, cyclists and pedestrians to use it would be very minimal. The rail line would still remain above ground. You would swear, going from the woman owning the barge along the canal, that the that the whole rail system would go underground in places like Ashtown.

I also wouldn't think the trains passing by the canal would be an issue at all. If IÉ had built the OHLE for Dart+ West. The new hybrid Dart trains that are going to be coming into service will eventually replace most of the current commuter rail stock which effectively runs on pure diesel. This would mean that tere would be way less emissions coming out from most of the rolling stock at that point.

The intercity railcar stock would still be running train services to Sligo at that point on that line as well. This would mean that a small amount of the emissions would still be present from that rail stock unless IÉ had plans to make them run on biofuels in the future which would get rid of the emissions issue.

July is the latest date.

The GNRB split and merger with CIE held the dieselisation programme back significantly I believe.