DART+ (DART Expansion)

Yes it is definitely a problem, but some problems have to be deprioritised because solving them gets in the way of solving more important problems.

I can certainly understand why you would be annoyed if you could no longer get a seat on the DART from Howth Junction, but I also think no should listen to someone in your position if they were to try to get Irish Rail to change their plans because of it.

ah yeah there was nothing bad that i heard from it, it was orderly alright , but i didnt realise the queues for the station were that big . the last gig i was at in Croker, didnt have to queue outside

Standing for 20 minutes. Annoying for me, a deal breaker for other people.

Howth passengers having to change at Junkie Junction is also a big issue no matter how trivial it appears to most people on here.

I checked the timetable and it seems to be generally 12 minutes from Raheny to Connolly, only a little over half the 20 minute time you suggest. I picked Connolly as a lot of people alight there, especially during busy periods and if you were standing on arrival to Connolly, you'd be almost certain to grab yourself a seat before new passengers board the train.

There are dedicated sitting areas in each carriage for those with a physical impairment. Any misuse of those seats by perfectly abled people who refuse to give up his/her seat to someone who actually needs one (a deal breaker person, that you mention) would be a completely unrelated matter to and should be discussed separately.

Your first point, this is the ideal situation. If I can time a DART from Clongriffen in the mornings that would be ideal. Indeed even two DARTs starting from Clongriffen during a rush hour would be greatly appreciated.

I'm not saying they should not expand northern line capacity just to suit me. But I do think that they can find a balance between increased capacity while also not downgrading the existing DART service.

I think that if the existing service was to be downgraded then people have a right to be heard even if we are not part of the 'greater good'. It's been mainly a great service for 40 years. My dad worked in Irish Rail and was privileged to be part of the initial roll out of DARTs.

But you will "probably" have a seat about 12 minutes after leaving Raheny, as you arrive at Connolly.

is it worth mentioning that per the station stats for last years census more people got on the train at Docklands than did at Howth. Same with Sutton and Bayside

As pointed out, you will get a seat at Connolly, thanks to the numbers getting off the train.

A service you still have the privilege of using. Plenty of people around the country are stuck with low frequency bus routes, you're getting an increased frequency Dart and still complaining.

A shuttle service makes it trivial to ensure that the Howth-branch trains arrive just in time for the Northern line trains - there’s very little chance of being left waiting on a platform.

Regarding standing, Dublin passengers are already very good about giving up their seat to those with a medical need to sit down, and TII has a recent programme where people with non-obvious disabilities can get a badge to indicate this need, and that project has also been very well received.

So, the problem of the elderly/pregnant/disabled passenger is not a problem. We’re basically left with the argument that an able-bodied passenger used to almost always be able to sit for the whole journey, but now might have to stand for some of it, I’m afraid there’s no sympathy on offer for that position.

The Howth branch is a small not highly populated line. That is even with all the new apartments coming on stream in Howth.

What is planned will be an increase in services along the Howth branch, albeit with a connection to be made en route. This happens the world over on big urban systems. Changing trains is nothing new and even something we do a lot of in Ireland and for the most part quite well.

I do think a bit of engineering at Howth Junction is needed. If they could make the down platform on the Howth Branch one with a set of buffer blocks at the Dublin end, then you could run the DART ex Howth into this platform without the signal overrun into the crossover at the junction. You could then have parallel arrivals into both platforms and then a simple cross platform onto the DART ex Clongriffin / Malahide / Drogheda. It would make a slightly lesser walk from the down main platform to this platform too.

A crossover already exists to allow trains do this movement. A new crossover would have to be installed to allow any trains trying to access the branch to cross over after Kilbarrack and then over to the down side on the branch after the station.

it's up to others around the country to campaign for rail services to either be instated if a route can be found, or re-instated if the route is still available or a new route can be found.
it's not up to that poster to not complain about changes to their service because some around the country don't have a rail service at all, in some cases those people choosing to not fight to retain their rail service when they had it.

it's not that poster's fault or problem.

The overall speed of service will also increase slightly as diesel trains are taken out of contention with the electric DARTs.

On that, I know that 12tph is what is being promised, but does anyone have a guess at what the maximum frequency would be on these lines when done? My guess is that with modern signalling and modern rolling stock, sections with no other service using the line (e.g. Hazelhatch-Glasnevin), it should be possible to get to 30 tph (2 min between trains) if needed.