DART+ (DART Expansion)

When you say a supplier that’s never provided product to Ireland before, what do you mean?

Let’s just hope that these Alstom DARTs are more reliable than the other ones!

It charged on overhead lines. Close enough.

If only the 8200s were their only problematic leavings here - they did the 2700s too!

https://www.rte.ie/archives/2019/0224/1029617-the-dart-overrun/

What trains are you referring to? Should we be worried the new DARTs might have issues? Does Alstom have a bad reputation or something? (I don't speak train)

Yes, the 8200s and 2700s were both built in Spain, I believe, and it was a long time ago now. These new trains come from a facility in Poland: a 30 year gap, different product family, and being built in a different factory would make it hard to draw conclusions from any comparisons with the old stock.

The previous generation of the XTrapolis family, Xtrapolis 100, has been used in Melbourne (also an Irish gauge railway) since the mid-2000s, and has a good record for reliability.

Not really.

Great news to see more progress on DART expansion and it generally seems to me that they got the thing built very quickly which is a good sign for future new stations

Good to see the late Wexford Gorey train has been extended to Dublin as well.

https://www.irishtimes.com/transport/2025/08/13/replacement-of-dublins-ageing-dart-fleet-subject-to-further-review/

However, the Department of Transport said at the time that the National Development Plan (NDP), which covers large-scale State transport investment, was “under review by the Department of Public Expenditure”, effectively making the Dart plan subject to another review. The NDP was published in June. This week, the department said it was now “reviewing key programmes and projects in the transport sector in the context of that capital funding”, including Dart replacement. A spokeswoman said a decision would be made “in the coming months.”

Why is there another review, and why does it take 'months'?

Only three sets are delivered because that's all that's needed for the certification process. The others will arrive steadily enough once the final configuration has been agreed between IÉ and Alstom, but even still, the orders already placed will take until late 2026 to fulfil.

Replacement of the 8100s is needed for the continued viability of the existing DART service. The trains that are already ordered are intended to extend DART to Drogheda, increase frequency, and to serve the new Western and Southwestern lines, but the schedule of delivery is likely to be ahead of construction of DART+, so in the meantime they will probably be used to replace the most worn of the 8100 sets.

(I don't think they can be sent to be used for Cork Commuter rail, as I suspect that will be a different electrical system to DART)

But really, the earliest possible delivery time of 2026 on any further train order makes a delay of a couple of months in ordering them pretty meaningless.

Does anyone have the expected number of annual DART passengers post DART+ (and MetroLink integration) beyond 2028 (which iirc they had expected a doubling for in the initial CBA)? For the ones currently with ROs or in for planning, not for anything on DART+ South. All I ever read is about capacity rather than pure passenger numbers and expected demand (which you can get for MetroLink). Would I be right in saying that the current Commuter lines being upgraded carry 75% of the current Irish Rail commuter traffic so maybe a 10m base to build on?

Rather simplistically I’d have thought it would be at least 3x with two more lines / trebling of total length, the improved intermodal connectivity with Luas / Metrolink and new stations there that will drive demand. But the the general catchment is important, lot of the coastal towns on the southside are high demand areas but it also hugs the sea for most of it which limits access, which somewhat offsets that you are getting a bit more remote with some of the new line lengths.

Would 75m be high side possible? Low side 60m?