Dart extension to Wicklow town pushed back to 2030
The National Transport Authority included the extension as part of their Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2022-2042 that was adopted in 2023.
An extension of the line to Wicklow town is currently under active review with battery-electric carriages, which are undergoing testing and expected to be used when the service begins operations.
The line extension has been hit with many false starts in recent years.
In 2019, it was announced that the Dart for Wicklow town would begin serving passengers by 2023-2024.
Timeframes for 2025 and 2026 were also promised but were subsequently missed.
In February 2025, representatives from Irish Rail met with members from the Transport, Infrastructure Delivery and Emergency Services, Strategic Policy Committee of Wicklow County Council where they were told that an hourly service would be introduced by the end of 2028.
This follows a presentation from then NTA CEO Anne Graham and now interim chief Hugh Creegan to Wicklow County Council's monthly meeting in October of last year, confirming that the NTA are looking at a four-to-five-year timeframe to introduce the service.
Now in a parliamentary update to Wicklow TDs John Brady and Jennifer Whitmore Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien confirmed that it won't be until the end of this decade when trains will begin carrying passengers on a more frequent basis.
'The new battery-electric Dart carriages will first be deployed from Dublin to Drogheda from next year. As more carriages arrive, it may be feasible to also deploy them to extend Dart services to and from Wicklow, subject to funding and approvals for the required charging infrastructure. The NTA is currently examining this issue with a view to progressing the extension around 2029.' he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Dart extension to Wicklow town pushed back to 2030
The National Transport Authority included the extension as part of their Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2022-2042 that was adopted in 2023. An extension of the line to Wicklow town is currently under active review with battery-electric carriages, which are undergoing testing and expected to be used when the service begins operations. The line extension has been hit with many false starts in recent years. In 2019, it was announced that the Dart for Wicklow town would begin serving passengers by 2023-2024. Timeframes for 2025 and 2026 were also promised but were subsequently missed. In February 2025, representatives from Irish Rail met with members from the Transport, Infrastructure Delivery and Emergency Services, Strategic Policy Committee of Wicklow County Council where they were told that an hourly service would be introduced by the end of 2028. This follows a presentation from then NTA CEO Anne Graham and now interim chief Hugh Creegan to Wicklow County Council's monthly meeting in October of last year, confirming that the NTA are looking at a four-to-five-year timeframe to introduce the service. Now in a parliamentary update to Wicklow TDs John Brady and Jennifer Whitmore Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien confirmed that it won't be until the end of this decade when trains will begin carrying passengers on a more frequent basis. 'The new battery-electric Dart carriages will first be deployed from Dublin to Drogheda from next year. As more carriages arrive, it may be feasible to also deploy them to extend Dart services to and from Wicklow, subject to funding and approvals for the required charging infrastructure. The NTA is currently examining this issue with a view to progressing the extension around 2029.' he added.
Irish Independent
11 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Major Wicklow store applies for change of use to upgrade and relocate
Quinns is a privately-owned agricultural merchants headquartered in Baltinglass employing more than 120 full time employees. They have applied to Wicklow County Council for a change of use of the site at Clough Upper, Baltinglass, from agriculture to light industrial use, including the existing sheds, to provide for a seed processing facility and ancillary plant and storage areas. The proposed development will also include the demolition of two existing buildings on site and the construction of two interconnecting replacement buildings, with a maximum ridge height of c. 13m, to accommodate a seed drying plant, with external conveyors and seed dyers, 15.5m in height, located to the south-west. The development will also consist of the provision of an additional weigh bridge located to the south of the site, and alterations to the existing vehicular site entrance located at the south-east boundary, including the provision of new entrance gates and boundary treatment. A new gate will be provided on the eastern site boundary. The application also includes plans for staff car parking, waste management areas, surface water drainage; hard and soft landscaping and all associated infrastructural and site development works above and below ground. The proposed change of use relates to all buildings on site except for the existing dwelling to the north-east, including its associated curtilage and vehicular entrance. The site is bounded to the east by the N81 National Road. The adjoining lands to the north, south and west are currently used for agriculture. There are a number of one-off residential dwelling in the surrounding area. Quinns appointed O'Callaghan Moran & Associates (OCM) to prepare a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) to accompany the planning application. The CEMP describes the measures that will be implemented in the construction stage to effectively mitigate adverse environmental effects. A planning decision on the application is due by August 6 of this year.
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
Government urged to extend free travel for children under nine and pensioners to commercial services
An organisation representing private bus operators said it would cost €1m to extend the free travel scheme for children using commercial as well as state bus services, in a pre-budget submission to the Department of Finance. The Coach Tourism and Transport Council also wants financial incentives and funding to decarbonise the national bus fleet. It said in the third quarter of this year, the National Transport Authority will allow passengers under nine on state transport providers free of charge. The organisation said the same benefits will not be afforded to those using commercial services. It claimed this disparity is creating an unfairness for passengers, establishes an urban-rural divide, and unfair competition in the marketplace. Chairperson David Conway said the expansion of free travel is a welcome development in recent years. 'We would urge the government to include commercial operators in the next phase of the roll out of free transport, particularly for the free transport scheme for children under-nine which is due to brought in in 2026,' he said. He said this would be an important step in ensuring that thousands of families who use commercial bus operators on a daily basis can avail of an important cost reduction, 'particularly when we provide many transport routes where the state cannot". Mr Conway said the IT infrastructure is already in place, as commercial providers are part of the Young Adult Leap Card and Free Travel Pass schemes. Due to a shortage of drivers, the organisation wants older drivers to be able to continue working longer. "We know that many drivers over 70 are well able to continue working as school bus drivers,' said Mr Conway. 'They should be allowed to continue serving the communities that they have for many years.' A CCTC spokesperson said its members operate more than 95pc of school transport services and provide almost all private coach hire. It represents nearly 90 operators with a combined fleet of 11,500 coaches. Operators include, Kavanagh Coaches, Flightlink, Aircoach and Wexford Bus. Previously, a report by the National Office for Traffic Medicine warned the government of potential risks if people over 70 were allowed to drive school buses.
