DART to go further into County Kildare than planned

Kildare is to get a DART service after all, according to the interim Chief Executive of the National Transport Authority (NTA).

While previous announcements had indicated that the next development of the DART+ West would go as far as Maynooth, with a depot further to the west - but crucially before Kilcock - the passenger service would not extend as far as Kilcock.

It was believed that significant work on the bridge in Kilcock would be required to make it viable, as well as re-development of the station.

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But in a letter to Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly, NTA boss Hugh Creegan said that a new transport strategy for the Greater Dublin area has been finalised and adopted – and it includes moving the DART system further westwards to Kilcock.

“Planning work on this extension could commence this year and exact timelines will be developed as design/planning work gets underway,” Mr Creegan explained.

The news was warmly welcomed by Deputy Farrelly who warned that the development of transport links for commuters needs to be a key priority for governments for the next several decades.

“As a party the Social Democrats have been constantly campaigning for this for the past four years. Between the two most recent census - in 2016 and 2022 - the population of Kildare expanded by 11.4%. If it continues to grow at the same rate we will have 300,000 people living here by the early 2030’s, half a million by the early 2060’s and over a million by the end of the century.

“If we don’t invest massively in transport infrastructure now, we are looking at decades of playing catchup and massive traffic jams.”

The news was also welcomed by local Social Democrat’s county councillor Peter Melrose.

“Transport is already a significant quality of life issue in Kilcock and Maynooth. Every morning we see cars queuing to get onto the M4 and moving very slowly once they get onto it.

“The extension of the DART to Kilcock – and hopefully beyond – will be the difference between seeing these towns flourish or seeing them become traffic bound and unworkable.”

Mr Creegan cautioned that extending the DART westwards was not simply a matter extending the current DART+ project.

“The extension of DART services to Kilcock will be developed as a standalone project, separate from the DART+ Depot, as it is necessary to go through the full feasibility and optioneering processes.”

According to Irish Rail, electrification of the Sligo line beyond Maynooth remains an objective of Iarnród Éireann.