Rail Network

Once again I am raising the question of the continually poor service on the Dublin to Rosslare rail line. In terms of Topical Issues, Commencement Matters and parliamentary questions over the last six or seven years, I do not know how many times I have raised this issue. I appreciate that the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, is taking this on behalf of the Department of Transport. The rail line between Westland Row, which is now Pearse Street, and Dún Laoghaire is the oldest railway line in Ireland. In fact, it was the first commuter rail line in the world, built in 1834. I would argue, if we could transport ourselves back there, that there was a greater commitment to commuters using the line at that time. After its construction in 1834, over the next three decades it expanded all the way down along the coast to Rosslare. We are in a situation now where, in my constituency, if one gets on a train in Rathdrum, Arklow or Gorey, there are only six trains per day on weekdays between those stations and Dublin. Equidistant, if we look at somewhere like Carlow, there are 11 trains a day. If one is coming from Drogheda or Dundalk, there are 16 trains per day, with plans to expand that, and if one is coming from Portlaoise, which is also equidistant, there are 32 trains every day. However, the issue is not just the number of services. From my home town of Gorey to Connolly Station in Dublin city centre is about 90 km. It takes two hours by train to travel those 90 km. To travel the 182 km from Dublin to Belfast takes roughly the same length of time. If one wants to travel from Dublin to Cork, it is approximately 266 km which takes between two and a half and two and three quarter hours. This summer the situation got worse. The trains were breaking down. The air conditioning failed on the train on a number of occasions and Iarnród Éireann had to distribute bottles of water to consumers. If there was an alternative, in terms of the N11, that would be fine but the N11 is frequently blocked, with major tailbacks. I cannot see any commitment on the part of Iarnród Éireann to the services in my constituency and right down along the Rosslare rail line. There is talk about battery-powered trains and running more regular trains, while forcing people, potentially, to have to change trains in Wicklow, but there is no guarantee of extra services. In response to all of the questions I have asked, there is no guarantee of improvement of the quality of the trains. New trains were put on the track a number of years ago but were subsequently withdrawn. Essentially, the worst trains in Iarnród Éireann's stock continue to be offered on the Rosslare rail line. I am not satisfied that every time I submit a parliamentary question, the Minister will refer it on and say the operational details are a matter for Iarnród Éireann. It is simply not good enough for the commuting population down along the east coast. There is a number of potential solutions, including the introduction of overtaking loops on what is a single track and closing a number of the level crossings, of which there are six on the way into Dublin. This would allow the trains to move more quickly or to overtake the DARTs. We are spending €3 million per year on protecting the railway line from coastal erosion. Would it not make more sense to look at moving the track further inland to protect it into the long term? What really annoys commuters is that we are talking about a doubling of the railway track from Dublin to Belfast, from two to four tracks. I totally support that but why can we not, at the very least, see a doubling of the number of tracks on the Dublin to Rosslare line from one to two?

I thank Deputy Byrne, on behalf of the Minister for Transport, for the opportunity to address this issue in the House today. Improving public transport services and infrastructure is central to improving citizens' quality of life and addressing our climate action challenge, and this Government is committed to a fundamental change in the nature of transport in Ireland. In relation to the Deputy’s query on enhancing capacity on the network, in particularly in relation to improvements to capacity to the south of Wicklow town, I note that Iarnród Eireann’s rolling stock is currently fully deployed in service across the network. Notwithstanding this, I am pleased to note that as part of the DART+ programme, three orders delivering a total of 285 new carriages have been placed so far. When the first and second orders start entering service in 2027 and 2028, respectively, this will allow the redeployment of existing Intercity and commuter trains to other parts of the rail network experiencing capacity issues, including potentially on the Rosslare line. As this fleet enters operation, DART services will also be extended south of Wicklow town, a development which is targeted for 2029. The redeployment of rolling stock is an operational matter for Iarnród Eireann and the National Transport Authority, NTA, which will be decided on following the entry into service of the new DART fleet. The all-island strategic rail review, which was published in July 2024, also considered the issue of enhancing services on the Rosslare line. The review considered options to enable faster and more frequent journeys between Rosslare Europort and Dublin, including adding passing loops, tunnelling through Bray Head, developing a new railway along the M11 corridor, and developing a new line for DART services along the N11 corridor. Many of these solutions would be very costly and the review concluded that they would not be justifiable on socioeconomic or cost-benefit grounds, as the east coast rail line would not be expected to support more than one or two trains per hour in each direction. The review proposes that the best way forward for boosting connectivity in the south east in the shorter term is to introduce an hourly shuttle service between Wexford and Greystones, meeting seamlessly with DART services, bringing passengers into and out of the centre of Dublin city. This would be an operational decision and would need to be put in place following infrastructure upgrades planned under the DART+ programme. On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I again thank the Deputy for raising this important matter.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I appreciate that he is taking the matter on behalf of the Minister but there is not an awful lot that is new in what he said. Essentially, the response with regard to new carriages is that when we put new carriages on some of the other lines, the hand-me-downs may be passed on to the Rosslare rail line. In the response, there are no plans for improvement with regard to the N11. There are already serious difficulties with traffic jams on the N11. In fact, people will recall that during Storm Chandra at the start of this year when the N11 had to close at Kilmacanogue, it caused chaos. I am not seeing any real commitment in the Minister of State's response to the travelling public from counties Wicklow and Wexford. CSO statistics show that approximately 6,500 people travel from the Wicklow-Wexford area, primarily to the southside of Dublin and mostly for the purposes of work, but also to go to college, attend hospital appointments and so on. Unfortunately, the message I am reading in the reply is that the Government does not intend to do anything for those people in the next few years. There has been talk for a long time of extending the DART line to Wicklow. However, that will not be much comfort to my constituents who will have to change trains at Wicklow station on a cold, wet morning to get to the city. In particular, due consideration has not been given to those with mobility difficulties. I would be grateful if the Minister of State would convey my concerns to the Minister.

I will, of course, relate the Deputy's concerns to the Minister. I take on board what he is saying. Investment in transport is key to what the Government is doing. We want to realise our commitment in that regard. The Deputy is primarily talking about the service south of Wicklow town but, as he knows, there is a very substantial commitment to investment in terms of DART+, including delivery of new battery and electric units and new rolling stock. For many reasons, people want to move out of their cars and onto trains and buses. That is something the Government will continue to support. I will convey the Deputy's concerns about this line directly to the Minister.