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Originally Posted by Irish Independent
Work begins on €1.5bn DART line to run under centre of city
WORK is under way on a new €1.5bn underground DART line through the heart of Dublin city centre, it was learned yesterday.
The interconnector rail line, from Docklands to Heuston Station, will quadruple the greater Dublin area's rail service capacity from the current 25m passenger journeys annually to 100m.
Iarnrod Eireann appealed yesterday for specialists to help design the line, the Irish Independent has learned.
These will develop designs for the five planned underground stations, carry out underground tests and liaise with landowners. They will also establish detailed cost estimates.
The underground DART service is being designed to dramatically increase frequency and capacity for commuters on DART, Northern, Maynooth and Kildare lines. The plans also involve the extension of the DART network to Maynooth, Hazelhatch and Balbriggan.
The proposed interconnector route will see DART trains from Balbriggan and Howth branch off after Clontarf Road and go underground at Docklands station, where the line will connect with the Luas.
It will continue to Pearse station, connecting with what will be the Maynooth to Bray/Greystones DART.
At St Stephen's Green it is to connect with the Luas and the Metro to the airport before continuing to High Street and Heuston, again linking with Luas, intercity and commuter trains before continuing above ground to Hazelhatch and the Kildare commuter line.
Iarnrod Eireann says that the interconnector will be the single most important piece of infrastructure in the State for encouraging commuters to switch from cars to public transport.
"We want to free future generations from the gridlock which cripples the greater Dublin area today," Barry Kenny, company spokesperson, said.
The interconnector will links all rail modes - DART, commuter, Intercity, Luas and the planned Metro to Swords via Dublin Airport - to form an integrated network. The Docklands-Heuston interconnector involves a second high-capacity DART line through the heart of the city centre, a 5.2km underground line.
The result should be a dramatically increased frequency and capacity for services on the northern, Maynooth and Kildare lines - the three fastest-growing population corridors in the country.
The overall target is for a fully integrated rail network for the greater Dublin area.
Suburb-to-suburb as well as suburb-to-city centre journeys will be possible with a frequent, high-capacity network.
Iarnrod Eireann said yesterday that DART extensions to some routes were likely to be delivered in advance of the Interconnector.
Treacy Hogan
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12-05-2006, 06:57
[article] The Interconnector Reannouncement list
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