Iarnród Éireann, which said yesterday that work was to begin on an underground rail link from Dublin's docklands to Heuston station, is considering spending up to €300 million on new train carriages as the number of passengers using the railways rises.
The company, which is part of the CÍE group, has circulated tender documents to railway carriage manufacturers as part of an exercise to see what is available in the current market.
A spokesman said the money was likely to be spent on new commuter and Dart carriages. The company could spend anything from between €60 million and €300 million.
Up to 200 carriages may be ordered, according to the tender documentation. It is likely, if a deal goes ahead, they will be ordered over a four-year period. The applicants for any Iarnród Éireann contracts are likely to come from across Europe.
The company is in a major expansionary phase and yesterday announced that work is to begin on a major infrastructural project in Dublin - an underground rail link from the docklands to Heuston station.
The company claimed that the new Dart line, which is due to be completed in 2015, will quadruple the number of commuter rail journeys in the capital from the current 25 million to 100 million.
Advertisements were placed this week for specialists to help devise the scheme.
They will develop plans for five stations, carry out geotechnical ground studies, establish cost estimates and liaise with landowners and local authorities. Construction work is due to begin in 2009.
A spokesman said the underground Dart is intended to increase frequency and capacity for commuters on Dart, Northern, Maynooth and Kildare lines, while development plans also include the extension of the Dart network to Maynooth, Hazelhatch and Balbriggan.
"The interconnector will be the single most important piece of infrastructure in the State to ensure a modal shift from private to public transport, and free future generations from the gridlock which cripples the Greater Dublin area today," said the spokesman.
The State's rail sector is growing at a faster rate than that of any other EU state. After years of low investment, improved Government funding appears to have given the sector a considerable boost.
A recent survey showed the number of passenger journeys on Irish trains rose from 34.5 million in 2004 to 37.6 million in 2005, a jump of 9 per cent.
This was significantly higher than increases in the UK, France and Germany.