The first new DART carriages to enter the service since it began in 1984 will operate today as part of a £135 million investment in Dublin's rail network.
The 10 new carriages, which were purchased from international rail group Alstom at a cost of £16 million, are the first phase of a programme of investment to improve commuter rail travel in the greater Dublin area.
The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, said the carriages will help ease congestion at peak times, providing longer trains and a better service. She said the investment was badly needed with an increase in daily passenger numbers on the DART from 30,000 in 1984 to more than 80,000 currently.
The investment, which is being co-funded by the Government and the European Union, will allow all DART trains to operate as six-carriage trains during peak times by early next year.
A further 16 carriages costing £24 million will go into service in the spring of next year and 12 more have been ordered from Japan.
The programme also includes the purchase, at a cost of £24 million, of 20 diesel Arrow railcars from Mitsui of Japan.