Sir, - I read that the extension of the DART to Greystones has now been delayed to "about the end of March". This is the seventh deadline for a project first announced in 1995 and supposed to start operating in November 1997. The engineering was completed in August 1999 but operations have been held up by a labour dispute.
What confidence can we have in the latest deadline? How on earth has it taken five years to electrify four miles of existing railway? How have the extra carriages taken five years to arrive?
The Government and unions often speak of their commitment to public transport. This saga shows that the public transport user comes well down their list of priorities. CIE is to receive £2 billion under the National Plan but I fear that much of it will be wasted with this type of project management. Only a radical transformation such as separately privatising the rail infrastructure and train operations will give the necessary shock to make public transport work properly. - Yours, etc.,
Derek Mitchell, Member, Wicklow County Council (FG), Manor Avenue, Greystones, Co Wicklow.