In 2023 the transport sector was responsible for 21.4 per cent of the Republic’s greenhouse gas emissions, up from about 18 per cent in 2022. While the most publicised measure to reduce this is the target of having almost one million electric vehicles on the roads by 2030, an equally if not more important element is the Government’s ambitious plans to upgrade the State’s often derided public transport system.
Every aspect of public transport will come in for significant, often multi-billion-euro investment over the coming decades. National and local rail, urban, interurban and local bus services, and Luas and light rail services will all be upgraded with an aim of getting more people out of their cars, with knock-on impacts on traffic congestion and carbon emissions.
The largest single investment, at up to €37 billion at current prices, is set out in the recently unveiled All-Island Vision for a New Age of Rail report. The report sets out 32 strategic recommendations to enhance and expand the rail system in the Republic and Northern Ireland up to 2050.
It proposes additional track capacity, electrification, increased speeds, higher service frequencies and the construction of new rail lines, particularly in the north midlands and northwest, with the overall objective of almost tripling the number of people using the rail system annually from about 65 million today to more than 180 million by 2050.
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The report envisages faster services, with new 200km/h intercity trains significantly reducing journey times between cities, halving them in some cases. Frequency will be increased to at least hourly between cities and at least every two hours on regional and rural routes. A net carbon zero rail system will be achieved primarily through the overhead electrification of intercity routes and new electric trains.
In addition, the rail network route length would increase from around 2,300km to almost 3,000km with the reopening of disused and construction of new rail lines. New routes in the north midlands and northwest would lead to 700,000 more people living within 5km of a railway station.
The next big-ticket item on the public transport shopping list is the Dublin MetroLink. MetroLink is a shortened version of the MetroNorth project that was originally proposed in 2005 but was paused during the financial crisis.
The current cost estimate is €9.5 billion for an 18.8km line running from north of Swords under Dublin Airport and into Dublin city centre, where it will again run mainly underground as far as Charlemont Bridge at the Grand Canal. The line will include 16 new stations, 11 of them underground, and will link Dublin Airport, Irish Rail, Dart, Dublin Bus and Luas services, with the aim of creating fully integrated public transport in the Greater Dublin Area.
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As well as linking major transport hubs, MetroLink will connect key destinations including Ballymun, the Mater hospital, the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin City University and Trinity College Dublin.
MetroLink is projected to carry up to 50 million passengers annually and to cut journey times from Swords to the city centre to 25 minutes. The project is coming to the end of a second public consultation process, and it remains to be seen whether An Bord Pleanála will hold a second oral hearing. If approved, it is not expected that construction will be completed until between 2032 and 2034, with the line eventually coming into service in 2035.
[ Public consultation on Dublin’s long-awaited MetroLink reopensOpens in new window ]
Dublin is not the only city to benefit from enhanced commuter rail – work is about to commence on a €29.5 million to upgrade the 10km stretch of line between Glounthaune and Midleton in Cork to twin track, for example. Iarnród Éireann anticipates the twin-tracking, along with works on a new through platform at Kent Station and new signalling across the full Cork commuter network, will allow increased capacity and more frequent services to ultimately reach a 10-minute frequency on all commuter routes in Cork.
Back on the rails in Dublin, the Dart+ Programme will see the existing Dart network grow from its current 50km in length to over 150km and double capacity per hour to 52,000. The programme will include the following projects: Dart+ West – Maynooth and M3 Parkway to the city centre; Dart+ South West – Hazelhatch and Celbridge to the city centre; Dart+ Coastal North – Drogheda to the city centre; and Dart+ Coastal South – Greystones to the city centre.
Iarnród Éireann has estimated the overall cost of the Dart+ Programme at €2.6 billion, which includes the purchase of new trains, the construction of new depots and the electrification of much of the rail network around Dublin.
Despite its early doubters, the Luas service in Dublin has proved an unqualified success. As a result, the National Transport Authority (NTA) Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area includes four Luas lines, to Finglas, Lucan, Poolbeg and Bray, to be delivered between 2031 and 2042, and design on further routes to Tallaght/Kimmage, Tallaght/Knocklyon and UCD/ Sandyford, as well as lines to Clongriffin, Balgriffin, Tyrellstown, Blanchardstown and Clondalkin, to commence within that time frame.
Moving off the rails and on to the roads, the often controversial BusConnects project for Dublin continues apace. The redesign of the Dublin bus network involves the creation of 230km of bus lanes and numerous other measures at a cost of between €2.6 billion and €3.4 billion.
The redesign of the network sees the application of a new lettering system to bus routes, from A to H, that signify eight spines through the city, complemented by 12 orbital routes (lettered O, N, S, W) and a number of local (L), city-bound (1-99), peak-only (P) and express services (X). To date, the H, C and G spines have been rolled out, along with the N, W and S orbital and other radial and local routes.
TFI Local Link door-to-door bus services work along fixed routes but can divert to collect passengers and drop them off at their homes, where possible
The project has been subject to a number of delays at the planning stage and has encountered difficulties with driver recruitment. Notwithstanding these issues, 2030 has been set as the completion date for the overall project.
Dublin is by no means the only city to benefit from a BusConnects programme. Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Cork will also see significant enhancements to their bus services in the coming years.
Finally, new and enhanced TFI Local Link services are being added to the Transport for Ireland network as part of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan. TFI Local Link bus services connect communities throughout rural Ireland and form a network of affordable bus services for everyone who wants to travel to or from local towns and villages.
TFI Local Link operates regular rural bus services and door-to-door services. Door-to-door bus services work along fixed routes but can divert to collect passengers and drop them off at their homes, where possible. In addition, community car schemes are available in several locations around the country that are not served by other public transport modes.