Dublin Suburban Rail

Dublin Suburban Rail Map as of 2015.

The Dublin Suburban Rail (Irish: Iarnród Bruachbhailteach Baile Átha Cliath) network, (now branded DART/Commuter), is a railway network that serves the city of Dublin, Ireland, most of the Greater Dublin Area and outlying towns. The system is made up of five lines:

Apart from the service to Newry, the lines are owned and operated by Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail). The Luas (light rail) system is not part of this network and is not operated by Irish Rail. As of 2015, the Luas Red Line between Connolly and Heuston Stations is the only one featured on DART network maps.

Since January 2015, Iarnród Éireann has conducted an extensive crackdown on fare evaders by increasing ticket checks on all services in the Greater Dublin Area. These include members of staff checking tickets and smartcards both on-board its trains or at the stations.

Service frequency

Northern Commuter

Legend
To Belfast
Newry (One early morning service per week day only)
Border
Dundalk
Drogheda-Navan (Freight Only)
Drogheda
Laytown
Gormanston
Balbriggan
Skerries
Rush & Lusk
Donabate
Malahide(for DART)
Portmarnock
Clongriffin
DART Howth Branch
Howth Junction & Donaghmede
KilbarrackDART
RahenyDART
HarmonstownDART
KillesterDART
Clontarf RoadDART
The Royal Canal
Dublin Connolly Luas
Luas Red Line (To Dublin Heuston)
Loopline Bridge
Tara Street
Dublin Pearse
(To Bray and Rosslare)

South Eastern Commuter

Legend
Dublin Connolly Luas
Luas Red Line
(To Dublin Heuston and Tallaght)
Loopline Bridge
Tara Street
Dublin Pearse
Grand Canal DockDART
Lansdowne Road
SandymountDART
Sydney Parade
BooterstownDART
Blackrock
SeapointDART
Salthill and MonkstownDART
Dun Laoghaire
Sandycove and GlasthuleDART
GlenagearyDART
DalkeyDART
KillineyDART
ShankillDART
Bray
Greystones
Kilcoole
Wicklow
Rathdrum
Arklow
Gorey
Line To Rosslare

Western Commuter

Legend
Line to Sligo
Mullingar
Enfield
Kilcock
Maynooth
Leixlip Louisa Bridge
Leixlip Confey
To Hansfield, Dunboyne, & M3 Parkway
Clonsilla
Coolmine
Castleknock
Navan Road Parkway
Ashtown
Broombridge
To Liffey Junction & Dublin Broadstone (Closed 1937)
The Royal Canal
Phoenix Park Tunnel (To Dublin Heuston)
Drumcondra
Docklands(Luas Spencer Dock)
The Royal Canal

Dublin Connolly Luas
Luas Red Line
(To Dublin Heuston and Tallaght)
Loopline Bridge
Tara Street
Dublin Pearse

South Western Commuter

Legend
Phoenix Park Tunnel
to Dublin Connolly
Luas Red Line
to Dublin Connolly or Point Depot
Dublin Heuston Luas
Luas Red Line
to Tallaght or Saggart
Inchicore Works
Park West and Cherry Orchard
 Clondalkin/Fonthill
 Kishoge
 Adamstown
 Hazelhatch and Celbridge
 Sallins and Naas
 Newbridge
 Kildare
Dublin–Waterford Line
to Waterford
Dublin–Cork Line
to Cork

Services run from 05:30 to 00:42 from Monday to Saturday and 08:25 to 00:42 on Sunday. However, frequency varies by line, with the DART service being more frequent (every 15-20 minutes off peak, every few minutes peak) and services to outer stations being less frequent (maybe one every hour off peak). Less trains run on Sunday than any other day, and special timetables may be made for public holidays. There are no services on Christmas Day or St Stephen's Day.

Rolling stock

As of 2015, the majority of rolling stock used on the non-DART services are 29000 Class diesel multiple units, with 22000 Class DMUs also in use for some services on the Maynooth line. The 29000 Class DMUs are fitted with interior LEDs and automated information systems. 8100 Class electric multiple units form the backbone of the DART services, with 8500, 8510 and 8520 Classes also in use. Locomotive hauled services are no longer used on any DART/Commuter services, although these (typically British Railways Mark 1 trains, the "Cravens") were a feature before the delivery of the Class 2800 DMUs in the year 2000. Currently, Kildare Commuter services are operated by 22000 Class railcars.

Routes

Northern Commuter

Fleet: 29000 and 22000 class DMUs.

Stations served - Dublin Pearse, Tara Street, Dublin Connolly, Howth Junction, Clongriffin, Portmarnock, Malahide, Donabate, Rush and Lusk, Skerries, Balbriggan, Gormanston, Laytown, Drogheda, Dundalk.

Dunleer and/or Dundalk South have been mooted as possible additional stations. The track is shared with the Dublin-Belfast Enterprise service, and DART services as far as Malahide. The bridge at Drogheda is single track which may hinder high frequency services in the long term. The halt at Mosney is no longer used due to the closure of the holiday camp there.

Iarnród Éireann envisages electrification as far as Drogheda by 2030, with the stations between Balbriggan and Malahide incorporated into a new DART service between Balbriggan and Hazelhatch (see below).

South Eastern Commuter

Fleet: 29000 and 22000 class DMUs. Stations served - Dublin Connolly, Tara Street, Dublin Pearse, Lansdowne Road, Sydney Parade, Blackrock, Dun Laoghaire, Bray, Greystones, Kilcoole, Wicklow, Rathdrum, Arklow, Gorey.

The services share track with the mainline service to Rosslare and the DART service as far as Greystones. The line is single track from Bray onwards. This is the least frequent DART/Commuter service, with only a handful of trains daily. Some services will only travel as far as Arklow.

South Western Commuter

Sometimes called the Kildare Suburban or Kildare Commuter line. Previously known as the Arrow service.

Fleet: 22000 class DMUs. Stations served - Dublin Heuston, Cherry Orchard & Parkwest, Clondalkin & Fonthill, Adamstown, Hazelhatch & Celbridge, Sallins & Naas, Newbridge, Kildare.

This service is the newest Dublin DART/Commuter line. It was launched in 1994 as the Arrow service, shortly after the delivery of the then Arrow-branded Class 2600 railcars. Cherry Orchard, Clondalkin, Hazelhatch and Celbridge and Sallins and Naas stations were opened on the same day, although stations had previously existed on some of these sites. Newbridge station had previously been an InterCity station, though Commuter trains now mainly serve it. The stations on the line were at the time of launch all "Arrow" branded also, though this branding has now been removed. This line does not connect directly with the rest of the network, being operated out of Dublin Heuston, however it is connected by the Luas and Dublin Bus Route 90.

A station used only occasionally for "special" trains also exists at the Curragh. The station at Cherry Orchard was relocated to Cherry Orchard & Parkwest in July 2008 and Clondalkin was located further west as Clondalkin & Fonthill on the Fonthill Road in October 2008. This work is part of the Kildare Route Project, which includes quadruple-tracking the line between Le Fanu Road (east of the present Cherry Orchard station) to just beyond Hazelhatch. Another new station was built between Adamstown and Clondalkin at Kishogue, which is located adjacent to the Lucan Outer Ring Road. This station was completed in 2009, however no funding was available in order to construct an access road and adjacent car park. A decision on this matter will be made in early 2016.

A special development zone (SDZ) called Adamstown is currently under construction. This borders an area from west Lucan to the Kildare rail line and is approx. 16 km from Dublin. It is expected to have 20,000 inhabitants by the time it is completed. A new station opened on 10 April 2007, built and paid for by the developers.

The National Transport Authority envisages electrification as far as Hazelhatch by 2030. Under IÉ's DART Underground project, upon electrification of this line and opening of the DART Underground, the existing Kildare line service, as far as Hazelhatch & Celbridge would be replaced by one of two DART lines, running via the DART Underground from Hazelhatch to Balbriggan/Howth. The service would also be directly connected to the rest of the DART/Commuter network at Dublin Pearse.

Western Commuter

Fleet: 29000 and 22000 class DMUs. Stations served - City branch: Dublin Pearse, Tara Street, Dublin Connolly, Drumcondra, Broombridge, Ashtown, Navan Road Parkway, Castleknock, Coolmine, Clonsilla, Leixlip Confey, Leixlip Louisa Bridge, Maynooth, then continuing onto Kilcock, Enfield, Mullingar, Edgeworthstown and Longford.

Docklands branch: Docklands, Broombridge, Ashtown, Navan Road Parkway, Castleknock, Coolmine, Clonsilla, Hansfield, Dunboyne, and M3 Parkway.

This service had been operated as a limited service from November 1981 until 1990, serving Ashtown (opened January 1982), Clonsilla, Leixlip (now Leixlip Louisa Bridge) and Maynooth. In 1990, new stations were opened at Broombridge, Castleknock, Coolmine and Leixlip Confey. Another station at Drumcondra was re-opened in March 1998. Most of the station buildings on this line were a mixture of small block built booking offices and converted steel cabins and there was still a limited service owing to the single track between Clonsilla and Maynooth.

In 2001 a major upgrade project took place, with the upgrading of the line between Clonsilla and Maynooth to double track, the entire line being upgraded to continuous welded rail, the building of permanent station buildings at all stations except Broombridge, the replacement of the semaphore signalling with computerised traffic control, and the provision of real time information displays at stations. These however, apart from the ones at Drumcondra, were not in use until February 2012.

From 12 March 2007, several additional weekday services operate on the Maynooth line. However these only operated from Clonsilla, serving the existing stations to Broombridge, and then terminate at the new Docklands railway station. These did not serve either Drumcondra or the central Dublin stations, or the stations beyond Clonsilla.

On 3 September 2010 the first trains ran from Docklands onto the Dunboyne branch serving Dunboyne and M3 Parkway.[1] In June 2013 another station opened on this branch called Hansfield serving Ongar and Clonee areas. It is planned that these services will run eventually to Navan, becoming the proposed Meath Commuter.

On 21 January 2008, Phoenix Park railway station opened. This station is located beside the N3 dual carriageway in Ashtown, and despite its name is not located in the Phoenix Park, but has rather been built to serve the Phoenix Park Racecourse Apartments constructed on grounds of the former racecourse adjacent to the park. To avoid confusion, this station has since been renamed Navan Road Parkway [2]

The National Transport Authority envisages electrification as far as Maynooth by 2023. Under IÉ's DART Underground project, upon electrification of this line and opening of the DART Underground, the existing Maynooth line service would be replaced by one of two DART lines, running from Maynooth to Bray.

As of 2015, ticket checks on Western Commuter trains occur on a daily basis, at any time.

Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART)

See separate Dublin Area Rapid Transit article.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Commuter trains return to Dunboyne". Railway Gazette. 3 September 2010. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  2. ↑ (http://www.irishrail.ie/cat_news.jsp?i=4292)

External links