Vol. 528 No. 1
115 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the meetings she has had recently in relation to the development of rail services in County Kildare; her plans in this regard; if such plans include the further development of the Arrow service to service the south Kildare/Carlow region, the refurbishment of Athy station and the development of further stations in the south Kildare area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29736/00]
The Government is committed to investment in the public transport system. The national development plan provides for the investment of £1.6 billion to improve the public transport infrastructure in the greater Dublin area – including enhanced services in the Kildare-Carlow area.
As many as 16 new diesel railcars will enter service on the Connolly to Maynooth rail line on 2 January 2001. A further four new diesel railcars will enter service in February 2001. These new diesel railcars will provide an enhanced service between Maynooth and Dublin allowing increased passenger capacity and a more frequent service in both directions.
A further 60 new diesel railcars have been ordered for delivery in 2002-2003 to provide for enhanced suburban rail services in the greater Dublin area. In addition, the national development plan provides for the quadrupling of the rail track between Hazelhatch and Sallins to separate long distance and suburban services on the Kildare line allowing for a greater frequency of suburban trains.
The NDP identifies the provision of enhanced rail services to the development centres identified in the strategic planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area, including Naas, Newbridge-Kilcullen, Athy, Kildare and Monasterevin, as an option in the future development of the suburban rail network. The Dublin Transportation Office in its recent strategy document, A Platform for Change, sets out the strategic framework to maximise the use of existing rail lines and improve suburban rail services. A key element of this strategy is upgrading the signalling and rail track on the Kildare line to allow for a substantial increase in the number of peak hour trains. The DTO is currently preparing a plan for the implementation of this strategy which will be the basis for Government decisions in the matter.
I recently met a delegation from Athy UDC in regard to improvements to rail services to and from the town. Their main concern was to improve the frequency of rail services and I have contacted Iarnród Éireann in relation to these concerns.
