To provide an integrated rail network in the greater Dublin area, Irish Rail submitted proposals to my Department in July 2004 for a €3.5 billion investment to four-track the Kildare line, electrify the Kildare and Maynooth lines, build an interconnector tunnel linking Heuston to the docklands, construct a spur off the Maynooth line to Dunboyne and expand the capacity of the DART.
The Irish Rail proposals are being assessed by my Department at present, although, in the case of the DART, the capacity of the system is currently being increased.
In addition, the Railway Procurement Agency has submitted to my Department a detailed business case for a metro-based transit system serving north Dublin and is advancing plans for extension of the Luas to the docklands and Cherrywood. The Department is awaiting business plans from the RPA in order to assist in its evaluation of both Luas extensions. The RPA has also considered a preliminary analysis of the feasibility and cost of linking both Luas lines in the city centre and a more detailed proposal is now being prepared for consideration by the RPA board before its submission to my Department.
Overall, these various proposals are being considered in the context of the developing needs of public transport in the greater Dublin area, the framework outlined in the Dublin Transportation Office's "Platform for Change", the recently adopted regional planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area and the extended ten year multi-annual capital investment envelope for transport announced by the Minister for Finance in his Budget Statement. These offer a great opportunity to plan the future transport needs of Dublin and the rest of the country.