I thank the Cathaoirleach and the committee for the invitation to attend today to discuss the introduction of our new timetable and the subsequent revisions.
At the outset, I would like to reiterate to our customers, and to the constituents of members, our sincere apologies for the delays and other impacts experienced arising from the timetable issues since the first changes on 26 August. We recognise the level of disruption this has caused to our customers’ work, education, childcare and other requirements and how critical the punctuality and reliability of our services have become to the daily lives of the commuting customers.
I would like to outline to the committee the impetus and process behind the original timetable revisions, the issues which arose, the changes already made and to be made. I will also look forward to capacity improvement plans in place for the shorter term, and how we need to develop our infrastructure to ultimately resolve such issues in the longer term.
Iarnród Éireann is contracted by the National Transport Authority, NTA, to provide rail services under our public service contract with the NTA, ultimately determining services to be delivered. Generally, while there may be minor changes more frequently, we will undertake a full review of the timetable once a year. With the NTA, we will examine the current timetable and opportunities for service improvements. We review customer demand, available trains, driver resources and infrastructure capacity. We will look at broader issues, such as earlier and later Intercity services, for example, and more specific demands and opportunities as they arise.
Since we emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, we have been in a position to expand services on a number of routes, notably Portlaoise, Newbridge and Cork area commuter services, as well as improvements to Westport, Cork and Carlow Intercity services.
A number of factors informed our considerations for the 2024 timetable review: the addition to the fleet of 41 new Intercity rail carriages; adding further later evening service options on a number of Intercity routes; expansion of weekend services on Cork commuter routes; factoring in the opening of Belfast Grand Central Station; and addressing track capacity between Connolly and Grand Canal Dock
Iarnród Éireann and Translink have shared an objective of expanding the Dublin to Belfast services to hourly from the two-hourly pattern operating since 1997 for some years. It was a key element of our joint Enterprise strategy published in 2018. The availability of additional fleet from both companies this year, and Exchequer support for operating costs through the shared island fund provided this opportunity. A draft timetable was prepared, liaising with Translink on Enterprise services, and with the NTA on the national timetable. This was published on 30 May for public consultation with a 26 August implementation proposed to align with the availability of most of our new Intercity railcars, and to align with progress with Belfast Grand Central opening. Almost 2,000 customers participated in the process and after some minor revisions the timetable was finalised and published on 9 August.
As with all major timetable changes, we monitor its implementation closely in terms of punctuality performance and impact on customer flows so that if any revisions are required, they can be identified.
While the Heuston Station improvements, and the extra Galway, Waterford and weekend Cork commuter services operated successfully, it became apparent that there were underlying issues affecting the reliability of the new timetable on the Connolly Station side. Most significantly, our timings on both the Maynooth and the northern commuter lines had proven too ambitious. Any delay on our intensively operated network does quickly impact on other routes and there was a cumulative effect which: worsened delays on all routes; caused crowding with customers arriving for following trains boarding late-running ones; impacted on connections at Connolly; and elongating overall journey times
We tasked our operations planning team with identifying revisions which could be quickly implemented to improve punctuality performance. These changes, implemented on 16 September, were primarily timing changes on the northern and Maynooth commuter routes. These did generate punctuality improvements, particularly in the evening. However, morning service issues remained and it was determined that changes which were more structural in nature were required.
As the committee will know, we have now announced that from next Monday, 14 October, more significant changes will be implemented. Full details are now available on our website and app, but the following is a summary of these: morning timetables on routes operating to and from Connolly Station, up to 09.30 a.m. to 10.00 a.m. approximately will revert to the pattern of the pre-26 August timetable, with minor time changes. This includes trains which previously terminated at stations such as Pearse, Grand Canal Dock and Bray resuming operation to and from these stations, reducing the need for interchanges in the morning peak at Connolly Station. There will be revised running times on a number of Belfast services, including changes to times on the 6.00 a.m. and 7.00 a.m. Belfast to Dublin services. As well as improving punctuality for commuter services, this will enable a key gap in the northern commuter morning service to be reduced. By reverting to the structure of the previous timetable, which customers have previously built their commuting schedules around, we believe we will resolve the issues which they have experienced in recent weeks.
In reviewing these issues, a number of factors coincided to cause the delays and crowding experienced over recent weeks. It is always complex, and will remain so, to schedule mixed train types: express, limited stop commuter trains, and frequent stop DART trains, through a twin-track railway. In seeking to deliver a clockface hourly service for the Belfast to Dublin route however, we created too great an impact on our commuter service patterns, particularly at peak times. The interchanges at Connolly in the morning peak exacerbated those delays, with the punctuality issues resulting in missed connections, and longer commuting times for customers. Crowding due to delays was compounded by a significant increase in the numbers commuting. While we always see growth in this peak commuting season, this September has seen it accelerate faster than anticipated.
Again, we are sorry this happened and apologise for it but we have acted, and with the changes from next Monday, we will begin the process of rebuilding our customers’ trust in the service we deliver on the affected routes. I know our customers and members of the committee have already expressed concern about the capacity of our network to accommodate further growth. There is, correctly, major housing expansion planned along our rail lines with a focus on sustainable transport, of which rail can provide the highest capacity, being at the heart of our planning and housing policies into the future.
There are three significant steps which can boost capacity, the first two of which are confirmed. First, the first of 185 new DART+ carriages currently on order are about to arrive. While a complex safety regulatory approval and testing process will follow, from early 2026 we will see a capacity boost from the first of these trains. As they are predominantly battery-electric trains, we will deploy them on the northern commuter route and existing DART lines. Together with electric charging infrastructure in Drogheda, we will be able to deploy higher capacity trains on the route, with improved journey times. We will also free up existing commuter and Intercity railcar trains for use on other lines, meaning all of our networks will benefit from the introduction of this fleet. Further orders of these trains are planned, with up to 750 carriages potentially set to be ordered over the coming years.
The DART+ programme itself is advancing, which will double the capacity and treble the electrification of the greater Dublin area rail network, extending the DART to Maynooth-M3 Parkway, Hazelhatch and Drogheda. The current status of each project is as follows: DART+ West - a railway order has been granted by An Bord Pleanála, with detailed design underway, and construction set to commence in 2026; DART+ South West up to Hazelhatch - a decision on our railway order application is expected soon from An Bord Pleanála; DART+ Coastal North to Drogheda - an application for a railway order has been submitted to An Bord Pleanála with the statutory public consultation ongoing until later this month; and DART+ Coastal South to Greystones - the non-statutory public consultation will begin next month. Additionally, we will shortly finalise and publish the Wicklow capacity study to outline the approach to increase frequency and capacity on this corridor.
Longer term, as referred to above, the conflicts which arise from shared train types on a twin-track railway will remain with us until we increase that track capacity. Between Hazelhatch and ParkWest, we have a four-track railway on the approaches to Heuston, with DART+ South West set to complete the four-tracking into Heuston itself. This allows us to completely separate our express Intercity services to the south and west and our stopping commuter services along this section. We believe this needs to be replicated north of Connolly Station, ideally between Connolly and Malahide, and this ambition is also included in the All-Island Strategic Rail Review. With funding from the Connecting Europe Facility, CEF, we are undertaking a study of the requirements to deliver a four-track section and believe this critical infrastructure should be accelerated to enable continuing service expansion and significant Enterprise journey time improvements.
I thank the Cathaoirleach and members for their attention and I would be happy to answer any questions the committee may have.