I propose to take Questions Nos. 214 and 226 together.
Irish Rail has stated that a step change increase in commuter services was achieved along this line from December 2003 with the introduction of 80 new diesel railcars for use on such services and a timetable alteration. With the introduction of the new timetable in December 2004, all peak services on the Maynooth line will become eight-car trains, providing a further capacity enhancement along the route. Plans are currently in place to further increase capacity along the line with the deployment of new units of rolling stock to be introduced in late 2005.
The provision of additional car parking capacity at some of these stations is another key action that is being taken to encourage car users to switch to rail transport. This is being progressed by Irish Rail in conjunction with the Dublin Transportation Office.
Significant capacity was also added to the Kildare route in December 2003 when new railcars were introduced and new services added which almost doubled the commuter capacity. There are severe capacity limitations along this route because of the competing requirements of express Intercity services and slower commuter trains. Quadrupling a section of this line to provide additional commuter capacity is being proposed by Irish Rail and my Department is currently examining a draft business case from the company in that regard.
In addition, Irish Rail is examining possibilities for the construction of a new docklands station to accommodate services on the Maynooth line and help alleviate the capacity constraints at Connolly station.
The current daily boardings at rail stations on the Irish Rail network are a day-to-day matter for the company.