Vol. 514 No. 3
46 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she has received any indication on the extra number of passengers to be facilitated on a daily basis in the context of the funding approved by her in respect of upgrading of rail services; if the rail service will then be in a position to substantially alleviate road traffic congestion; if so, the extent in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4061/00]
There has been substantial investment in suburban rail in the greater Dublin area under the Operational Programme for Transport 1994-1999 and the DTO short-term action plan. By the end of 2000 Iarnród Éireann will have acquired 47 new suburban rail cars and 20 new DART cars.
Over the period of the National Development Plan 2000-2006 there will be further substantial investment in suburban rail. Over the period of the plan Iarnród Éireann will acquire a further 58 suburban railcars and 46 DART cars.
The combined effect of all this additional rolling stock will be to increase the capacity of the suburban rail network by over 27,000 places. I expect that this improvement in capacity on the suburban rail system will, allied to the other measures of the strategy for the development of public transport outlined in the national development plan, serve to substantially alleviate road traffic congestion in the greater Dublin area.
