Mary Upton
Ceist:119 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Transport the date by which all Irish Rail services will be fully accessible by persons with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18229/02]
Written Answers. - Rail Services.
It is my policy that Irish Rail should provide the highest possible degree of accessibility for the mobility impaired within the overall resources available to them. The DART and Arrow suburban rail services are wheelchair accessible over most of the network and the new railcars that Iarnród Éireann is currently introducing for these services have a number of additional accessibility features. With the exception of the services operated with the 1960s vintage Craven carriages, all mainline rail services have at least one carriage which is accessible. The Craven carriages will be phased out over the next three years or so as new wheelchair accessible rolling stock comes on line. The new rolling stock will be designed to meet the most up to date accessibility standards. A total in excess of 180 rail carriages for DART, Arrow suburban and InterCity services is expected to be brought on stream over the next few years at which point practically all IE services will be accessible. All station upgrades and new station developments take into account the needs of the mobility impaired. There is an ongoing programme in place to provide either ramps or lifts at stations to make platforms accessible and other accessibility improvements are also undertaken when stations are being refurbished.
Question No. 120 answered with Question No. 90.