IRISH RAIL TODAY announced its new plans for electric carriages on the Dart line which are due to be operational by 2025.
The French supplier Alstom won the contract for the deal, which will provide for up to 750 new rail carriages over 10 years.
The initial 95-carriage order will include electric and battery-electric DART fleet for delivery of the DART+ Programme, which is an upgrade and extension of the existing lines.
These 95 carriages comprise six sets of five-carriage conventional electric trains and thirteen sets of five-carriage battery-electric trains. This first batch of carriages will cost €318 million.
The initial 95-carriage order will benefit a number of routes, Irish Rail said.
The electric carriages will first be deployed on Drogheda to Dublin Northern Commuter services, as well as on existing Malahide/Howth to Bray/Greystones DART services, to maximise capacity.
The introduction of the new fleet will also free up existing carriages to increase capacity on other Commuter and Intercity services.
Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan said: “The DART is one of the great successes of our transport system, and we are now moving into an exciting new phase with Dart+, which will double capacity and treble the length of the network.
“This new fleet will result in increased capacity for passengers as well as improved accessibility, facilities and comfort. The battery electric trains included in this contract will be used on the Northern Line before electrification of the line is complete. This will free up the diesel units to be redeployed elsewhere thus boosting capacity further.”
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