The Dart should be brought to rail stations in Kildare
The Dart Plus public transport system should be brought to Naas.
Local councillor Bill Clear wants Kildare County Council to write to the National Transport Authority to request that it be extended to Sallins and Newbridge.
He points out that the population of County Kildare has grown by 11% to 247,774.
“This means means the number of people in the county rose by 25,270 between April 2016 and April 2022,” he said.
There are already proposals to have Dart Plus serve all existing stations along the railway corridor between Hazelhatch and Celbridge station and Dublin City Centre using electrical power.
Transport authorities say the frequency and quality of service will provide a viable transport alternative to communities along the route and help encourage people to migrate from private car use. This will assist Ireland in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport and help combat climate change.
It’s also proposed to serve all existing stations along the railway corridor between Maynooth station and the M3 Parkway station to Connolly station and to the proposed Spencer Dock Station using electrical power.
A KCC meeting was told that Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy (2022-2042) approved earlier this year means that the NTA and Irish Rail will, over the lifetime of the Strategy, extend the DART to deliver electrified rail services to Sallins/Naas.
Cllr Clear said the timeline of the plan means it will take a long time for the services to be delivered to Naas.
Cllr Tim Durkan said that Kilcock should be included, adding that the distance between the terminus and the station is only 950 metres.