DUBLIN DART TRAIN SCHEDULE UPGRADE

As of 2019, the trains run every ten minutes on weekdays with a reduced service on weekends.

The DART service is operated by a mixed fleet of electric multiple unit trains. The service to Portmarnock and Malahide began in October 2000.

Further electrification of the line took place between Howth Junction & Donaghmede and Malahide, the northernmost DART station, on the Belfast mainline. This route remained unchanged for almost sixteen years until the line between Bray and Greystones was electrified. As electrification work was undertaken from 1981–1982, a spur which had served the ferry port at Dún Laoghaire was disconnected from the mainline as the installation of overhead power lines to service the harbour would have necessitated the lowering of the track which travelled through a portal south of Dún Laoghaire station.Įarly DART services ran from the north-eastern suburb of Howth, through Connolly, Tara Street, and Pearse stations in the city centre and on to Bray, which lies on the border between Dublin and Wicklow. Sandymount and Booterstown were each built at the sites of a previous station while Salthill and Monkstown was built near the site of the original Kingstown railway terminus, between Seapoint and Dún Laoghaire. In conjunction with electrification, three disused stations at Sandymount, Booterstown and Salthill and Monkstown were reopened for the DART in 1984. Replacement parts had become difficult to obtain due to the age of the rolling stock and its conversion to push-pull operation, which had been intended as a temporary measure until a more permanent solution could be established, had come to the end of its serviceable life.

DUBLIN DART TRAIN SCHEDULE UPGRADE

By the late 1970s, the need for an urgent upgrade to the system had become apparent, as the 2600 Class railcars were in poor condition. This service was notoriously uncomfortable, unreliable, and overcrowded. These diesel-powered trains were powered by a CIE 201 Class locomotive, with a driving trailer carriage on the other end. Prior to electrification in 1984, the line was operated using 1950s-era CIÉ 2600 Class rail cars which had been converted in the early 1970s to push-pull operation. The scenic views from the railway over Dublin Bay at this point have been compared to those on the Gulf of Naples and have resulted in trips to Killiney Hill and Greystones along the line becoming tourist attractions. This line was later connected with the Belfast mainline to the north and Wexford mainline to the south and joined the Harcourt Street line at Shanganagh Junction. The section of trackbed between Dún Laoghaire and Dublin City was originally laid out as part of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, Ireland's first railway. Contemporary rolling stock on the DART network is powered by 1,500 V DC overhead lines and uses the 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm) Irish gauge. Since 1987, the service is operated by Iarnród Éireann, Ireland's national rail operator. It was, and still is, the only electric mainline railway in Ireland, and one of two currently operating electric railways, the other being the Luas tram which opened in 2004. The DART system was established by Córas Iompair Éireann in 1984 to replace an ageing fleet of diesel-powered locomotives. In a similar manner to the Berlin S-Bahn, the DART blends elements of a commuter rail service and a rapid transit system.

The DART serves 31 stations and consists of 53 route kilometres of electrified railway (46 km (29 mi) double track, 7 km (4.3 mi) single), and carries in the region of 20 million passengers per year. The service makes up the core of Dublin's suburban railway network, stretching from Greystones, County Wicklow, in the south to Howth and Malahide in north County Dublin. The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system (stylised as DART) is an electrified commuter rail railway network serving the coastline and city of Dublin, Ireland.

Dublin dart train schedule