€150m in rail carriages planned to tackle overcrowding

The Government has ordered an extra 41 rail carriages at a cost of €150m which it is claimed will help reduce overcrowding on commuter routes.

While the new carriages are expected to increase space for passengers and capacity on routes by a third, the rail cars will not be fully in use until mid-2022.

Transport Minister Shane Ross said consideration had been given to buying second-hand rail cars or refurbishing old ones but that new ones instead would be bought.

The new rail cars will be rolled out in the greater Dublin areas across the Kildare line, the Maynooth line, and the Northern line. Funding will come under Project Ireland 2040.

Mr Ross said: “They will start arriving the third quarter of 2021 and will be fully in use by the middle of 2022.”

“These are absolutely new. There were reports of refurbishment and secondhand carriages which were looked but they were actually too expensive.

“This is a really big commitment. What we’re saying is that we’re going to produce a solution to the problem of overcrowding on these community commuter trains.”

The announcement has failed to allay concerns. Opposition TDs immediately seized upon the delay in delivering the rail cars.

Fianna Fáil transport spokesman Marc MacSharry said: “The urgent expansion of the rail fleet is needed. The Greater Dublin area and Intercity services are overcrowded and approaching dangerous levels. Safety rather than comfort is now a real concern.

The minister must immediately outline contingency plans he intends to put in place to accommodate commuters while these new carriages are on order.

"He cannot tell people to wait two years while demand outstrips capacity at an increasing rate,” he said.

Labour’s Kevin Humphreys said the rail order is too little and too late.

“The minister sat on his hands for three years when he was warned of the urgent need to invest. I’ve been raising this problem for some time, but it would appear the Government were waiting for an imminent general election before making the announcement.”