Irish Rail plans €1.8bn 'Dart-like service' for Cork by 2032

The Cork area commuter rail programme is expected to have two stations up and running by late 2028 with six more to follow, on a fully electrified network

Cork area commuter rail programme delivery manager AJ Cronin, Irish Rail CEO Mary Considine, and NTA CEO Anne Shaw at The Metropole Hotel in Cork following the launch of public consultation on phase two of the project, outlining plans for new stations, full electrification, and a major expansion of commuter services.

Cork could have eight new train stations and a €1.8bn Dart-like service by 2032, according to the Irish Rail.

If all goes to plan, the first two of those stations — Blackpool and Dunkettle — will be up and running by 2029. The remaining six stations — Blarney, Tivoli, Water Rock, Carrigtwohill West, Ballynoe, and Monard — would be operational by 2032.

AJ Cronin, delivery manager of Irish Rail’s Cork area commuter rail programme, told the Irish Examiner that Cork will have “essentially a Dart-like service” by the early years of the next decade — depending on funding and planning.

Mr Cronin was speaking after the launch of public consultation around phase two of the commuter programme.

Phase one of the scheme is now well advanced, he said, including the new Kent Station platform, twin-tracking of the Glounthaune to Midleton service, and the re-signalling of the full Cork network. 

The proposed stations for the Cork area commuter rail network. 

Phase two will include the eight new stations, a new depot, and the full electrification of the Cork rail network.

This will help deliver the remaining infrastructure to allow trains to operate up to every 10 minutes across each of the three commuter lines to Mallow, Midleton, and Cobh.

'Transformative for Cork'

“We would hope to see a 12- to 18-month construction period for the Blackpool and Dunkettle stations, completing before the end of 2028, the start of 2029,” he said.

“The remaining six stations are expected to go into the railway order process before the end of this year, and it’s expected that not just the six stations, but the fleet depot, and the electrification of the Cork network would be part of that railway order, and there’s about a five-year build period on all of those.

“I’d like to say 2032 we will see operational status in the Cork area, that’s our aim.

“A five-car electric train will carry the passenger equivalent of nine buses or 1,000 cars, so in terms of reducing traffic congestion, this is going to be transformative for Cork,” Mr Cronin said. “This will be effectively a Dart service into Cork.” 

The Cork area commuter rail programme is a separate project to the €2.5bn Luas Cork project, which is a 20km light rail line running east to west across the city, from Ballincollig in the west to Mahon Point in the east, with 27 stops planned.

Public consultation on the new stations at Blackpool and Dunkettle will close on Friday, June 12.