Irish Rail plans to expand rail capacity in north Dublin by doubling the number of tracks between Connolly Station and Malahide as part of the 4 North project, aimed at separating Dart commuter services from intercity services to reduce delays.
The expansion is anticipated to enhance travel times for the Dublin-Belfast Enterprise service and could pave the way for future developments like a rail link to Dublin Airport from Clongriffin.
While construction may cause some disruption, Irish Rail is committed to maintaining regular weekday services and aims to publish a detailed plan for the expansion by early next year in response to recent criticisms regarding timetable changes and service delays.
Chief Executive Jim Meade shared ‘the current twin-track system causes congestion during peak times, and the proposed four-track system will replicate the successful setup at Heuston Station, improving service efficiency. The conflicts which arise from shared train types on a twin-track railway will remain with us until we increase that track capacity. “We are undertaking a study of the requirements to deliver a four-track section, and believe this critical infrastructure should be accelerated to enable continuing service expansion and significant Enterprise journey time improvement.”
