A planning inspector with An Bord Pleanála submitted their report on Dart+ West to the planning authority’s board for a decision nearly 180 days ago, but the board still has yet to approve or reject the project.
Irish Rail submitted the Railway Order, a type of planning permission, for the project just under two years ago on July 29, 2022. Different sources said it is felt that the board would rule on the issue soon but expressed frustration at the length of time the project has spent in the planning system.
The main element of the project includes electrifying the Maynooth line and closing level crossings. It will allow the line to go from six trains per hour with a capacity of five thousand passengers to 12 trains per hour with a capacity of over 13,000 passengers.
But Dart+ West is seen as a critical project for Dart expansion, especially given the inclusion of a large depot on the route. Additional orders of Dart carriages, beyond what’s planned for the Northern Line expansion using hybrid battery/overhead electric trains, are on hold until the planning decision is made.
Cllr Feljin Jose (Green Party), a Dublin City-based councillor and former chair of the Dublin Commuter Coalition, said An Bord Pleanála told him that the inspector’s report was submitted to the board over 170 days ago.
Cllr Jose said: “The staffing issues at An Bord Pleanála are well documented, but we’ve seen very little improvement on the time it takes for large transport projects to be approved by An Bord Pleanála. Dart+ West has been with An Bord Pleanála for almost two years now, of which six months have been spent waiting for final approval of the planning inspector’s report.”
He said: “This is a major source of delay for projects like Dart+, MetroLink and BusConnects and won’t improve until we see a massive increase in the size and resources available An Bord Pleanála.”
Mark Gleeson, a spokesperson for Rail Users Ireland, said: “The big constraint [with Dart expansion] now is the lack of the new depot in Maynooth. Until that is done, there will be no more orders to expand the fleet, and Irish Rail is still awaiting the railway order. They could replace the existing 1984 fleet, but no more.”
Rail Users Ireland also recently raised concerns about An Bord Pleanála’s 37-month approval process for a “relatively straightforward” level crossing removal project on the Cork-Dublin train line near Buttevant and Charleville. This raises concerns about the planning system’s ability to deal with rail projects in a timely manner.
A spokesperson for An Bord Pleanála said: “The case to which you refer is in line to be decided by the Board. Whilst the Board does not have a specific date as to when this case will be decided, it will endeavour to determine the case in the shortest timeframe possible.”
The planning authority added: “With various recruitment campaigns and the recent appointment of new board members, it is hoped that this will help mitigate the current backlog of cases.”
It also pointed to a statement on its website made in May, which said: “An Bord Pleanála currently has a significant backlog of cases. It is currently working to substantively clear this backlog in 2024. An Bord Pleanála apologises for the consequent delays in determining cases within the normal statutory objective time periods.”
