The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system is an electrified commuter rail railway network serving the coastline and city of Dublin, Ireland. 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 DART serves 31 stations and consists of 53 route kilometres of electrified railway, and carries in the region of 20 million passengers per year. In a similar manner to the Berlin S-Bahn, the DART blends elements of a commuter rail service and a rapid transit system.
The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than that of Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 3,500 route miles (5,630 km). The current status is less than half that amount, with a large unserviced area around the border area between Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland.
Rail transport in Ireland is provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.
Iarnród Éireann, or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast. In 2019, IÉ carried a record peak of 50 million passengers, up from 48 million in 2018.
Connolly station or Dublin Connolly is the busiest railway station in Dublin and Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides InterCity, Enterprise and commuter services to the north, north-west, south-east and south-west. The north–south Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Luas red line light rail services also pass through the station. The station offices are the headquarters of Irish Rail, Iarnród Éireann. Opened in 1844 as Dublin Station, the ornate facade has a distinctive Italianate tower at its centre.
Heuston Station, also known as Dublin Heuston, is one of Dublin's largest railway stations and links the capital with the south, southwest and west of Ireland. It is operated by Iarnród Éireann (IÉ), the national railway operator. It also houses the head office of its parent company, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). The station is named in honour of Seán Heuston, an executed leader of the 1916 Easter Rising, who had worked in the station's offices.
Pearse railway station or Dublin Pearse is a railway station on Westland Row on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland. It is Ireland's busiest commuter station and second busiest station overall with 9 million passenger journeys through the station in 2016.
Adamstown is a planned suburban development in western County Dublin, located circa 16 km from Dublin city centre, in the jurisdiction of South Dublin County Council. The first new town in Ireland since Shannon Town in the 1960s, the development-in-progress is based on a 220 hectare Strategic Development Zone site south of the N4 road and Lucan, west of Liffey tributary the Griffeen River and north of the Grand Canal. No date has been set for the official granting of any specific long-term official status but development is underway since 2005 and as of 2015, perhaps 4,500 of a planned population of 25,000 were resident. As per the 2022 census, the population is just above 10,000. The planned scale of development is 9,000 to 10,000 dwellings, with aligned supporting infrastructure including public transport links.
Transport 21 was an Irish infrastructure plan, announced in November 2005. Its aims were to greatly expand Ireland's transport network. A cost estimate of €34 billion was attached to the plan at the time.
Kildare railway station is a railway station on the Dublin to Cork Railway line and Dublin commuter service.
Leixlip Louisa Bridge is a railway station in the north-eastern corner of County Kildare, Ireland. It is one of two stations that serve the civil parish of Leixlip, the other being Leixlip Confey. Both stations lie on the Dublin to Maynooth commuter route. It is one of the few stations in the Iarnród Éireann network in which the station building is located directly over the platforms, on a bridge.
Leixlip Confey is a railway station in the north-eastern corner of County Kildare, Ireland. It is one of two stations that serve the civil parish of Leixlip, the other being Leixlip Louisa Bridge. Both stations lie on the Dublin to Maynooth commuter route.
Maynooth railway station serves the town of Maynooth in north County Kildare, Ireland.
The Dublin Suburban Rail network, branded as Commuter, is a railway network that serves the city of Dublin, Ireland, most of the Greater Dublin Area and outlying towns. The system is made up of five lines:
Hazelhatch and Celbridge railway station serves the area around Hazelhatch in South Dublin and the large town of Celbridge in neighbouring County Kildare, Ireland. Because of its distance from Celbridge town, a feeder bus is provided to transport people to and from the station. The county boundary between Dublin and Kildare runs directly through the station.
Clondalkin Fonthill railway station serves the suburb of Clondalkin in County Dublin.
InterCity is the brand name given to rail services operated by Iarnród Éireann that run between Dublin and other major cities in Ireland. InterCity branding is also used in other European countries by unaffiliated organizations.
Commuter is a brand of suburban rail services operated by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland, serving the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. This brand is distinct from the longer distance InterCity brand, and Dublin's higher frequency DART brand. Most Commuter services share a track with InterCity services. During the first decade of the new millennium, Iarnród Éireann put a significant amount of effort into upgrading its network, with new tracks, signalling, station upgrades and trains. Commuter services are operated by diesel multiple unit train sets.
The Dublin–Cork Main Line is the main InterCity railway route in Ireland between Dublin Heuston and Cork Kent. In 2018, 3.46 million passengers travelled on the line, a 10% increase from 2017 figures.
The Dublin-Navan line is a partially-open commuter rail line between Dublin and the town of Navan in County Meath. Since September 2010, train services operate from Docklands Station to M3 Parkway, with an extension to Navan itself proposed.
