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| Ireland/Eire |
| System | ||
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The current system consists of a 50 km electrified heavy rail line known as the DART and a 22 km light rail network known as Luas. The Luas lines (Red and Green, known as A/C and B while in the planning stage) were opened in 2004. The DART was opened in 1984 and originally ran from Portmarnock and Howth to Bray. It was extended from Bray to Greystones and from Portmarnock to Malahide in 1999/2000. The DART was created by electrifying old lines that dated from the 19th century.
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| DART | Portmarnock and Howth - Greystones, 50 km | |
| The
DART is the name of the service that runs on the electrified section of
A non-electrified service runs on the other two lines called the Arrow. From Connolly Station northwest and west, one line runs as far as Maynooth, while another, disconnected line runs southwest from Heuston Station as far as Kildare.
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| Luas (Red Line) | Tallaght-Connolly Station, 13 km | |
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The Luas Red Line is the longer of the two-line system. It runs on-street in the city centre and is partly or entirely segregated in the suburbs. It starts at Connolly Station in the city centre, where transfer to intercity and DART trains is possible, and runs west along streets before turning southwest to Tallaght. It uses an old canal bed and road medians to achieve separation from traffic. The Red Line, which was known as Line A/C during the planning phase, opened in September 2004. It was eventually extended eastwards to The Point in the docklands area in Dec 2009. The line intersects the heavy rail and DART networks at Heuston and Connolly.
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| Luas (Green Line) | St. Stephen's Green-Sandyford, 9 km | |
| The Luas
Green Line starts in the centre of the city but it does not actually interface
with the Red Line. There is about a 1 km gap between the lines at their
closest approach. The line begins at Stephen’s Green park and runs
for a short distance on city streets before taking up position on an old
elevated heavy rail alignment which was closed in 1959 and reopened as the
Green Line in August 2004. Most of the old alignment was intact though some
bridges had to be reinstated, the most impressive of which is |
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| History | ||
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1984:
Portmarnock-Bray with spur to
Howth LUAS 05 July
2004 - LUAS Green Line St. Stephen's Green - Sandyford |
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| Projects | ||
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METRO There are two light
Metro lines planned for There are ambitious
plans to upgrade the DART and create a 2-line system which will replace
the Arrow services. This will be achieved through the building of a tunnel
linking Heuston with Docklands station which is located to the east of
Connolly. The Docklands Station opened in 2007 as the first stage of this
project. Construction of the tunnel is anticipated to occur from 2010
to 2015. The DART will then be reorganized as two lines, one running Maynooth-Greystones,
and the other from Hazelhatch-Portmarnock/Howth. The electrification of
the existing Arrow lines will occur in advance, however, and is expected
to be ready by 2012. LUAS Many more Luas lines
and extensions are planned. Currently under contruction are Line C1, a
Red Line extension from Connolly Station to the Point Depot near the coast,
and B1, a long extension of the Green Line as far as Cherrywood in the
southern part of the city. The Point Depot extension is due to open by
the end of 2009 and the Cherrywood extension by 2010. Due to start in 2008
or early 2009 is Line A1, a new spur line off the Red Line at Tallaght
out to Saggart via Citywest. This line is being entirely paid for by private
developers and is due to open in 2010. The Red and Green
lines are due to be linked in the centre of the city by Line BX/D, a northward
extension of the Green Line which intersects the Red Line at O'Connell
Street and continues northwest as far as the future DART line at Liffey
Junction west of Glasnevin. This project is due to be completed by 2012. A new Luas Line, the
Lucan Line (colour not yet assigned) is due to be constructed from the
city centre at College Green westwards out to Lucan. A precise routing
has not yet been decided but the line will intersect the Green Line at
its starting point in the city centre and the Red Line near A final extension
of the Green Line, Line B2, will see the railway reach the DART at Bray
before veering southwest to the mountain town of |
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| Practical Info | ||
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DART services begin
at approx. Luas runs between
the following times: Weekdays: from FARES (2007, in Euro) There is little integration
between DART, Luas, and bus tickets in DART: A one-way ticket
costs between €1.20 and €3.80, depending on distance travelled.
LUAS: A one-way ticket
costs between €1.50 and €2.20, depending on the number of zones
you pass through. Weekly Pass €26.40 |
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| Links | ||
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RPA (Organising the Construction of Luas and Metro lines)
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| LUAS Photos | ||
Photos © Rob Gallagher (1-4), Javier Fernández de Prado (5)
Thanks to Jonathan Dowling
2004
© UrbanRail.Net by Robert
Schwandl.
