Latest news with #HughCreegan
Irish Independent
23-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Dart extension to Wicklow town pushed back to 2030
The National Transport Authority included the extension as part of their Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2022-2042 that was adopted in 2023. An extension of the line to Wicklow town is currently under active review with battery-electric carriages, which are undergoing testing and expected to be used when the service begins operations. The line extension has been hit with many false starts in recent years. In 2019, it was announced that the Dart for Wicklow town would begin serving passengers by 2023-2024. Timeframes for 2025 and 2026 were also promised but were subsequently missed. In February 2025, representatives from Irish Rail met with members from the Transport, Infrastructure Delivery and Emergency Services, Strategic Policy Committee of Wicklow County Council where they were told that an hourly service would be introduced by the end of 2028. This follows a presentation from then NTA CEO Anne Graham and now interim chief Hugh Creegan to Wicklow County Council's monthly meeting in October of last year, confirming that the NTA are looking at a four-to-five-year timeframe to introduce the service. Now in a parliamentary update to Wicklow TDs John Brady and Jennifer Whitmore Transport Minister Darragh O'Brien confirmed that it won't be until the end of this decade when trains will begin carrying passengers on a more frequent basis. 'The new battery-electric Dart carriages will first be deployed from Dublin to Drogheda from next year. As more carriages arrive, it may be feasible to also deploy them to extend Dart services to and from Wicklow, subject to funding and approvals for the required charging infrastructure. The NTA is currently examining this issue with a view to progressing the extension around 2029.' he added.
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Construction contract for first BusConnects corridor to be signed next month
The construction contract for the first new bus corridor under the BusConnects programme in Dublin is due to be signed next month, according to the National Transport Authority (NTA) . Construction of the first two corridors had been due to start this autumn, but it is understood the NTA now expects to be in a position to move forward at an earlier stage. The first corridors to get under way will be the Liffey Valley to city centre route and the Ballymun/Finglas to city centre scheme. Representatives of the NTA, including its interim chief executive Hugh Creegan , will appear before the Oireachtas Transport Committee on Wednesday. READ MORE They are due to tell the committee that planning consent has been received from An Bord Pleanála for all 12 BusConnects corridors, though judicial reviews have been initiated against some of these approvals. [ Final BusConnects corridor secures planning permission Opens in new window ] The construction contract for the first corridor is to be signed in June, their opening statement to TDs says. The construction of all of the 12 corridors could impact on more than 700 properties, according to the latest estimates from the NTA, with more than 3,000 trees potentially felled and 827 parking spaces lost. Separately, the NTA will tell the committee that work is ongoing to 'further develop and refine the design' of MetroLink and to prepare tender documentation for the three major contracts that will deliver the overall project. 'It is understood that the Government will be considering the MetroLink project during the preparation of the new National Development Plan,' the NTA's opening statement says. [ Dublin's new bus routes: How are you affected by new services replacing 46A and others? Opens in new window ] 'Assuming its inclusion in the new national plan, then, subject to approval by An Bord Pleanála during this year, and assuming no delays due to judicial review proceedings, tendering for the construction work could commence next year, with construction commencing about 18 months later.' The NTA will also say the construction of Luas Finglas is dependent upon 'the outcome of the planning process and the availability of funding under the new National Development Plan'. A railway order application was submitted to An Bord Pleanála in November 2024.
