Increased capacity for Mullingar-Maynooth rail section

Improvements in the rail line between Maynooth and Dublin could have a knock on affect to the service from Mullingar the recently appointed Iarnród Éireann Chief Executive Officer, Mary Considine, said in a statement to Seanad Éireann.

The prospect was also discussed at a meeting of Westmeat county Council when Cllr Denis Leonard said Westmeath must make a case for doubling the track between the county town and Maynooth.

The issue was raised by Labour Party senator Nessa Cosgrove in the upper house when she asked the Iarnród Éireann CEO about train speeds between Dublin and Sligo.

Double tracking between Maynooth and Mullingar does not feature in either the All-Island Strategic Rail Review (AISRR) nor the Draft First Revision to the National Planning Framework.

That review did mentioned that the estimated cost for the electrification and dual tracking of the line from Maynooth to Mullingar is between €700 million and €1.2 billion.

Speaking on the double tracking between Maynooth and Mullingar the Iarnród Éireann CE, Ms Considine, told the chamber that improvements between Maynooth and Dublin city will increase capacity under the DART+ Programme.

The first infrastructural project of the DART+ Programme to be delivered will be the DART+ West project. This rail improvement project will provide an electrified and more frequent rail service to improve capacity on Maynooth and M3 Parkway to city centre rail corridors.

Ms Considine said: “My understanding is that as DART+ West is rolled out, we will have more capacity on the Mullingar-Maynooth section.

“Double tracking will improve train speeds because there are probably speed restrictions.

As I am new to the role, I am going to qualify everything I say. I might not have all the facts, but my preliminary understanding is that speed restrictions apply there.”