DART Underground

DART Underground
Overview
StatusDeferred (as of late 2021)[1][2][3]
OwnerIarnród Éireann
LocaleDublin city centre
Termini
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemDART
History
Planned opening"After 2042"[1][4]
Technical
Track gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification1,500 V DC overhead catenary
Proposed route map

Legend
To Drogheda MacBride
 Clontarf Road
DART Line 1/Western Commuter line
Dublin Connolly
Luas
 Docklands
(Luas Spencer Dock)
Loopline Bridge
 Tara Street DM
Dublin Pearse
DART Line 1/South Eastern Commuter line
 St Stephen's Green Luas DM
Christchurch
Phoenix Park Tunnel (To Dublin Connolly)
 Dublin Heuston Luas
Inchicore Works
Inchicore
To Hazelhatch and Celbridge

DART Underground (Irish: DART Faoi Thalamh),[5] also known as the Interconnector or DART+ Tunnel, is a proposed mainline-rail tunnel in Dublin, Ireland.[6] First proposed in 1972,[7] as of 2021 it was not funded or scheduled.[1][8][3] While the Greater Dublin Transport Strategy 2016-2035 (published in 2016) included the DART Underground as a proposed National Transport Authority project,[9] the tunnel was not included in the National Development Plan published in 2018 or DART+ expansion plans published in August 2020.[10]

The original plans, which proposed an expansion of the electrified Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) network, projected the development of a tunnel between Heuston Station and Pearse Station.[11] It had been planned to leave an existing line, via the Phoenix Park Tunnel, idle in the event of the scheme being built.[12] This line however was subsequently reopened, connecting Heuston station with Dublin's Docklands - a cross-city connection which the DART Underground scheme was supposed to achieve. Accordingly, when the Irish Government published a new national spatial strategy in 2018, the revised plans dropped the DART Underground scheme in favour of these existing lines.[13][14] Having previously secured planning consent,[15] the project was initially deferred until after 2016,[16] and by 2015, it had been announced that the project would be redrafted to a lower cost design. In October 2016, a "scaled down" plan was published with a potential commencement date "in 2020".[17] As of September 2017 however, it was suggested that the developments would be deferred until after 2030,[4] with the National Transport Authority undertaking a review of the project and its route; this review projected to complete sometime between 2018 and 2027.[4][18] While the planned alignment was to be preserved, it was announced in November 2021 that DART Underground would not proceed in the period 2022–2042.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Kilraine, John (9 November 2021). "MetroLink postponed for ten years - NTA draft strategy". RTÉ News.
  2. ^ Daniel McConnell (22 September 2015). "€3bn DART underground project scrapped in favour of scaled down version". Irish Independent. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Plans for Liffey bridge derailed by Dart Underground scheme". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2019. The 7.6km [..DART underground..] was shelved by the Fine Gael-Labour government in 2011 [and] was not included in the 10-year National Development Plan published [in 2018..] the timeframe for the [DART underground] review is unknown
  4. ^ a b c "'We won't let go': Irish Rail is convinced the long-delayed Dart Underground will go ahead". TheJournal. 21 September 2017.
  5. ^ "DART UNDERGROUND: Property Protection Scheme / DART FAOI THALAMH: Scéim Chosanta Maoine" (PDF). Irishrail.ie. Irish Rail. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  6. ^ "NTA revives €4.5bn underground rail plan to link Heuston Station to Dart". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021. The Dart underground project, shelved a decade ago following the economic crash, is being resurrected [..] now branded Dart+Tunnel
  7. ^ "Could an underground Dart solve Dublin's traffic gridlock? It's being considered". thejournal.ie. The Journal. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018. the Dart Underground, previously known as the Interconnector [was] Originally conceived of in the 1972 Transportation in Dublin plan
  8. ^ "Office plan scrapped to facilitate shelved Dart Underground". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018. the [DART Underground] project having been shelved by the Government [in 2011, does] not have government funding [and] was not included in the 10-year National Development Plan published earlier [in 2018]
  9. ^ "Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016-2035" (PDF). nationaltransport. 2016.
  10. ^ "Dart's €2.6bn extension plan beyond Dublin unveiled after 15 years". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2021. The underground, while included in the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2016-2035, was not included in the 10-year National Development Plan published in 2018, and the tunnel is not included in the expansion plans published on Wednesday
  11. ^ Millar, Scott (23 November 2010). "DART underground line 'missing link'". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  12. ^ Irish Rail. "DART Expansion Programme". Irishrail.ie. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  13. ^ "New Dart plan backs away from underground route". Independent News & Media. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Rail Network Expansion - Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 March 2018 - Written Answers (Question to Transport)". Oireachtas.ie. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018. As outlined in the recently published 'National Development Plan 2018-2027: Project Ireland 2040' (NDP) [..] the initial sequencing of investment [..for the DART Expansion Programme..] will focus on delivery of non-underground tunnel elements of the Programme using the recently opened rail link and existing connector tunnel under the Phoenix Park
  15. ^ "'We won't let go': Irish Rail is convinced the long-delayed Dart Underground will go ahead". Thejournal.ie. 17 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference deferred was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ "Dart Underground plan scaled down to slash costs". Irish Independent. 31 October 2016.
  18. ^ "Dáil Éireann Debate - Questions - Rail Network Expansion". Oireachtas.ie. Houses of the Oireachtas. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018. the DART Underground Tunnel - is not scheduled for delivery within the period of the [National Development Plan 2018-2027]. However, over that time [2018-2027], it is envisaged that the route for the proposed project will be established