The Last Word with Matt Cooper Thurles To Be As Accessible To Dublin As Greystones Under Irish Rail Plans
Oct 13, 2025
Barry Kenny, a senior representative at Irish Rail, dives into exciting plans for expanding Dublin's commuter belt to include Thurles. He discusses the implementation of half-hourly services on the Cork–Dublin line, enabled by DART+ South West. Kenny highlights the strategy to enhance capacity at Heuston and alleviate congestion at Connolly station. With ambitions for faster Dublin–Cork trains by the 2030s and a significant €35 billion All-Island rail upgrade, the future of Irish rail looks promising.
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Frequency Unlocks Commuter Potential
- Half-hourly peak services and eventual all-day frequency can make Thurles comparable to outer Dublin commuter towns by journey time and frequency.
- Irish Rail links higher frequency with enabling sustainable housing development along served corridors.
Four-Tracking Doubles Network Capacity
- Extending four-track sections into the city and adding Houston West station will double Greater Dublin network capacity under DART+.
- This expansion also enables more intercity services and triples electrification reach.
Connolly Is A Critical Bottleneck
- Connolly station is at absolute capacity today, handling DART, Drogheda, Belfast and intercity flows on limited tracks.
- Four-tracking north of Connolly and using Spencer Dock more will be needed to unlock further growth.