Dart-type rail for Cork ‘doable in 5 to 10 years’, says Taoiseach

A Dart-type transport system for Cork is achievable in the next five to 10 years, the Taoiseach has said.

A €1bn light-rail system was proposed for Ireland’s second city in the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy.

It proposed the development of a high-capacity, high-frequency public transport link from the eastern to the western suburbs of Cork — including a number of significant destinations, such as the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), Cork University Hospital (CUH), University College Cork (UCC), Cork City centre, and Kent Station.

At his end-of-year media briefing, Leo Varadkar was asked whether it was something he would consider, if it were brought to Cabinet in 2024.

The Taoiseach said that while the light-rail Luas system has “worked extremely well in Dublin”, he felt that a Dart-type model would work better in Cork.

“The priority, certainly in Cork, is the Cork Metropolitan Rail,” he said.

“So you’ll know that we’re double-tracking around Midleton and there’s proposals for a whole new set of stations around Cork.

“So I would say the priority, in terms of public transport in Cork, is, I suppose, BusConnects.

“It’s also the Cork Metropolitan Rail, which is upgrading the existing train service on the existing lines and putting in new stations, sort of a Cork Dart, if you like. And I think that’s probably something more achievable in the medium term.”

He added: “We have the railway order already for the double tracking to Midleton, so having a heavy rail, Dart-type system for Cork is genuinely achievable in the next five to 10 years, and I think that’s what we should be aiming to do.”