New orbital bus routes in west Dublin to launch this weekend

Katie Mellett

Three new orbital bus routes linking west Dublin and Co Kildare will launch this weekend.

Routes W4, W61 and W62 will provide connections between the city's western suburbs and commuter towns, and provide links to rail, Luas and other bus routes.

Phase 5a of the Bus Connects programme, operated by Go-Ahead Ireland, will launch this Sunday, June 25th, and will serve the west and southwest regions of Dublin and north Kildare. The new network will increase connectivity across all transport modes.

Anne Graham, chief executive of the National Transport Authority, said: "The launch of Phase 5a is yet another step forward in improving the connectivity and reliability of Dublin’s bus networks through the BusConnects redesign."

She praised Phase 5a’s orbital routes as it will provide more efficient travelling for passengers as they can travel between suburbs without having to travel into the city centre first.

Route W4 stops near Liffey Valley Shopping Centre on the Lucan Road, where passengers can connect with the C1, C2, C3 and C4 services at the same stop. The W4 also connects with the N4 orbital route at Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, interchanges with the Luas at Tallaght and Cheeverstown, and will connect with commuter rail services at the new Kishoge station.

Route W61 connects with the C3 and C4 routes at Maynooth and with the C4 in Celbridge, and with commuter rail services at Maynooth and Hazelhatch stations.

Route W62 interchanges with Luas services at Tallaght, Citywest Campus, and Saggart.

The new bus routes will run every 15 to 30 minutes on the weekdays and will operate every 30 to 60 minutes at the weekend.

Andrew Edwards, managing director of Go-Ahead Ireland, said: "Go-Ahead Ireland is delighted to bring the next phase of BusConnects to the public alongside our colleagues at the NTA and Go-Ahead Ireland looks forward to continuing to serve its communities and customers."