59. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Transport to provide an update on his Department's work in relation to the implementation of DART+ Coastal North; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41450/24]

As the Deputy may be aware, the DART+ Coastal North project, which is a key project within the DART+ programme, involves an extension of the existing overhead electric wires on the Northern rail line to Drogheda, along with other upgrades on the Northern route between Dublin city and Howth, Malahide and Drogheda.

The project will significantly increase the peak hourly capacity on all parts of the Northern route between Dublin city and Malahide, Howth and Drogheda, with the section between Malahide and Drogheda increasing from circa 4,800 passengers at present to 8,800 at peak hour/direction upon completion.

Following approval by Cabinet at Approval Gate 1 of the Infrastructure Guidelines, a Railway Order application for DART+ Coastal North was submitted to An Bord Pleanála in July 2024. The statutory consultation period commenced on 19th July 2024 and has been extended to 23rd October 2024. Public submissions will be collated by An Bord Pleanála during this period and will be considered as part of the Board's decision making process.

Government approval of the DART+ Preliminary Business Case in December 2021 also permitted the purchase of 95 additional DART carriages, under a framework agreement, which will arrive shortly for testing prior to entry into service. This includes 65 battery-electric train carriages which are expected to enter service on the Dublin to Drogheda line in 2026. To enable the roll-out of these new battery electric trains to Drogheda, new battery-electric charging infrastructure is being developed at Drogheda station. This will allow the DART trains to operate on battery power between Malahide and Drogheda, in advance of the extension of overhead electric wires in future.