An order of 100 new carriages for the Dart rail service in the capital will allow for the replacement of all original trains, which have been in use for more than 40 years.
The Department of Transport has approved funding of €173.9 million for the latest order for new energy-efficient carriages.
It brings the total number of carriages ordered in recent times to 285, with the overall €500 million investment set to provide for 57 five-carriage trains to enter service in the coming years.
The Dart was deployed in 1984 with 80 carriages, 76 of which remain in service.
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The other four were destroyed or damaged beyond repair in a fire in Irish Rail’s Fairview depot in 2001.
Irish Rail chief executive Mary Considine said the new carriages are a “crucial order for the continued development of rail services in the Greater Dublin Area”.
Ms Considine said the “new modern fleets will deliver real improvements in customer experience for all Dart users across the expanded network under the Dart+ Programme, and include major accessibility benefits”.
There will be CCTV aboard, additional bike storage and device-charging on the carriages.
Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said the order demonstrates the Government’s commitment to public transport. He noted that his department’s expected investment under the National Development Plan will mean more than €10 billion spent on public transport infrastructure.
An initial order of 95 new Dart carriages is to enter service in the first quarter of 2027, with another 90 in 2028, and the last 100 expected by 2030.
There were at least 23 million passenger journeys on the Dart in 2025, the highest number yet and a further 16 million on Dublin’s commuter services.
The additional carriages will be used to expand Dart+ West, South West, Coastal North and Coastal South lines that are expected to double the capacity of rail services in the Greater Dublin Area.
The order has been placed with Alstom via the National Transport Authority (NTA).
NTA chief executive Anne Shaw welcomed the development.
“These new trains will ensure Dart continues to deliver sustainable transport along the corridor, improving the efficiency of the service and improving the reliability, accessibility and comfort of Dart users,” she said.
