The Taoiseach has officially opened a new commuter railway station at Adamstown in west Dublin, years ahead of the completion of housing development in the area.
The railway station is currently located among green fields, with a 300 space park-and-ride site nearby, and has facilities for up to five platforms.
Initially there will be five trains to Heuston Station between 7am and 9am, with a journey time of 15 - 20 minutes.
The opening of the new station marks a further stage in the development of Adamstown, a residential development which will eventually have 10,000 homes. Some 1,300 homes have been approved and 900 are under construction, but at present there are just 200 occupied houses.
Speaking at the opening of the new station the Taoiseach said: "I am delighted to be here today to officially open this new station in Adamstown, marking another milestone in the development of what is now one of the fastest growing rail networks in Europe."
"Last year, there were 43 million passenger journeys on Iarnród Éireann services, almost 50 per cent up on numbers carried less than a decade before.
"This year alone, passenger numbers are expected to increase by a further 10 per cent - that is another four million passenger journeys. This is thanks to the increased capacity on our trains and the opening of new stations such as this one in Adamstown, the Docklands station which I opened in March and the Phoenix Park station which will open in the Autumn."
Two primary schools are currently under development in the Adamstown scheme and are due to open this September. A secondary school, community centre and sports hall are due to be opened by 2009, while other facilities will follow to create the new Adamstown town centre.
The train station is funded entirely by Chartridge Ltd, a consortium formed by Castlethorn Construction, Maplewood Homes and Tierra Ltd.
The development at Adamstown is a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) and has been planned as a sustainable community that will eventually house up to 25,000 residents.