New Commuter Trains for Dublin Ireland

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Iarnród Éireann unveils new DART trains to be in operation from 2026

Iarnród Éireann has unveiled the first five-carriage train of the new DART+ Fleet, at Inchicore Works in Dublin.

The new DART fleet which will enable Iarnród Éireann to improve the customer experience across the Greater Dublin Area, including capacity, accessibility and customer information.

The five-carriage train is the first of 185 carriages already on order from rail manufacturer Alstom, and entering service from early 2026 onwards. The trains were purchased in two orders as part of a framework agreement which provides for up to 750 electric/battery electric carriages over a ten-year period

The fleet orders, funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA) under Project Ireland 2040, are part of the wider DART+ Programme. DART+ is a series of infrastructure projects which, together with train orders, will double the capacity and treble the electrification of the Greater Dublin Area’s rail network.

This is a long overdue update of the DART system's rolling stock, many of which date back to the original opening in 1984 and are showing their age.
In addition, the use of battery electric operation will allow the trains to run past the current end of catenary at Malahide to Drogheda.

This is part of an upgrade to Dublin's commuter rail system called DART+ which will eventually add electrified commuter service to other lines in the metro area which are currently being operated with DMUs.

The new fleet is being built by Alsthom in its facility in Poland.

Geoff Marshall has a video on a visit to Dublin to see the new trains:



There is talk of eventually electrifying the entire line from Dublin to Belfast, which of course would involve Northern Ireland Railways electrifying their portion. Most likely this would be at 25KV 50 Hz which would require dual mode equipment as DART currently runs on 1500 VDC.