‘We have had direct services from Howth for 179 years’: Dart users face splitting journey on northern line

Howth and Sutton Dart users are facing major changes to their daily commute with potential “shuttle” trains splitting their trip to Dublin city following the extension of the Dart line to Drogheda.

At a busy public information event in the Marine Hotel in Sutton on Tuesday evening Irish Rail outlined its plans for DART + Coastal North, part of the €2.6 billion extension of Dart services from Dublin to Drogheda, Celbridge and Maynooth, first announced 18 years ago.

DART + Coastal North will extend the electrification of the Northern Line to bring Darts from Malahide to Drogheda with a significant increase in frequency along the line. However, to sustain these additional services, Irish Rail is proposing some trains from Howth could run as feeder services to Howth Junction with passengers having to change trains to continue into the city.

Splitting the trip would represent the biggest change for Dart users in Howth since the service went live in 1984 with many residents attending the information sessions feeling they were being asked to take an unfair hit to accommodate travellers further up the line.

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“We have had direct train services from Howth for 179 years,” said Valerie Darby, whose family have lived in the Howth for generations. “The reason we are being subject to this is because they are extending the service to Drogheda and there are going to be lots of extra trains on the line, but our direct service will be cut off - we are being sacrificed for Drogheda” she said.

“I think these consultation things are a done deal before you even get here.”

Ian Byrne from Sutton described the information event as “window dressing” designed to distract from the poor public transport serving the area.

“The real problem is a lack of a co-ordinated strategy for Howth which includes trains, buses and the road network. There is no coordination between the different transport entities. The whole thing is chaos.”

[ Iarnród Éireann says first Dart services due in Drogheda in 2025 ]

The more frequent closure of level crossings due to the additional train services will create “massive traffic problems” yet people would be more likely to return to their cars if they were forced to switch trains to get into the city he said.

“To double the level crossing closures from 21-22 per cent to 55 per cent will create massive traffic in both directions. No way is there the capacity on the roads to handle the amount of residential development going on here. This is a sticking plaster approach, not a coordinated strategic approach to the traffic problems. We have to move towards more public transport, not a reduced shuttle service.”

The fact the change would occur at Howth Junction was a particular worry for many residents. The station became the focus of safety concerns two years ago when a 17-year-old girl was knocked under a stationary train in an incident involving a group of young men who had been ejected from the train due to complaints of anti-social behaviour.

“That is a dangerous station. There are attacks, muggings, even now going through it you say to yourself ‘I hope no one gets on our carriage’,” Sutton local Lea Banks said. “But if people have to change trains, tourists will be sitting ducks. What about people in wheelchairs and buggies? They say there will be two lifts, but the lifts never work anyway. And by the time the train gets to Howth Junction, you’d be lucky to get standing room. No one from Irish Rail here today lives out here so they have no concept of what it’s like to live here and you can’t make that a non-dangerous station just by putting lights in.”

Miriam Kinane from Howth said she was particularly concerned about the safety of children and older people changing trains at Howth Junction.

“I have grandchildren and it’s not a nice area to hang around, with drugs, and fighting and everything, especially in the dark nights. And old people will never be able to get seats. But it’s just way, way too dangerous. You can improve a station, but you are not going to stop people hanging around. I just don’t see why we should be punished like this.”

Project manager for Dart + Coastal Paul Wilcock said Irish Rail recognised there were problems with the station and said the plan included an €18 million investment in its upgrade.

“We have heard people’s concerns and in reaction to that and we have looked at upgrading the existing Howth Junction and Donaghmede Station. We’re going to improve the entrances, we’re going to improve access, we’re going to improve the stairs and the bridge. People had concerns about lighting and their perception of how safe the station is and we have come up with a plan that we think mitigates those concerns. We understand that we have to build confidence for passengers using Howth Junction.”

The work will be subject to an application to An Bord Pleanala later this year and it is envisaged the full upgrade progamme will be completed in 2029. While this will enable the Howth shuttle service to be introduced, how that service would operate is yet to be determined Irish Rail communications manager Barry Kenny said.

“What we are doing here is building the infrastructure to allow the shuttle service. If we were to run the network to the maximum capacity, you would run a straight line service through from Drogheda and Malahide and have a shuttle to Howth Junction,” he said.

“So yes we will be able do it, or we can continue direct from Howth with this infrastructure. You might see a mix of direct and shuttles, most likely at peak times, but it will be subject to timetabling decisions as the demand increases.”

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While there would be Dart services running from Drogheda to the city, a number of shorter services beginning in Malahide and in Clongriffin would also run to the city, and as these stations were close to Howth Junction, overcrowding was less likely, Mr Kenny said. There would also be increased capacity, both on the potential shuttle line, and the Drogheda line, meaning significantly reduced waiting times, he said.

“It is going to be a really significant increase in frequency. You don’t think anything of changing trains in London because you know there’s going to be another one quite shortly afterwards. That’s the direction we’re going in.”