page_title: National Development Plan
section_title: Rail network
hierarchical_section_title: National Development Plan / Achievements / Rail network
caption_attribution_description: A National Development Plan sign for Dublin Area Rapid Transit seen in Dublin Connolly railway station.
context_page_description: National Development Plan was the title given by the Irish Government to a scheme of organised large-scale expenditure on national infrastructure. The first five-year plan ran from 1988 to 1993, the second was a six-year plan from 1994 to 1999 and the third ran as a seven-year plan from 2000 to 2006. A fourth National Development Plan ran from 2007 to 2011. The main elements of the third plan were the development of a national motorway network between the major cities in Ireland. The upgrading of the rail network was a secondary scheme.
  In November 2011, the Government announced that the National Development Plan was to be succeeded by a Capital Investment Plan. This scheme began on 1 January 2012 and ran until 31 December 2015. A second Capital Investment Plan is currently running from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2021.
context_section_description: Dublin suburban routes benefited from large amounts of new rolling stock, in the form of suburban railcars. These operate north to Dundalk, northwest to Maynooth, southwest to Portlaoise and south to Gorey. The electrified section of the north-south route through Dublin had extra EMUs brought into service. Dublin also saw the opening of a new tram system, the Luas in 2004.
  Major projects undertaken were the upgrade of Heuston Station in Dublin to nine platforms and the new railcar servicing depot in Drogheda. Many other stations, particularly the Dublin suburban stations, were upgraded and modernised, with lifts for example on new footbridges. Other measures to improve disabled access were implemented, and park and ride facilities were developed.
  InterCity travel benefited from new suburban railcars freeing up InterCity rolling stock previously in use. 67 new locomotive-hauled InterCity carriages were introduced in 2006. Over 100 "regional railcars" were ordered, in the form DMUs currently in use on peripheral services that are not commuter-only. Services were increased on routes such as that from Limerick to Ennis.
  Planned developments included enhancing suburban rail in Cork, where a section of rail was reopened to Midleton, east of the city. Other projects under discussion, some or all of which are unlikely to be undertaken, include:
  A railway line from Dublin to Navan.
  Developing a rail link to Dublin Airport (possibly as an underground Metro link).
  Opening a new city centre railway terminus for Sligo and western commuter services at Spencer Dock.
  Creating the DART Underground tunnel south from the Docklands railway station in Spencer Dock to Pearse Station and west to Heuston Station.
  Reopening a Western Railway Corridor from Limerick to Sligo. The section from Ennis to Athenry was reopened in 2010, with the sections from Athenry to Tuam, as well as preserving right of way north of Tuam, cancelled indefinitely in 2011. Since 2016 Seán Canney has been in favor of reopening it.
  Reopening of Limerick-Tralee and Athlone-Mullingar railway lines.
caption: A National Development Plan sign for Dublin Area Rapid Transit seen in Dublin Connolly railway station. This sign was removed in 2011
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