Alstom has secured a €160 million contract from Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) for 100 carriages for 20 X’trapolis five-carriage train sets for use on the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) network in the Greater Dublin Area.

This order takes the number of DART+ carriages being constructed by Alstom to 285.

The new trains will replace the original DART fleet, which has been in service since 1984, when the DART network opened. The new trains are being built at Alstom’s factory at Chorzów near Katowice in Poland.

They will be the same length as DART’s current four-carriage train sets, and have a capacity for 100 passengers.

This is the third order for new trains that Irish Rail has placed with Alstom, and this latest order will replace the 8100 Class rolling stock currently operating on the largely coastal line from Greystones to Malahide and Howth.

The first order was for 19 five-carriage train sets, most of which will enter service on the Dublin to Drogheda line from the first half of 2027.

Eighteen new trains and a ten-year maintenance contract will follow in the second order, to enter service from 2028; a 15-year maintenance contract is also included in the latest order.

All three orders are part of a framework agreement for the provision of up to 750 electric and battery-electric carriages over ten years.

Out of the 185 carriages being built in the first two orders, 155 will be battery-electric multiple units (BEMU), to be charged at a charging station to be built by Alstom at Drogheda railway station.

At an event at Irish Rail’s Inchicore works in Dublin last March, Alstom revealed a mock-up of one of the new X’trapolis DART+ carriages.

Alstom is also part of a group that includes John Laing,  FCC, Meridiam, and RATP Dev, which has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to design, construct, finance, maintain and operate Dublin’s MetroLink.

Mary Considine, Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann, commented that this is a crucial order for the continued development of rail services in the Greater Dublin Area.

The longevity of the original DART is a testament to Iarnród Éireann colleagues who have managed and maintained the fleet, and also to the durability of electricity-powered trains.

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.

“This order for 100 new X’trapolis EMU carriages is another exciting step for Ireland’s ambitious DART+ Programme – retiring the original 1984 fleet and introducing a modern and higher-capacity electric train across Greater Dublin. Together with the battery-electric units already on order, our trains will offer more reliable and lower-emission services, and deliver a transformation in accessibility and onboard information for passengers. We’re proud to partner with Iarnród Éireann, the Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority to help double rail capacity for the DART and advance Ireland’s wider decarbonisation goals.”

Piers Wood, Alstom Managing Director, Ireland