Irish Rail is to contact more than 200 property owners over compulsory purchases as part for the Dart+ West project.
The 206 landowners are located between Spencer Dock in Dublin and Maynooth, Co Kildare.
The compulsory purchase order process includes formal letters witha legal “Notice to Treat” issued from Monday onwards.
Irish Rail is seeking land to improve the alignment of the railway, and for access during construction works associated with electrification.
It will mostly involve parts of individual land holdings, including commercial and residential property. A spokeswoman said that in some cases it may be temporary to facilitate site access. A number of rights of way across the railway would also be closed.
Dart+ West is one element of a suite of measures designed to grow the existing Dart network from 50km in length to over 150km, through the electrification and upgrading of existing lines.
It will serve Ashtown, Pelletstown, Broombridge, Castleknock, Coolmine, Clonsilla, Navan Road Parkway, Drumcondra, Leixlip, Maynooth and Hansfield, Dunboyne and the M3 Parkway. It aims to provide Dart services at least every 10 minutes.
Irish Rail is also seeking to close or alter level crossings at Ashtown, Coolmine, Clonsilla, Porterstown, Blakestown and Barberstown. A new station is to be provided at Spencer Dock.
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The DART+ West project received statutory approval for its design in July, 2024, and after a judicial review process, the permission became operative in June 2025.
Speaking on Monday, Irish Rail chief executive Mary Considine said the move marked“a significant milestone” in the delivery of the project. Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said it was the “key enabler” for the wider programme, extending the Dart network from the city centre to the M3 Parkway and, subject to planning, to a new train depot in Kilcock.
However, residents in west Dublin have expressed a number of concerns about the project. Fine Gael TD and assistant Government Chief Whip Emer Currie said there was some anxiety about the loss of level crossings. She said plans for the closure of the Coolmine level crossing have indicated no alternative vehicle route.
At Clonsilla, she said she understood the closure would mean a detour of a “couple of kilometres” while at Ashtown there was to be an underpass provided.
At Barberstown, the level crossing would be shut permanently with no access for motorists. The Porterstown level crossing is to be permanently closed to cars and a new pedestrian and cyclist bridge provided instead. At Blakestown, between Maynooth and Kilcock, the crossing would also be permanently removed.
“There is widespread support for Dart+ West and the electrification of the Maynooth rail line through Dublin West. If anything, there is frustration at the pace of delivery,” she said. “The project would significantly increase both the frequency and capacity of rail services, and that investment is badly needed.”
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However, she said, there was understandable concern about what impact permanently closing level crossings could have on congestion in surrounding communities.
“I do not believe Irish Rail has yet fully convinced residents that complete closure is necessary to deliver the project safely,” she said.
“Two of our level crossings are currently operated by attendants who manually close the gates. The question I am regularly asked is whether these crossings could instead be upgraded to the highest modern safety standards and retained, at least during offpeak hours. That needs to be clearly addressed.”