Re: Excellent stuff
don't be so fatalistic about it terroronthenet. i suggest you contact your local representatives if you're interested in supporting this proposal. i've done so and all have responded that either they already support it, they are looking into it or will raise it as an issue with brennan. from the various parties, it seems that currently fine gael are the most enthusiastic supporters of it.
remember, this it isn't pie in the sky stuff. the studies, the routing, the basic planning and preliminary engineering have been carried out. they are already implementing some of the initial parts of the plans using current funding. for example, to support running dart/commuter services to kildare, they are currently working on doubling the tracks going out of heuston so that intercity trains and commuter trains can run independently.
basically, irish rail are hoping to implement this by 2015 if the currently level of investment in rail is maintained (unfortunately not guaranteed). the "extend the dart" campaign wants to accelerate this to a 2009 completion by upping the current relatively miserly levels of capital investment in rail. it may not have the glamour or "shiny newness" that a single unintegrated underground luas line to the airport has but by supporting an extra 40 or 50 thousand commuters an hour coming in and out of dublin it would take almost a fifth of the current rush hour commuters out of their vehicles, provide dublin with an integrated multi-line metro system and provide a basic hub from which to extend commuter rail all over dublin.