DART already follows (for the most part) a fifteen minute interval schedule departing Connolly northbound at 09, 24, 39 and 54 which leaves potentially unobstructed fast paths northbound at 05, 20, 35 and 50. Despite this Irish Rail insist on scheduling Enterprise departures at 1100 and 1900 which means that if the DART is 3 or 4 minutes late it is leaving a mere two minutes ahead of the Belfast service. The 1100 and 1900 frequently take 38 to 45 minutes to reach Drogheda, a performance that barely matches the clapped out steam trains of the 1950s.
The ten minute interval DART service will ensure that all Enterprise services will have de-graded paths. Similarly all longer distance northern line and south eastern line commuters beyond Greystones can expect longer journey times. In addition the potential for delays and congestion will be significantly magnified to support a service expansion which the very limited and inflexible infrastructure will struggle to support.
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