Transport | Car parking facilities for Kildare North rail stations

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To ask the Minister for Transport the extent to which adequate car parking facilities are being planned to meet the requirements now and in the future adjacent to all railway stations throughout north Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

The NTA established a Park and Ride Development Office (PRDO) in February 2020. The function of the Park and Ride Development Office is to enable the delivery of key Park & Ride sites by the NTA in collaboration with all Local Authorities and transport agencies such as Irish Rail across all regions providing full time specialist resources on these projects. The Park and Ride Development Office published a Park and Ride Strategy for the region as part of the Draft Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) which is available here. The Strategy sets out the vision and objectives for Park & Ride and identified the zones for intervention for both
bus and rail based strategic Park and Ride sites the M4 and M7 in County Kildare.
The PRDO has identified several sites within the recommended zones and is currently assessing these sites with respect to engineering, land use, planning and public transport aspects. From this it will identify the preferred site options and undertake multi-criteria analysis. In conjunction with key stakeholders, including Local Authorities and Iarnród Éireann the projects will be prioritised and
progressed through to planning. In addition to this work, the Park & Ride Development Office is working with Irish Rail to deliver increased parking at existing rail stations nationally. Kildare and Athy railway stations have been identified in the initial priority list for increased car parking in the Irish Rail Car Park programme. Hazelhatch & Celbridge, Leixlip Louisa Bridge and Newbridge will be considered in the medium term. Furthermore, the lease of the recently opened 200 additional spaces at Sallins Rail Station is being funded by NTA.