The estimated cost of the Dart extension has risen by a further €400 million, a near 25 per cent increase on pre-Covid estimates.
Iarnrod Eireann has opened a market consultation to speak to contractors that can help deliver the project, which it said would cost €3 billion.
Irish Rail and the National Transport Authority will jointly deliver the project that aims to increase the Dart network from 50km of railway line in Dublin and its surrounding region to 150km.
The figure is not final, however, with a spokesman from the Department of Transport saying that it was “too early” to be “definitive” about the cost of the programme.
The new Dart will deliver more services to Maynooth, Kildare and M3 Parkway in Meath, which are