Deputy Emer Higgins, TD for Dublin Mid West has expressed her frustrations on behalf of the local community at the continued delay in delivering a full bus service for the much needed W6 route. Deputy Higgins said: “I am extremely disappointed to learn that the planned and much anticipated W6 route has been further delayed and will now be split into two separate bus routes, the W61 and the W62, before the two routes are eventually linked. “This means that the route will initially not directly link Newcastle with Hazelhatch and thus not provide a direct route from Tallaght to Maynooth which is really disappointing,” added Deputy Higgins.
“The NTA has been promoting the W6 as a way for young people from Rathcoole, Saggart and Newcastle to get to college in Maynooth and many students and their parents have been in touch enquiring about when the route is due to start as they will be relying on it to get to college, but unfortunately now the planned delivery date has been pushed out once again. “My understanding is that the road width at the canal bridge needs to be widened before the W6 can operate as one fully connected route. I called this out as a potential hurdle four years ago but the NTA seem to be only realising that it’s a challenge now.
“The NTA have informed me that they will work with South Dublin County Council to carry out the appropriate road widening works to facilitate a safe two-way operation, but it will take a significant time to plan and deliver those works so in the meantime, they want to deliver some of the benefits quicker than would be the case if they were to wait for the full through services to begin operation,” continued Deputy Higgins. “It’s anticipated that once operational, the temporary services will need to be in place for 12-18 months and there is still no concrete timeline for when the full route will be delivered which I know is causing a massive headache for locals and especially students needing to travel to Maynooth from Rathcoole.
“I can reassure the community that I am keeping the pressure on the NTA and South Dublin County Council to get this route delivered in full as soon as possible,” concluded Deputy Higgins.
