Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan was joined by children’s puppet Bosco to help celebrate 40 years of Dublin’s Dart service on Tuesday.
Mr Ryan said people loved the quality of the Dart system and that it should be provided in other cities, including Cork.
He said a planning decision on the Dart Plus West upgrade was due “any day soon” but that the service also needed to be introduced in other cities – mentioning Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway.
“Dublin will grow if Cork grows too, and it’s an investment into the future,” he said, arguing it would provide “balanced regional development”.
Asked about the transport plan for Dublin, Mr Ryan said it was needed to “make the city work for everyone”.
“It will take a period of time to introduce all the measures, that will allow buses to get through the city really quickly and make the public transport system work for everyone,” he said.
“So we’re waiting to see what Dublin City Council say, but I’m hopeful it will be to proceed with the plan. It is a pathfinder project which was designed to show we can do things quickly, a delay would not serve the people of Dublin.
“I know the council have already expressed that view, but we hope to get a decision from the city manager as well and that we will go ahead in August as planned.”
He made the comments at an event to mark 40 years of the Dart service in operation, which he said provided a reason to “celebrate public transport”.
Mr Ryan said he remembered when it was first introduced, people criticised it as a “Rolls-Royce service that the city wouldn’t be able to afford”.
“We couldn’t afford not to have it now,” he said.
Mr Ryan said people in Dublin “really respect this service”.
The event at Grand Canal Dock Dart station featured a Dart train bearing images from the past 40 years – including the film The Commitments, former president Mary Robinson and former football manager Jack Charlton.
Bosco, who popped out of the driver carriage to address people, thanked the Little Museum of Dublin for arranging the images for the carriages.
“Mind the gap,” Bosco reminded onlookers.
