Iarnród Éireann, the Irish state railway company, has invested heavily in improving the infrastructure and rolling stock.

This route is used for both passenger and freight services, as well as rolling stock movements to the main Iarnród Éireann works at Inchicore, just south of Heuston.

[5] Amalgamations between the GS&WR and other smaller railway companies in the south led to the line gaining connections to other population centres.

The following is a summary of the main works involved: In September 2011, Iarnród Éireann received government funding of €1 million to continue the improvements on the Dublin – Portarlington section of this line later in 2011.

In September 2011, Iarnród Éireann announced a €175 million major investment programme, designed to further accelerate upgrading works on InterCity Routes, In particular the Dublin - Cork line.

Iarnród Éireann chief executive David Franks outlined how ballast was to be renewed between Hazelhatch and Kildare, which was to allow 160 km/h (100 mph) running on the 80 km (50 mi) long stretch.

Further upgrades such as the removal of level crossings and bridge replacements are expected to bring journey times from Cork to Dublin to under 2 hours.

[10][11] In 2020 the Irish Government confirmed it will be launching a study into an approximately 500 km high-speed railway from Belfast via Dublin to Cork and Limerick,[12] which could cost around €15 billion.