Blunt Shane Ross faces dilemma to keep Irish Rail finances on track

Ross either has to commit huge sums of money in order to fix the rail network or cut his losses and start closing some stations and routes, writes Daniel McConnell

Shane Ross shoots from the hip. He did when he was a bombastic columnist and senator and has continued to do so from the Cabinet table.

His latest comments, in an interview with me for the Irish Examiner, about loss-making rail lines and their future, is another example of his blunt speaking.

“Any line that is losing a huge amount of money and doesn’t have any passengers has to be looked at and [it] would be irresponsible not to do so when the company needs money. But the idea of the rail review is not to close lines but look at efficiencies,” he said.

On one level, it is hard to argue with the logic of at least examining the viability of such railway lines like the Limerick to Ballybrophy line, which is subsidised to the tune of €550 per fare.

Many economists, for years, have questioned the merit of having a rail network in Ireland at all, given our small population and the loss-making enterprise that is Irish Rail. But Ross, who says he is a rail supporter, has a dilemma. Irish Rail is in crisis: It is facing potential insolvency and will require a State bailout over the coming years just to maintain anything like its current level of service.

Last year’s report on the rail network says it needs in excess of €600m over the coming years or large chunks of the railway map of Ireland will disappear.

Ross either has to commit huge sums of money in order to fix the rail network, which is suffering from severe underinvestment, or cut his losses and start closing some stations and routes.

The political implications of such a move, in this minority government, are considerable but Ross’s concerns point to the reality that taxpayers’ money — an awful lot of it — is going on funding such loss-making routes.

The basic question has to be asked: Is it a smart use of limited amounts of money?

Alan Kelly, the Tipperary TD and former junior transport minister who has defended the Ballybrophy line that goes through his home town of Nenagh, has gone on the attack, accusing Ross of being anti-rural Ireland and not understanding the value and merit of the route.

“This is complete hypocrisy. He doesn’t understand rural Ireland, doesn’t understand anything beyond the Red Cow roundabout,” Kelly told me.

The report, which determined the €550 cost per fare on the Ballybrophy line, is out for public consultation which is due to close in a short number of weeks.

When it concludes, Ross and his officials will have a tough decision on whether to continue to commit large chunks of public money into loss-making routes or to try and use the money in more efficient ways.