€8.5bn should be spent on rail network

THE Government should spend €8.5 billion on the development of the railway network over the next 20 years, according to a consultants report.

The report said improving the present routes and maximising their capacity should be a priority.

Billed as the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of the rail network, the Strategic Rail Review said development of the rail system should take place in three phases. The majority of the funding from now to 2008 should be centred on upgrading the lines from Dublin to Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Galway, Waterford, Sligo, Rosslare, Westport and Ballina. Dublin suburban and DART services should also be prioritised, the report by Booz Allen Hamilton consultants said.

Improvements and expansions of the DART, Dublin suburban network and the Cork suburban services, a tunnel connecting Heuston and Connolly stations in Dublin and a station at Spencer Dock are also proposed.

The report rejected the suggested development of the Western Rail Corridor between Sligo and Cork, the line between Letterkenny and Derry, the Limerick Junction to Rosslare connection and the line from Dublin to Navan.

Transport Minister Seamus Brennan said the report was not ambitious enough as there was no mention of high-speed trains and the recommendations needed to be implemented more quickly, as the timescale was not urgent enough. However, Mr Brennan gave the report a general welcome, saying it was realistic and anchored in common sense. Leaving the door open for the development of the Sligo to Cork line, Mr Brennan said he would be in favour of such a move. He said he had already commissioned an assessment of the cost and benefits and wanted players in the region to come up with supportive proposals: "This report is a framework. It is an agenda but it is not a set of handcuffs. I don't agree with the report in its coolness towards disused and lightly used lines. I think it is proper that we leave it open to local business communities, to local authorities, to land strategies to seek to develop these lines."

Mr Brennan said the report was completely supportive of the spatial strategy and took account of the Government's policy to rebalance the country. Some of the investment in Dublin was to support regional development, he said.

The number of single-track lines in the country, apart from the mainlines, was resulting in constraints in the level of service that could be provided.

The report said the demand for rail services will rise substantially with projections of €54 million inter-city commuter journeys in 20 years time up from the €24 million journeys last year.