Cabinet to sign off on major plan to upgrade Cork's rail network

Some of the €74m in EU funds will be used for the electrification and upgrade of the network

Tue, 10 May, 2022 - 03:00

Daniel McConnell Political Editor

The Cabinet will on Tuesday give the approval to draw down €74m in EU funds to help upgrade Cork's commuter rail network.

Paschal Donohoe, the finance minister, and Michael McGrath, the public expenditure minister, will seek approval to draw down funds from the EU’s recovery and resilience fund, of which Ireland is entitled to €989m in grants.

The item, which relates to the signing of the financing agreement, is listed on the Cabinet agenda for Tuesday’s meeting and will give approval to draw down the funds in the last three months of this year.

The Cabinet will hear that the plan supports the green transition through investments of €164m in the electrification and upgrade of Cork commuter rail that will encourage a shift from private cars to rail transport.

Michael McGrath, the public expenditure minister: The investment will help support the transition to greener transport options. Picture: Damien Storan

Transport is a major source of pollution representing 20% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while rail is responsible for only 0.4% of GHG in the EU, as it is comparatively less polluting and more energy-efficient than other motorised means of transport.

In Ireland, only 2.75% of the network is electrified, which is very low compared to the rest of Europe.

“The plan contains targeted investments in the commuter rail around the city of Cork, providing significant capacity increases, including the construction of a through platform at Kent Station, line doubling between Glounthaune and Midleton, and re-signalling, with a view to future electrification,” ministers will be told.

The overall plan consists of 16 investment measures and nine reforms across three components.

They will be supported by €989m in grants. Some 42% of the plan will support climate investments and reforms and 32% of the plan will foster the digital transition.

The reforms address bottlenecks to lasting and sustainable growth by tackling some long-standing structural challenges faced by the Irish economy. Investments are targeted towards the green and digital transition.

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