Irish Rail to detail litany of failures behind €50m traffic system

The failed IT system project would have been used to dictate the flow of train traffic across Ireland, and was initially forecast for delivery in 2024 at a cost of just under €20m. File picture

Irish Rail is to detail a litany of failures that led to the abandonment of a €50m traffic management system when senior officials appear before politicians on Wednesday.

The transport committee will hear that Irish Rail has gone back to the drawing board after the company tasked with delivering the IT system in 2019 had still not provided a fit-for-purpose solution earlier this year. This prompted the decision to pull the plug on the €50m project.

Politicians will be told that after a succession of delays and setbacks, contractor Indra finally released a redeveloped software product to Irish Rail for testing in April, but that "many of the systemic issues" remained.

The system was part of an overarching project to deliver a national train control centre at Dublin's Heuston Station. 

It would have been used to dictate the flow of train traffic across Ireland, and was initially forecast for delivery in 2024 at a cost of just under €20m.

The situation had deteriorated so much by last year that Irish Rail discussed its continuing lack of confidence in Indra with the National Transport Authority (NTA).

The NTA then took a significantly more active role in project oversight and contract management, holding fortnightly meetings with Indra and Irish Rail.

"Six years on, and two years after the original commissioning date, Indra still do not have a developed product fit for deployment on our rail network, and they remain in a product development cycle," officials will tell the committee.

"It is in this context that the board took the decision to impair the carrying value of the asset in the financial statements for year-ending December 31, 2025, with the accounts submitted to the Department of Transport for the formal approval prior to publication."

Irish Rail's board of management will focus on how it can best deliver the completion of the necessary traffic management system from this point, the committee will be told.

"To that end, we are reviewing options, consulting with the NTA, and will bring a recommendation to the Iarnród Éireann board meeting later this month," officials will state.

• Elaine Loughlin is Political Editor