Bias against public transport to blame for much of our network deficit

THAT Dr Seán Barrett’s views are informed by a blinkered anti-public transport ideology is well known, but his latest diatribe masquerading as economic analysis, published by the ESRI, descends to the level of self-parody (‘Transport strategy seriously flawed’, Irish Examiner, December 21).

This country still suffers from an infrastructural deficit, much of which can be attributed to public policy being informed by such ideological bias during the 1980s and early ‘90s.

It was Dr Barrett who regarded the development of the DART, the country’s greatest public transport success story, as a white elephant and advocated closing the line and building a new road.

Yet, credence is given again to his ‘expert’ view on Transport 21. Iarnród Éireann’s plans, and no doubt those of the other transport agencies, have been studied and analysed many times over. Our Dublin area proposals under Transport 21 were economically evaluated in A Platform for Change, a published document. Our national proposals were economically evaluated by the Government’s Strategic Rail Review, another published document.

For the preparation for Transport 21, we submitted a detailed cost benefit analysis developed within parameters set out for all agencies by the Department of Transport.

This was independently analysed and verified by Goodbody consultants for the Department of Transport. Each individual project will have a further detailed analysis and public inquiries will allow full scrutiny of rail infrastructure projects, as has happened with the Kildare route project and the Cork-Midleton line.

Yet, Dr Barrett advocates paralysis by analysis in getting yet another study done, rather than moving ahead with this costed and appraised programme to deliver a world-class infrastructure for our country and its citizens.

Dr Barrett’s paper is littered with selective and out-of-date statistics and references which completely misrepresent the facts.

Contrary to the claims in this report, Iarnród Éireann’s passenger numbers are the fastest growing in the EU; we are reducing core staff numbers while carrying more customers; and we have the strongest performance in delivering capital investment programmes on budget of all major recipients of exchequer funding.

Dr Barrett fails to grasp the very basics of core projects — for example, he completely misunderstands (or perhaps misrepresents) the purpose of the underground DART interconnector, which is to provide a second high capacity commuter line through the heart of the city, boosting frequency and capacity on all greater Dublin area rail routes and linking all modes — DART, Commuter, Luas and Metro — into a cohesive, integrated network.

He also shows a poor grasp of transport evaluation techniques — indeed it’s amusing to note his strident calls for yet another cost benefit analysis to be carried out when he proceeds once again to ignore cost benefit analysis for public transport projects in favour of purely financial criteria.

Yet these views are reported without any questioning, despite the errors obvious even to any layperson.

It is time to leave behind the flawed analysis of anti-public transport zealots and take the unique opportunity which Transport 21 presents to develop a world-class public transport infrastructure for the benefit of our citizens and our future prosperity.

Barry Kenny

Manager, Corporate Communications

Iarnród Éireann

Connolly Station

Dublin 1