Mr. Frank Allen:

The Spanish high-speed rail is of a different nature entirely. What has happened in continental Europe has meant building new lines entirely. Iarnród Éireann, with funds from the Department of Transport, is shortening journey times. When one passes through Limerick Junction, one will notice that changes have taken place there that will shorten journey times. It is an incremental change. To achieve the sort of high-speed rail such as can be seen in Spain and France, we would have to do what many continental European countries have done, that is, to build new lines. In terms of the resources available, I would rather put money into increasing the capacity and quality of service on our existing lines, closing more level crossings and so forth, rather than spending the billions that would be required for an entirely new line. Work can be done to improve the journey times without the cost of billions to have the sort of high-speed rail to be found in continental Europe. I would spend that money on improving the existing infrastructure rather than on totally new lines.

The Senator asked about better quality transport in the round, including integrated ticketing, real-time passenger information and all of that in Cork. Iarnród Éireann has put forward proposals to make the rail services in the greater Cork area more like a commuter rail service. Those proposals include double tracking out to Midleton and increasing the frequency of services to Cobh. Those proposals should bring in the whole package of high quality public transport, making sure that the information, ticketing and all the rest of it works best. I believe there is strong support to develop more commuter rail services in the Cork area and we have proposals to build a through platform at Kent Station. All of this turns on the availability of funding. We certainly support it and will ensure we get the best possible value for any money that is available to ensure a good quality of service in the greater Cork area.