Mr. Hassard Stacpoole:

The ultimate problem we have is a chicken-and-egg situation; it is how we procure and run regional and rural rail lines. The fundamental problem is the NTA, which is responsible for the PSO, does not have a statutory role in the development of either regional or intercity railways. However, it is in charge of the PSO. Likewise, Irish Rail says it will not put on services unless there is a PSO or there is a demand. It is a chicken-and-egg thing. The problem we have with the north Tipperary line, as mentioned in our opening statement, is that the services have not changed for 75 years. We run two trains per day, one in the morning and one in the evening. In recent years, as the railways modernised, the line, which used to be the main route into Limerick, was not modernised.

For railway management and how Irish Rail runs the Limerick area, the priorities are the intercity service to Dublin via Limerick Junction, Limerick to Ennis and, perhaps by extension, the services to Galway.

There is a fundamental disconnect. We need somebody there to put key performance indicators, KPIs, in place. The first starting point is the upgrade of the track, to which we alluded in our opening statement, and that is part of our campaign. Getting that speed up would cut journey times and increase efficiency as it would allow the trains to run quicker and produce shorter journeys. The existing train that operates on the line sits idly in Limerick for the best part of six or seven hours a day, so providing a service in the middle of the day is the starting point here. Irish Rail will have an issue with that because it will say it needs to be funded and the PSO must be increased. The Minister has indicated it could be a matter for the NTA. Again, it is a chicken-and-egg thing. We are waiting for a reply from the NTA to Deputy Kelly, who asked whether it would increase the PSO. Deputy Lowry has also asked the NTA to do that. We need to get that funding in place but, fundamentally, you cannot run a train service without drivers and the procurement of drivers is an issue. We need Irish Rail to put together a programme, particularly in Limerick, to provide consistency of service, because we do not have consistency even as it is with two trains a day, but also to put drivers in place to operate that service going forward.

Going back to the NTA, the other issue is that the Limerick-Shannon metropolitan strategy stops at the County Limerick border. It does not actually look at the railway lines. As the Chairman knows, we have had to go back to the NTA and ask it to look again at the proposals for rail. In theory, when looking at rail in the Limerick context, we should be looking at Limerick to Nenagh, because Nenagh into Limerick is one market. There is then a second market that consists of intercity traffic to Dublin and people commuting from the county town, which is Tipperary town, to places like Dublin. That is an issue. If that funding is provided, as new rolling stock comes on as a result of the DART+ programme and diesel rail cars are displaced, we would like a minimum of a two-hourly service put on the line and an hourly service into Limerick at peak.

One of the fundamental issues with line speeds is the crossings. We have 12 manned crossings, which come with a high operational cost. We would like a programme to be funded to get rid of them, which would ultimately cut the operating cost by a significant amount. More important, it would give 24-7 flexibility, whereas we are currently reliant on the gatekeepers to operate the shifts. The other big issue is farmer crossings. We need a programme to allow farmers to farm their land safely while also allowing the railway to operate safely, because on a modern railway we want faster journeys. No funding has been allocated for that. This is the only line in the country that does not have a programme to get rid of farmer crossings. Some of the user crossings are being upgraded at the moment with the modern system Irish Rail is installing. Deputy Calleary will be aware there is a big local issue in Mayo with farmer and user crossings, but that railway runs at 70 or 80 mph and the north Tipperary line should be no different.

We need responsibility to be taken, not only by the NTA in how it procures regional and rural railways but also by the Department of Transport so the sector has the ability to implement this. It fundamentally comes down to the two authorities that procure rail services to instruct the railway company to deliver it. They do not have in-house railway expertise. They are reliant on consultants and they do not understand how rural and regional railways should and can operate for the benefit of the whole country. It is not just about connecting the radial lines into Dublin. We have a great opportunity with the regional rail review to connect communities. People in Nenagh, Cloughjordan or Roscrea should be able to hop on a train and go into Limerick, go on to Galway via Ennis or go seamlessly to Waterford via Clonmel or down to Cork. It should go beyond just going to Dublin.