Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 22 March 2017

Committee on Budgetary Oversight

Review of the Capital Plan: Transport Infrastructure Ireland

2:00 pm

Mr. Michael Nolan:

It is very hard to argue with that. Integration is a major point. One of the bonuses of merging the Railway Procurement Agency and the National Roads Authority is that we have new thinking in-house on the integration for our networks and to assist in a modal shift. That is important. We control and manage the M50 and in terms of the new metro line across the M50. We recognise the importance of integration. To continue widening the M50 is not the solution to the congestion on it. The solution is the provision of public transport, changing the way planning is conducted around Dublin and examining the position regarding area plans. We see the integration of the networks and the transport modes being critical. In terms of smart cities in the future, rather than being on transport system, the focus will be on the customer having a seamless journey time aspiration to minimise waiting periods and delays. There is a major upside to that.