Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for raising this topic which I am dealing with on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

I would like to clarify that while the Department of Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, it is not involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services, including matters related to public transport facilities in train stations. I understand that the Deputy's question is specifically in relation to toilet facilities in Muine Bheag train station and I advise the Deputy that issues such as this are an operational matter for Iarnród Éireann. The Minister for Transport has no role in such matters.

Nevertheless, the Deputy may wish to note that as part of the overall ongoing investment in the rail network, the Department of Transport recently secured Government approval for additional funding for the infrastructure manager multi-annual contract, IMMAC. The IMMAC provides the funding framework for the protection and renewal of our railway infrastructure. Deputy Murnane O'Connor spoke about the beautiful building in Bagenalstown and the fact that it featured on a commemorative stamp and I agree that it is a beautiful building. With the increased funding secured over the five years of the contract out to 2024, just over €1.1 billion in Exchequer funding will be made available to support delivery.This funding will increase service reliability and punctuality, improve journey times and ensure continued safety of rail services across the network.

A new national train control centre is under construction, with completion and full commissioning by 2024. This control centre will completely transform the management of the rail network as compared with today and will allow for the future expansion of services in the years ahead. These investments are complemented by the 41 new rail carriages which are under construction, with expected delivery to commence in mid-2022. There is significant investment under way in the rail network and services to continually improve the attractiveness of rail transport to customers.

Regarding the Deputy's specific query on facilities at Muine Bheag or Bagenalstown station, Iarnród Éireann has advised the Department of Transport that the company's position over the past couple of years has been to move to online or ticket machine ticket sales. Almost 90% of tickets are now acquired digitally. In July 2019, Bagenalstown station moved from being partially staffed to a full self-service station. Iarnród Éireann has advised that it does not generally provide toilet facilities at stations which are unmanned as such facilities tend to be subject to a disproportionate amount of vandalism and incidents of anti-social behaviour. Iarnród Éireann is rebalancing its customer service provision with greater on-board services, including toilets and fewer facilities located in stations.

As regular customers on the Waterford to Dublin route will know, Iarnród Éireann now has dedicated customer service officers on board over 80% of services on this route to assist passengers. Furthermore, there are ticket sales available at the station via the ticket vending machine and the customer service officers will be able to assist people with Department of Social Protection tickets, seating, service information and more, on board. This means that there will always be assistance for wheelchair customers at Bagenalstown with the on-board customer service officers available to help with boarding and alighting.

Furthermore, in relation to facilities at Carlow, two new lifts have recently been installed at Carlow station, including a new footbridge in January this year. Iarnród Eireann is in discussions with the National Transport Authority, NTA, and Carlow County Council regarding a car park expansion, including bicycle parking, for Carlow station. Finally, Iarnród Eireann has advised that the fleet that operates the Waterford route is its newest and most modern fleet, the intercity railcar, and all trains serving Carlow and Bagenalstown stations have toilets on board for customer comfort.

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