Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I wish to talk about trains and public transport, and the electrification of rail services in particular. There have been huge advancements with battery-electric units that have a really good range. In most cases, we will not need to build that extensive overhead network in order to provide a good, urban, electrified rail system.

Electric trains have the advantage of being much quicker to accelerate and brake, so you can have a good urban service without the slowdown in service diesels or other heavy rail vehicles necessarily involve. I urge Deputies from all parties to support further capital investment in procuring carriages and especially battery-electric carriages. Irish Rail has an extensive order in at the moment, and delivery of the first of those battery-electric units is expected. What this means is that where we do an overhead extension in an area of high urban density, we can go another 80 km on a battery-electric train. If, therefore, we electrified the overhead as far as Drogheda or out to Maynooth, we could go another 80 km. Those trains can charge at that point and then come back in those 80 km. That gives real flexibility to that rail service and it is what we need to do to decarbonise so we have trains running on electricity we generate from offshore renewable energy.

The rail line between Greystones and Wicklow is suitable for that type of expansion. Wicklow is a key growth town. Its population is going to grow and it has a very poor public transport service. It is one of the reasons the N11 is so congested. That rail line is very suitable for the first of those battery-electric trains when they arrive and also to serve areas like Newcastle, Kilcoole and south Greystones at ​Charlesland. These would be extra stops that add no extra journey time.

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