Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and Deputies. I welcome the opportunity to address the House this afternoon to update Members on the all-island strategic rail review. Rail represents a particularly enduring form of infrastructure. Rail lines built in the 1800s are still carrying passengers today. The decisions and investments we make for rail in this decade will similarly benefit the Irish people, economy and the environment to the end of this century and beyond. This is why it is so important to plan our rail network in a holistic and strategic manner looking at the impacts and benefits across all the regions of Ireland. This is the key strength of the all-island strategic rail review.

Before I discuss the review I would like to provide an update on the progress we are already making on processing rail projects across the country. The last few years have seen significant progress on investment in our national rail network to create a more efficient, safe and better service for the people of Ireland. Most recently, the opening of the new through platform at Kent Station represented a landmark day in the delivery of the Cork area commuter rail programme. I visited this project a couple of weeks ago. This platform will facilitate commuter trains to travel through Kent Station from Mallow to Midleton or Cobh without requiring passengers to change services. This will support a better rail service. This platform is just the first element of the programme to go live. Works are well under way on two other work packages, namely the twin tracking of the Glounthaune to Midleton line and the significant signalling upgrade. These elements of the programme are on course to be delivered by the end of next year and together with the new platform will lay the foundation for further enhancements of Cork commuter rail services. This will help to deliver a more frequent, efficient and reliable rail service to the people of Cork. These works all represent phase 1 of the programme, which received €164 million in funding from the EU recovery and resilience facility, and represents the largest ever investment in the Cork rail network in the history of the State.

I am happy to say that design has also commenced in relation to phase 2 of the programme, which can deliver eight new stations and provides for electrification of the Cork rail system. This will be advanced following the completion of phase 1 works subject to funding and relevant approvals. On 18 June a public consultation on phase 2 of the Cork area programme was launched, which will give the public a more detailed look at the proposals and an opportunity to share their views on the plan. The opening of the new platform at Cork's Kent Station is part of a series of train station upgrade works that are being progressed across the country. Works are progressing at Ceannt Station in Galway in addition to planning for a new station at Moyross and the development of a new Plunkett Station in Waterford. Planning permission for the additional train platform and a passing loop at Oranmore Station was also granted in February and works on this project should commence early next year. These station upgrades will provide enhanced passenger experience and improved accessibility. Crucially, they will enable increased capacity on the networks, helping us to plan for the future. For example, the upgrade of Ceannt Station in Galway will increase the number of platforms from two to five, which will support a growth in frequencies envisioned under the all-island strategic rail review. Another good example of progress being made is the reinstatement of the Foynes rail line. This project will bring back rail freight services from Limerick city to Shannon Foynes Port next year, supporting a broader vision for the expansion of rail freight services across the network. Iarnród Éireann also announced the purchase of 100 new freight wagons in May. These wagons will replace the end-of-life rolling stock and will enable movement of rail freight at faster speeds across the rail network. This purchase acts in support of our goals to increase the modal share of rail freight.

In the Dublin region DART+ is the most significant expansion of the electrified commuter rail service since the introduction of the original DART line in 1984. The DART+ programme will bring electrified DART commuter trains west as far as Maynooth and the M3 Parkway, south west to Hazelhatch and Celbridge, and north to Drogheda. It will double the rail city centre capacity from approximately 26,000 to 52,000 passengers per direction per hour, and it will triple the electrified network from approximately 50 km on the existing DART line today to 250 km in the future. We have seen positive news emerge from the planning system with the conditional planning for the DART+ West project, and full planning approval for the DART+ South West project in 2024. In addition, a planning application was launched for DART+ Coastal North last year. It is on the northern rail line from Connolly Station to Drogheda and the public will get to experience the first element of the DART+ programme with new battery electric DART carriages, which are currently undergoing testing and will go into service next year. These new carriages are significant not just because they will provide greater capacity and a better passenger experience but also because they are helping us to meet our decarbonisation goals. European Union funding has also been provided under the REPowerEU programme for the installation of battery electric train charging infrastructure at MacBride Station in Drogheda as part of the DART+ programme to support our national and European decarbonisation goals.

There have also been recent improvements in the cross-Border Enterprise rail service between Dublin and Belfast. The Enterprise rail service is the only cross-Border rail service on the island of Ireland. It is a well-known symbol of North-South co-operation and provides an important public transport link operating between Belfast and Dublin. The current Enterprise rail fleet will reach the end of its standard design life later in this decade and an Enterprise fleet replacement programme is now well advanced. Iarnród Éireann and Translink Northern Ireland Railways have successfully applied for funding of €165 million for the project under the PEACEPLUS cross-Border EU programme, which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body, a North-South implementation body established under the Good Friday Agreement. The balance of funding for the project will be provided jointly through the Department of Transport and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland on a 50:50 basis. This project will build on the introduction of an hourly Enterprise train service in October 2024, which is supported by the Shared Island Fund. The Enterprise fleet replacement programme will support a significant increase in rail passengers on the Dublin-Belfast corridor compared with today, with annual passenger numbers on the Enterprise services expected to reach 2.5 million in 2032.

With regard to the all-island rail review, the programme for Government is clear on the need to continue investment in our national rail network, noting that we will work collaboratively to act on the recommendations of the all-island strategic rail review to improve connectivity across the island of Ireland. The review, which was published in July of last year, was led by my Department and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The groundbreaking report set out a strategic vision for the development of the rail system across the island of Ireland over the coming decades. By taking a holistic and strategic review of the rail network across the island of Ireland rather than looking at one region or another, the review not only encourages balanced regional development but also looks at how individual lines or projects fit into and strengthen the wider network in its entirety. The review considered how the rail network on the island of Ireland can be developed to contribute to decarbonisation, promote connectivity between cities, enhance regional and rural accessibility, and support balanced regional development with a particular emphasis on the north west of the island, among other goals. The review examined existing, disused and potential new lines on the network, and also considered the future role for rail freight. The final review sets out 32 strategic recommendations to enhance and expand the rail system over a period to 2050, aligning with net carbon zero missions in both jurisdictions. The recommendations set out to transform the quality of the rail system to the benefit of passengers and the wider society on the island through additional capacity on the rail network, increased service frequencies, and developing new rail lines. These investments will support higher frequency and more efficient passenger and rail freight services.

On this basis, the report’s recommendations envisage huge benefits being created for rail on the island. Upgrading much of the single-track rail network to double-track, with four-track in some areas, will provide additional capacity. New 200 km/h intercity trains will provide faster services, with rail journey times between cities significantly reduced and, in some cases, halved. There will be higher frequency train services, at least hourly between cities and at least every two hours on regional and rural routes. In line with Ireland's decarbonisation goals, there will be a carbon net-zero rail system achieved, primarily through the overhead electrification of intercity routes and new electric trains.

On creating wider connectivity, the rail review recommends that the rail network route length on the island should increase from approximately 2,300 km to almost 3,000 km, with the reopening of former and new rail lines, including the previously mentioned western rail corridor. Wider access will be facilitated by new rail routes in the north midlands and north west, meaning 700,000 more people would live within 5 km of a train station. High-level economic analysis conducted as part of the review indicates that the benefits of the package of recommendations broadly equal their cost, indicating economic feasibility.

I am delighted to say that included among these 32 recommendations is the reinstatement of the western rail corridor between Claremorris and Athenry. The reinstatement of this line has the potential to support both passenger and rail freight services, allowing a direct route for freight services from Ballina and Westport to ports on the south coast to avoid the more congested lines of the rail network around Dublin. This route would also reconnect Tuam to the railway and enable direct passenger services between Galway and Mayo, supporting regional development in the area. This project serves as an example of the types of benefit that interventions proposed under the rail review can provide right across our rail network.

My Department is currently working with the European Investment Bank, EIB, and rail stakeholders north and south of the Border, including the National Transport Authority, NTA, and Iarnród Éireann, to consider how best to sequence and implement the recommendations of the rail review with a view to optimising their development for passengers and society. This work includes the preparation of a project prioritisation strategy. This strategy has been broadly agreed by the project steering group and will be published later this year. It considers how best to optimise the sequencing and implementation of the review recommendations, including both short-term interventions and longer-term projects. The early interventions identified in the strategy encompass investment across regions of the rail network aimed at adding capacity and resilience through improvements works that can be made relatively easily and quickly and without the need for planning permission. It should be feasible to deliver them in the short term, subject to funding.

In relation to major interventions, the strategy identifies a series of major projects for completion or substantial completion over the medium term. These projects will provide for capacity enhancements and electrification of the network to help deliver on the vision set out in the all-island strategic rail review. For major projects, work is also progressing with the EIB on conducting a more detailed analysis. This analysis will support the preparation of documents required as part of the appraisal process as set out under the infrastructure guidelines, which should help expedite their approval.

Ireland has used funding from the European Union to advance a number of rail projects over the decades, and as I previously noted, we are currently using funds from the EU to advance works as part of the Cork area commuter rail programme and install charging infrastructure at Drogheda to support the roll-out of a battery electric fleet, and we have applied for funding to support the purchase of new rolling stock for the cross-Border Enterprise rail service. Leveraging EU grant and other funding opportunities can play an important role in advancing the interventions set out in the rail review. For this reason, work being supported by the EIB will also include an examination of potential funding sources available to advance these projects.

My Department is using this strategy as an input into our engagement as part of the review of the national development plan, NDP, which is currently well under way. As a Department, we are actively engaged with our colleagues in the Department of public expenditure on reviewing the current NDP and seeking to deliver improved transport outcomes for citizens across the country. I hope that this NDP will build on the successes that we have seen since publication of the last NDP.

While there is a renewed focus on improving delivery, it is also important to acknowledge the delivery that has occurred since publication of the last NDP in 2021. In public transport, new bus and train fleets are already in service, with new DART fleet in testing for service entry next year and an order for a new Enterprise train fleet expected to be signed later this year. On the rail network, charging facilities are being constructed in Drogheda to support those new battery electric units already mentioned, a new station opened at Pelletstown, another is under construction at Woodbrook and yet another new station is under construction in Waterford, forming the centre of a new city quarter on the North Quays.

There is also the largest ever investment in Cork’s rail network under way with the new platform in Kent already opened, signalling upgrades under construction, and double tracking from Glounthaune to Midleton well under way. In Limerick, Colbert Station has been redeveloped with a modern, integrated bus, rail and public realm project completed and open for use, and the disused Foynes line is being brought back into service as a freight line. In Galway, Ceannt Station is being redeveloped and is expected to be finished later this year, with the Oranmore station expected to start next year.

With all of this infrastructure being designed with accessibility in mind, significant progress has been made in improving accessibility for all. This year, we have increased funding by 67% from 2024 for the retrofitting of legacy infrastructure to make it more accessible, particularly for disabled people and older people.

I look forward to working closely with the NTA and Iarnród Éireann in the coming weeks, months and years to make these investment plans a reality. Today, I met representatives of the north-west city region from Donegal, Derry and Strabane. We discussed the all-island rail review. It is important to emphasise that this review is an all-island one and we have to work together to ensure that we deliver it. I had a very positive meeting with the representatives and their officials. I look forward to engaging with them on an ongoing basis.

My principle with public transport is that if we provide a good service with frequency, we will provide an attractive, alternative mode of transport to the car. We have to make sure that, when we develop lines and add capacity, we also put the carriages in place to meet the demand. Previously, a Deputy on the other side of the House mentioned the Athenry to Galway line. The passing loop there will help frequency in the short term. In the longer term, we will be looking at the double tracking of the line.

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