Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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208. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the financial commitment the State undertook by adding a proposed new rail line from Dunboyne to Navan onto the TEN-T comprehensive map. [18425/18]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The Navan Rail Link Project, part of the TEN-T comprehensive network, was originally included under the Transport 21 Initiative and was to be developed in two Phases.  Phase 1, which comprised the Dunboyne Rail Line project and involved the reopening of 7.5km of a railway line running off the Maynooth line, at Clonsilla, to the M3 interchange at Pace near Dunboyne, was opened in September 2010 with Park and Ride facilities for 1200 at Pace and for 300 at Dunboyne. was completed in 2013 with the opening of Hansfield Station. Exchequer funding of €160 million was approved for Phase 1.

The plan for Phase 2 involved the extension of the Dunboyne Line between Clonsilla and M3 Parkway Station, onwards to north Navan. This development together with a number of other transport projects was postponed in 2011 due to the economic and fiscal crisis.

The National Transport Authority (NTA), which has statutory responsibility for development of Public Transport in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), included an examination of the Navan to City Centre Rail Corridor in the preparation of its Transport Strategy for the GDA for the period 2016-2035.  At that time the NTA concluded that, based on population and employment forecasts, the level of travel demand between Navan, Dunshaughlin and various stations to the city centre was insufficient to justify the development of a high-capacity rail link.  Instead it proposed that an enhanced bus service would be provided along the corridor in conjunction with the development of a bus hub by the local authority in Navan. 

The Government’s recently published National Development Plan confirms a number of key investment priorities including not only protecting investments already made but also considerable investment in public transport modes including Bus, Rail, Luas, Metro, Cycling and Walking, next generation ticketing systems, customer information systems, transition to low emission fleets all to deliver a much expanded comprehensive public transport network that would match travel demand, alleviate congestion and deliver a range of benefits over the next decade.

The NDP also recognises that over the period of the plan it will be very important to examine the role the interurban rail network can play in enhancing regional connectivity. In this regard the NDP notes that the NTA is required to review its Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy before the end of 2021. This review will include a reappraisal of the extension of the Dunboyne/M3 Parkway line to Dunshauglin and Navan taking into account the scale of new and planned development along the route and will allow for its consideration during the NDP Mid Term Review.

Also looking ahead, the European Commission, in reviewing the implementation of the TEN-T core network by end 2023 and in consultation with Member States, will evaluate whether the core network should be modified to take into account developments in transport flows and national investment planning.