Republic’s environment minister meets with Stormont’s Infrastructure minister on public transport

The “vast majority” of future spending on transport infrastructure will have to go on public transport, the Republic’s environment minister has said.

Eamon Ryan said that while the Government will continue to invest in the country’s road network, the future will be public transport.

He made the comments as he published a review of railway provision across the island of Ireland with Stormont infrastructure minister John O’Dowd in Dundalk.

The review has proposed several new routes, including direct links to three airports.

The final report of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review contains a total of 32 recommendations aimed at enhancing the network across the next 25 years while also making train travel quicker and more environmentally friendly.

The report estimates the capital cost of implementing all the recommendations by 2050 would be between 35-37 billion euro (£29-31 billion) in 2023 prices.

However, it claims that the economic benefit to society generated by the improvements would cover that bill.

Mr Ryan said it will cost the Government around 1.5 billion euro a year for the next two decades.

However, Mr Ryan denied that the spending increase will see the Government moving to a four-to-one spending ratio on public transport to roads.

“You still need to invest your road network. It’s really important for road safety, you’ve to invest massively in road maintenance and there are bypasses and other road investments we can make which will help improve this sustainable future,” Mr Ryan added.

“The vast majority of future funding and transport is going to have to go to public transport and active travel, for decarbonisation, for better housing and planning and better economic development.

“This is the way everyone’s going across the world. In Los Angeles, they’re tearing up the freeways and putting in metro lines, not anti-car, but if everyone drives by car it just gets gridlocked and it doesn’t work for anyone. So yes, the future is going to be public transport.”

He continued: “We know we need the guts of one and a half billion a year. It’s not small money. But that’s what we’re going to put to government.

“It comes from our tax system, from the Exchequer and we’re in a fortunate position that we have a sound public finance system at the moment which will allow us to invest in the future.”

“I think our management of the public finances gives us the capability of doing it. It’s a political decision.

“It will be decision for the next government more than this and I’d say to every political party now show us your colours? Say what you intend. Do you intend to invest in public transport? Or do you intend on scrapping?”

Mr O’Dowd said it will cost Stormont approximately £7 billion over the next 25 years.

“Over 25 years it’s very difficult to forecast what the economy is going to look like, what your finances are going to look like, but delay is your enemy,” he added.

“If you have a plan and that plan is set up out in a way where you can deliver it, then you need to start delivering.

“It’s about political decisions. The Executive has noted the report.

“I, as minister, over the next number of years will make sure that I’m delivering on that report and setting in place a firm foundation for the next administration to come in to continue to deliver that report. Because the real infrastructure we are investing in this for the next 100 years.”

The review, however, will not see rural areas such as Co Fermanagh and much of Co Donegal having their historic rail networks resurrected, with the review concluding that passenger numbers would be insufficient to justify the major capital projects.

Mr O’Dowd said the report will be reviewed every 10 years.

“The report was an independent report carried out by experts. We sent them a remit, they come back to us with the report. When they came back to me with the initial report, I asked them to go away again and asked them to look at Fermanagh and Enniskillen again, but the figures didn’t tally up at this stage,” Mr O’Dowd said.

“But what is important within the report, it’s open to review every 10 years. I think as we see advancements in technology, where people are using more and more public transport that there is opportunities to open up the real link in Fermanagh.

“It’s not in the report this stage but this is not definitive end of this chapter or this story. You’re going to see more and more people using public transport, more and more people wanting to use public transport.”

The review was committed to as part of the 2020 New Decade, New Approach agreement that ended a long period without devolved government in Northern Ireland.

The recommendations include:

• Restore a line linking Portadown in Co Armagh with Mullingar in Co Westmeath. The line would pass through Armagh and Cavan.

• Restore a line between Londonderry and Portadown, linking the towns of Strabane, Omagh and Dungannon to the network.

• Build a new direct line between Lisburn and Newry.

• Restore a line between Athenry in Co Galway and Claremorris in Co Mayo, connecting Tuam in Co Galway to the network.

• Reinstate the South Wexford railway.

• Develop a new rail link from Letterkenny in Co Donegal to Derry.

• Build a rail link that would cross central Dublin – potentially via a tunnel – to connect Heuston station, which receives trains from the south of the island, with the northern line that serves Connolly station.

• Connect Dublin, Shannon and Belfast International airports to the rail network. In Dublin, the move would complement the existing plan for a Metrolink from the airport into the city centre, and would enable intercity services to access directly the island’s biggest airport. Reinstating the Lisburn to Antrim line would enable Belfast International to be served by a rail link while in Shannon the review recommends the building of a spur to facilitate a rail link with Limerick.

The review also recommends several steps to improve the quality on existing lines, including additional track capacity, electrification, increased speeds and higher service frequencies.

The use of new 200kmh trains would see times on some intercity routes halved, the review says.

While many of the recommendations in the report are potentially decades away, some are set to come to fruition relatively quickly, with plans already in action to increase the Belfast to Dublin route to an hourly service by the end of the year.

Additional services between Dublin and Galway are also set to come online in the coming months.