AN ambitious all-island rail strategy has been set out for Ireland which offers better connectivity and more eco-friendly travel for commuters across the island.
A draft of the first All-Island Strategic Rail Review was released this week, following an extensive public consultation on the topic which got underway in April 2021.
The report sets out 30 recommendations for developing a rail network that would benefit commuters, the environment and economies across the island – including connecting Belfast, Dublin and Shannon airports to Ireland’s rail network.
Jointly published by the Irish Department of Transport and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland, the review authors claim if its recommendations are implemented in full “it could transform the rail system in the coming decades with electrification, faster speeds and greatly improved frequency, opening a number of new routes particularly across the West and North of the island, and widening accessibility and connectivity across the island”.
Currently, the island of Ireland has about 1,440 miles of public rail lines.
The review recommendations would increase this to 1,845 miles of new low-carbon, faster rail lines.
Among the key recommendations are:
The decarbonisation of the rail network, including an electrified intercity network as well as hybrid, hydrogen and electric rolling stock.
Upgrading the core intercity railway network (Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford) to top speeds of 200km/h ensuring that train journeys are faster than the car.
Upgrade the cross-country rail network to a dual-track railway (and four-track in places) and increase intercity service frequencies to hourly between the main city pairs.
Increase regional and rural lines speeds to at least 120 km/h.
Reinstate the Western Rail Corridor between Claremorris and Athenry.
Extend the railway into Tyrone (from Portadown to Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane) Derry, and onto Donegal (Letterkenny)
Reinstate the South Wexford Railway, connecting to Waterford
Develop the railway to boost connectivity in the North Midlands, from Mullingar to Cavan, Monaghan, Armagh and Portadown
Connect Dublin, Belfast International and Shannon Airport to the railway and improve existing rail-airport connections.
Segregate long-distance and fast services from stopping services, ensuring quicker times on city approaches
Improve service quality, provide on-board catering, ‘clock-face’ timetable, better integration with other transport options, and cross-border structures to streamline travel north and south.
The review’s recommendations, which are designed to be phased in over a 25-year period, would cost an estimated €36.8bn/£30.7bn in 2023 prices, if implemented.
Welcoming the recommendations, SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood said the review represents “a once in a generation opportunity”.
“We now have a £30bn rail restoration plan that will help decarbonise transport across Ireland, connect people and opportunities in communities that have been severed from economic investment for far too long and bring people across our island closer together,” he said.
“The SDLP’s mission is to end division and build a new Ireland,” he added.
“The All Island Strategic Rail Review is an ambitious example of how we can end the physical divisions between communities and connect people, particularly in the west, to new opportunities that will help to build a modern, connected and prosperous new Ireland.”
