Chapter 6 | Roadmap for Delivery

Figure from page 101

Figure from page 102

•Increase other service frequencies to at least one train per two hours between Galway-Limerick, Limerick- Cork, Limerick-Ballybrophy, Dublin- Sligo, Dublin-Mayo, and Greystones- Rosslare Europort.

Introduction

The Review has developed the recommendations outlined in Chapter 4 to create a plausible roadmap for achieving the Goals and Objectives of this Study. This Roadmap is structured to represent the key themes presented in the previous Chapter. It has been designed to balance feasible delivery timelines, stakeholder priorities, and spending profiles to deliver each intervention by 2050. It presents a timeline for the possible future development and delivery of key interventions, broadly broken down as follows:

•Through services between Cork and Galway via Limerick with modifications to track and platforms at Limerick Junction to allow more through movements Cork-Limerick.

•Join regional services up to deliver more direct services between Galway – Limerick – Cork and Waterford.

•Improve online capacity and line speeds on various parts of the rail network, such as between Limerick and Limerick Junction.

•Short term: from today to circa 2030.

•Medium term: 2030 – 2040.

•Build the Limerick – Foynes railway and develop concept for local passenger services between Foynes and Shannon Airport.

•Long term: 2040 – 2050.

Details about the potential phasing of interventions are provided below.

Interventions

•Reduce freight Track Access Charges.

Short term interventions

•Start to reinstate Claremorris – Athenry.

The interventions that could be delivered by circa 2030, subject to funding and appropriate analysis and appraisal, are:

•Start to reinstate Antrim – Lisburn with a station at Belfast International Airport.

•Safeguard corridors, routes, and key stations (new lines, potential stations, and major hubs e.g., Portadown) to ensure key corridors identified in the Review are protected to accommodate new railways and stations in the medium to longer term.

•Examine feasibility of RoRo rail freight with a view to reinstating the South Wexford railway between Waterford and Rosslare Europort.

•Identify and deliver a solution for firstmile-last-mile rail freight access for Dublin Port.

•Develop and start to implement a Rail Decarbonisation Strategy.

•Continue to invest in initiatives that improve customer experience, improve integration, and improve accessibility – including wider roll out of step-free access.

•Increase intercity service frequencies to at least hourly between Dublin and Belfast, Cork/Limerick, Galway, and Waterford.

•Start extending the railway from Portadown to Derry~Londonderry.

Medium term interventions

Interventions that are likely to take longer than six or seven years to deliver, but could still be delivered (or at least developed) by the end of the next decade, are:

•Reinstate the railway between Portadown to Armagh.

Long term interventions

The interventions that will likely take longer to deliver in full, probably into the 2040 – 2050 period, are listed below. However, to reach these timescales, planning for these interventions will need to start soon, and some corridors may need to be safeguarded in the planning system to enable their future development.

•Invest in developing the skills, supply chains, and rolling stock to deliver the Rail Decarbonisation Strategy.

•Deliver capacity and speed improvements to existing core intercity corridors.

•Start rolling out overhead electrification on intercity routes.

•Build new higher speed railways (or four-track existing railways) on busy corridors between Belfast – Newry, Drogheda – Dublin, and Portarlington/Kildare – Hazelhatch. This might be phased with some medium term elements.

•Procure hybrid and electric rolling stock as fleets come to their end of life.

•Upgrade intercity routes to 160 – 200km/h / 100 – 125mph and increase other line speeds to 120 – 160km/h / 75 – 100mph.

•Deliver a cross-Dublin solution and connect the heavy rail network to Dublin Airport.

•Upgrade the core network to a dualtrack railway and increase commuter and intercity service frequencies.

•Maximise segregation of intercity/regional services from local services.

•Develop new stations in the Belfast, Cork, Derry~Londonderry (including Limavady), and Limerick – Shannon city regions and boost service frequencies in these areas (including Belfast – Coleraine – Portrush).

•Complete the new railway from Portadown to Derry~Londonderry and Letterkenny.

•Reinstate the North Midlands railway between Armagh, Cavan, Mullingar, and Athlone.

•Develop a network of inland rail freight terminals on the rail network.

•Improve on-board experience through rolling stock procurement and renewal.

•Build a new link between Maynooth and the Dublin – Cork railway.

•Improve station experience through investment and expansion.

•Complete the electrification and decarbonisation of the railways.

•Develop appropriate arrangements for planning cross-border services.

•Develop a cross-Dublin proposal.

•The timing of the reinstatement of the South Wexford Railway should be informed by a general examination of the feasibility of Roll-on/Roll-off rail freight across the network.

Phasing

As a programme of multiple interventions, the roadmap can be implemented incrementally, in accordance with policy priorities, demand growth and funding availability. The phasing of the implementation of these interventions would need to be determined in detail by each jurisdiction – some interventions may require distinct phasing themselves. That said, the Review has taken the following considerations into account to develop an indicative timeline for delivery:

•New railways are expected to take longer to plan and construct. To ensure a relatively even distribution of annual capital spend, it is recommended that new railways are built sequentially (by each jurisdiction).

Figure from page 105

•The roadmap prioritises the Portadown – Derry~Londonderry route over other new railways as it delivers key intercity and regional objectives for this Review, and it serves a relatively large population.

•Electrification and decarbonisation interventions are likely to be seen as a priority. This will enable rail to make a greater contribution to the decarbonisation of the wider transport system as soon as possible, while also delivering material improvements in journey times on existing railways.

Conclusions and next steps

This Review has examined the strategic role rail could play in delivering a prosperous economy for the island of Ireland as the stronger backbone of a high-quality and sustainable transport system. It has identified opportunities and interventions that, collectively, could transform transport connectivity and access, as well as accelerate the island’s transition to a net zero carbon economy. The future development of railways in both jurisdictions will be, of course, directed by their respective governments and legislatures.

•Many electrification interventions could be delivered alongside online speed and capacity enhancements, and so these are also prioritised in the early part of the programme.

•Due to the condition of existing corridors, the Foynes and Lisburn – Antrim railways can be delivered in the relatively near future.

•Iarnród Eireann’s plans to expand rolling stock fleets should enable regional frequency enhancements and direct regional services to be introduced in the relatively near future.

More work is needed to test the economic feasibility, equality impact, and environmental impact of many recommendations included in this Report, as well as to secure necessary funding to take projects forward.

•Due to the current condition and alignment of the track, the Claremorris – Athenry railway can be reinstated relatively soon.

This Review does, however, provide an evidence base along with rationale underpinning recommendations for policymakers to consider as they develop their long-term investment plans for the island’s railway.

•Four tracking Dublin – Clongriffin is essential to enable the intercity network to grow, followed by the Dublin tunnel.

Figure from page 106