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Analysis Getting to the heart of the matter
PHILIP HAIGH studies the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, with a consultation currently taking place on new lines, upgrades and widespread electrification
TRAVEL across the island of Ireland could be transformed over the next couple of decades if governments on both sides of the border take forward recommendations from a recent report that examines how to improve rail.
Penned by consultant Ove Arup, the All-Island Strategic Rail Review calls for new lines to better improve connectivity, upgraded lines for speed and capacity, and a programme of widespread electrification coupled with investment in battery and hydrogen trains to decarbonise rail travel.
The review followed two years of investigatory work and is now subject to public consultation until September 29.
Unsurprisingly, there’s a hefty price tag attached to a programme that could bring a network on which 80% of train miles operate under electric traction, and which features a 25% increase in the number of people living with 5km (3.1 miles) of a railway station.
That price tag is €36.8 billion (£30.7bn) for both jurisdictions, to be spent over the next 25 years. Northern Ireland’s share is €9.2bn (£7.7bn), while Ireland picks up the larger share of €27.6bn (£23.0bn), which equates to an annual increase in transport spending of €1.0bn (£0.92bn) per year if evenly spent.
What comes for this money is a rail network that expands from today’s 2,300km (1,440 miles) to 2,950km (1,845 miles).
The most striking expansions come with the review’s recommendation to reinstate the railway from Portadown north-west through Dungannon, Omagh and Strabane to Londonderry (as an electrified double-track line) and south-west to Mullingar through Armagh, Monaghan, Clones and Cavan (as a single-track decarbonised line).
With a further stretch of new line between Mullingar and Athlone, this second line opens the prospect of direct services between Belfast and Galway, although the review notes that demand for such a service is not likely to be high.
When considering the island’s North Midlands region of Armagh, Cavan, Fermanagh and Monaghan, the review notes: “Public transport and road connections within the region are often poor compared to other parts of the island, which impacts on its economic competitiveness. Large settlements such as Armagh and Cavan are within the commuting catchment of Belfast and Dublin and restored rail links would have a beneficial impact on access to employment, third level education, healthcare, and international gateways.”
This route crosses the border and was one of those significantly affected by the separation between north and south in the 1920s. The review says: “The introdu
