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IRELAND & NORTHERN IRELAND FOCUS


Rail travel in Northern Ireland is seeing unprecedented investment with new trains and track upgrades. Conor Murphy, NI Minister for Regional Development, explains his vision…


A


s Minister for the Department for Regional Development one of my


many responsibilities is improving pub- lic transport in the North of Ireland. My Department is responsible for the Regional Transportation Strategy and a key theme for myself and my Executive colleagues is ‘sustainability’, a concept incorporating, amongst other things, measures to reduce transport emissions.


Over the past number of years my Department has invested heavily to im- prove public transport in the region. From 2001/02 to 2009/10 the Department has provided funding of over £300m towards capital works on the railways network here.


Going forward my Department is provid- ing funding totalling £114m for the pur- chase of a further 20 new trains to replace life-expired trains which are still operating on the network and to increase frequency and capacity of services. The old trains are operating mainly on the services between Belfast and Larne and passengers on this line, and to a lesser extent other parts of the network, will soon enjoy the benefi ts of comfortable, reliable and modern train ser- vices. The new trains, built by the Spanish company CAF, will be introduced onto the network progressively from later this year to 2012. Indeed in March, I had the oppor- tunity to see the fi rst of these new trains arriving at Belfast Harbour.


To ensure we are ready for the delivery of the new trains and their introduction to passenger service, work is ongoing with associated major projects including a new train care facility, which will be built at Adelaide in Belfast, and the extension of some of the platforms on the rail network. These projects will be completed in con- junction with the arrival of the new trains.


The procurement of the new trains is one of the key goals of the Executive. It will help meet growing passenger demand and provide enhanced services and attract more people to use public transport as an alternative to the private car.


In total, my Department has invested almost £200m in new trains in the last seven years, signifying my commitment


Northern Ireland’s new trains will provide enhanced services and attract more people onto public transport


to providing a modern, sustainable, safe transportation system in line with devel- opments in other European regions.


Other major projects have been completed to upgrade railway lines across the net- work. A new state-of-the-art railway sta- tion was built in Newry situated between Belfast and Dublin and since its opening in 2009, it has won awards for its design and modern appearance. Improvements and enhancements to other stations and halts have been completed, including disabled access.


So what about future investment? In an ideal world, I would like to continue with increased level of investment in railways and provide much more improvements and enhancements to railway services here. The scope for additional schemes will be kept under constant review. Work will continue to develop plans for improving the rail network and I would mention two particular priorities: the Belfast to Dublin line and the extension or improvement of links to the North West of this island. I would hope this can be seen as eventually complimenting plans in place to improve the road network; investment which ben- efi ts not only motorists but bus passengers as well.


Funding for a signifi cant project to up- grade the railway line between Coleraine and Derry in the North West of Ireland is earmarked, allowing this project to start in 2014. To ensure the continued running and safety of the line until 2014, funding has been secured to allow Translink to carry out interim measures on the line. Ultimately this is a plan to greatly improve railway links between Belfast and the larg- est city in the North West.


With regard to the Enterprise Service be- tween Dublin and Belfast, discussions have taken place at the North South Ministerial Council Transport meetings. Translink and Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) are expected to prioritise joint development of a migration strategy, to future proof any further track improvements in line with their Enterprise 2020 vision for a high-speed rail service. This approach is a pragmatic way forward in the current budget scenario.


Translink have recently introduced new stops on the Enterprise service at Lisburn in response to feedback from the public. In addition, Irish Rail introduced a di- rect train service in March this year from Newry to Dublin arriving before 9am with connecting services to Portadown and eventually Belfast. There are also me- dium-term plans to upgrade the fl eet and improve services for users on board which will be progressed.


My commitment to continuing reliable, comfortable, accessible and high quality railway services has produced tangible re- sults. There has been a signifi cant increase of 60% in passenger numbers in local train services over the past ten years. NIR are also on track to achieve over ten million passenger journeys this year. This is an achievement we all can recognise: whether it is rail staff working on the ground; the Translink Board and management team; or my own Department.


Conor Murphy MP, MLA is NI Regional Development Minister.


Conor Murphy


FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit www.drdni.gov.uk


rail technology magazine Feb/Mar 11 | 39


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