Debate contribution: All-island Rail Network

Debate contribution by Mr John O'Dowd on 27 February 2024.

MLA: Mr John O'Dowd
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 27 February 2024
Type: Debate contribution (made as a minister)
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: All-island Rail Network
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4238074

Text

I thank the SDLP for tabling the motion on the all-island strategic rail review and the future of rail services across the island, and I thank the DUP for tabling its amendment.
I am keen that we are ambitious around our rail network, and that we maximise the potential of rail to support social and economic development and the environmental sustainability of our transport system. The rail review is an ambitious piece of work that has the potential to transform our rail network. It offers an opportunity to deliver real and lasting change for people, communities and our island economy through faster speeds; greatly improved frequency; new routes, particularly across the west and north; and widened accessibility and connectivity across the island. The benefits of enhanced rail connections are many. Investment in the railway drives jobs and growth, stimulates development and regeneration, and unlocks housing supply by creating better transport links. Those links can bring communities previously cut off from public transport within easy reach of towns and cities, boosting access to services, jobs and education, and helping to address regional imbalance. Rail also has an important role to play in tackling the climate emergency: it has a lower environmental impact than any other mode of transport as it emits less carbon and consumes less energy. Decarbonisation of the rail network will further enhance the benefits and is a key objective of the review. An improved, expanded and accessible rail network across the island will also deliver environmental benefits by encouraging modal shift, and, in the process, reducing congestion and emissions and improving safety. Some of the key recommendations and interventions in respect of the North include: decarbonisation of the rail network, including electrification of the Belfast to Dublin line; frequency, speed and capacity improvements on the Belfast to Dublin and Belfast to Derry lines; and new lines from Belfast to Newry and Portadown to Derry. On Mr Durkan's comment about the speed of the Portadown to Derry connection, to clarify, it is planned for that rail network to have a 200 km per hour speed, so it is a high-speed connection. There will also be cross-border routes from Derry to Letterkenny and Portadown to Mullingar; reinstatement of the railway line between Lisburn and Antrim, which will enable Belfast International Airport to be connected to the rail network; and improvement of existing rail connections at George Best Belfast City Airport. I am conscious that concerns have been raised about the proposed lack of connection to City of Derry Airport. That is something to be looked at as the review moves on. We are talking about an investment over 25 or 30 years. As has been said, there will be a number of Ministers in position before this comes to its conclusion. Now that we have opened up the debate about improving our railway services, there are huge opportunities for connections, particularly to our ports and airports.
A very quick one.
I note that, in the past hour and a half in the Chamber, we have spent a few billion pounds. A few billion pounds was also spent in the previous debate. I would like to prioritise everything but, in fairness to Members, you will have to start prioritising, because we do not have billions to spend.
You are the Opposition. You draw me up a list of things that you do not want me to spend money on and leave me with the things that I can spend money on. Finalising the rail review that puts us on the path to delivering these interventions is one of my key priorities as the Infrastructure Minister. While the recommendations, which will grow and enhance our rail network, are to be welcomed, I recognise that many are disappointed by the omission of rail connections in Fermanagh. Several Members have raised that point today. The provision of rail services to Fermanagh and, in particular, Enniskillen was considered as part of the review. However, the review reported that the proposed railway line did not appear to stimulate sufficient demand to support a rail service within the time frame for the review. Therefore, in the view of the report's authors, a rail service to Enniskillen would be unlikely to represent good value for money at this time. The review, instead, found that a higher-frequency integrated bus link between Enniskillen and rail stations, such as Omagh and Dungannon, may provide a better public transport option. However, my officials continue to explore with the appointed review consultants the viability of rail services to Fermanagh, and will report back to me on that matter in the coming weeks. I am keen to extend the rail network to as many parts of the country as possible. While the review extends to 2050, the intention is to build in review points over that time period. Should the latest analysis continue to report that rail services to Fermanagh are not viable in the time frame of the review, those review periods will allow for consideration of the decision at a later stage. The review is an excellent example of joint collaborative working on cross-border priorities. I am committed to continuing that partnership by working with southern colleagues to realise the extent of the ambitions of the review. Discussions between my officials and their southern counterparts continued even while the Assembly was down, and I will engage with Minister Ryan next week on this and a number of other matters. If the review's recommendations are implemented in full in the coming decades, the capital cost is estimated to be over £30 billion in 2023 prices. For the North, the total cost estimate is £7·7 billion, which is approximately £0·31 billion per annum over a 25-year period.
I have no difficulty in engaging with the Department for Transport, and I will come to the connectivity review in my remarks shortly. There is a responsibility on the British Government to help fund this project and other transport projects in the North. We pay taxes to the Treasury, so we have all invested in the tax regime, and we expect a better return on it. As was noted by the Finance Minister earlier, it has now been accepted that we are underfunded. I will certainly engage with the Department for Transport on this project and other projects that I believe the British Government should be investing in. This is a significant investment that can deliver multiple benefits for our people, our economy and our environment. Given the scale of the interventions and the magnitude of transformation involved, delivering those benefits will undoubtedly be challenging and require support from my Executive colleagues and the necessary resources being made available to my Department. We will also look at all avenues of funding available, given the importance of the work for economic activity and connectivity. The review was released for public consultation from July to September last year. My officials are working closely with their southern colleagues to address the issues raised through the consultation and finalise the review. However, the finalisation of the review is only the starting point. The review's recommendations provide policymakers and Ministers in both jurisdictions with an evidence-based framework to inform future investment decisions. More detailed work will be needed to test the feasibility and affordability of the recommendations and guide future investment decisions. One of the key initial steps will be the prioritisation of the review's recommendations and the development of an implementation plan. My officials are already engaging with their southern colleagues on those matters. On ongoing rail developments, my Department has in recent years invested over £100 million in major rail projects in the north-west. That includes phases 1 and 2 of the Coleraine to Derry track relay project, totalling over £70 million, as well as the north-west multi-modal transport hub, which amounts to over £27 million. However, I accept that more can be done, and that is why my Department approved the business case for phase 3 of the Coleraine to Derry project in November 2022 and made available over £97 million to Translink to take that project forward.
My officials and I are discussing the consultation responses to that document. My intent is to retain the services as they are. I will have to engage, most likely, with my Executive colleagues about how we secure the budget for that, but my intention is to secure the services as they are. A separate feasibility study that will examine the introduction of a half-hourly service between Derry and Belfast and consider the possibility of additional rail halts on the Coleraine to Derry line, including at Derry City Airport, is also being progressed and will inform future investment in that area. We all are aware that transport is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gas. The decarbonisation of transport is vital if we are to meet the targets set out in the Climate Change Act. The rail network will play an increasingly important role as we seek to encourage people to move to more sustainable transport options. At the same time, we must seek to reduce the emissions from our rolling stock as part of that process. A first step is the procurement of a new Enterprise fleet that will operate on battery and electric power. Members will be aware, however, that, given the many competing budget priorities that my Department faces, funding our public transport services remains challenging. I assure you that I will continue to seek funding for our public transport network with my Executive colleagues, especially given the clear role of public transport in helping to address the climate emergency, alongside providing support for many of the Executive's other priorities, including health, education and the economy. The benefits of public transport services, particularly rail, do not end at the rail station. I think that Mr Honeyford pointed that out. As part of the proposals, we will ensure that there is connectivity from our rail stations to public services. That is important for our economy. Mr Gildernew pointed out the economic benefits of investment in rail services. Decisions that were made in this place 60 years ago need to be reversed. At that time, the growth of the private car drove decision-making processes. Mr Carroll referred to austerity measures. That is not a new thing; they were introduced at that time as well. There were proposals to move away from public transport in a bid to save money. Those people were mistaken. We have 60 years of hindsight, but, with the report, we now have an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past. There are huge opportunities for all our people across these islands, including ensuring that no one is left behind.

1,782 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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