Iarnród Éireann chief warns on safety issues due to cuts

Iarnród Éireann cannot sustain losses beyond 2016 without affecting safety, the company’s chief executive David Franks has warned.

In a stark outline of the company’s position, Mr Franks said Government funding for the railways had been cut from €195 million in 2007 to just €98 million last year.

He said the Government’s Strategic Framework for Investment in Land Transport (SFILT) “and other reviews” had identified a shortfall in annual funding of €90 million in the amount required to keep current service levels on the existing network.

“Other reviews” include the latest Rail Review, carried out by Iarnród Éireann under the supervision of the National Transport Authority, and due to be published by Minister for Transport Shane Ross in the coming weeks.

The Rail Review was initiated by Mr Ross’s predecessor after it became apparent that funding for Iarnród Éireann was insufficient to provide “steady state” in terms of maintenance of the railway.

Mr Franks said Iarnród Éireann could not withstand “further losses beyond 2016 without impacting on service levels, performance and safety maintenance”.

He also said the situation facing the State railway company was now “critical”, even though Iarnród Éireann had reduced its cost base by €73 million a year since the economic crisis developed.

Passenger growth

Mr Franks said not even better than anticipated passenger growth would make up the difference.

The funding shortage at Iarnród Éireann affects existing track, signalling and infrastructure assets but also plans for automatic train protection systems which prevent trains from passing red lights or exceeding speed limits. Such systems are commonplace across Europe.

The problem also affects plans for investment in level crossing safety and the prioritised renewal of the national train control centre.

Mr Franks said Iarnród Éireann had a vision for the future which included journey times between Dublin and Cork of less than two hours and between Dublin and Belfast of less than 90 minutes, as well as encouraging more environmentally friendly public transport.

In a “sustainably funded environment”, the company could deliver an expansion programme for the Dart alongside “transformative levels” of train frequency and capacity, he said.

The comments by Mr Franks were contained in a written submission to the Oireachtas committee on transport last week. The submission was partially delivered in an address by Mr Franks before the committee took the remaining element of the speech “as read”.

Mr Ross said he intended to publish the Rail Review “shortly”.

The review is known to have considered options for the sustainable funding of Iarnród Éireann. It is known to have considered the cost of little used rail lines such as the Limerick to Waterford line, the Ballybrophy-Nenagh-Limerick line and the reopened Ennis to Athenry section of the Western Rail Corridor.

Freight business

A survey of usage of these lines by

The Irish Times

last year indicated numbers using the Ennis to Athenry line had doubled since it opened but the line faced competition from buses on the nearby M18 motorway.

The Waterford to Limerick line is used by Iarnród Éireann’s growing freight business utilising Waterford Port. The Ballybrophy line was its least used line by passengers.

However, while Mr Ross said the short-term future of public transport was “less rosy”, he said the longer-term vision was to go ahead with major improvements such as Metro North and Dart Underground: “all those projects which have not been shelved but which have been postponed because of the economic crisis”, he said.