The Metro North and Dart Underground will be scraped, but Dublin’s cross city Luas line will go ahead as part of the 2012-2016 capital investment programme.
The Department of Transport will spend €4.646 billion, on capital projects over the next five years, a cut of €1.045 billion on the National Recovery Plan figures published just one year ago.
The bulk of the money will be spent on roads and public transport. However the majority of this will be used to upgrade existing infrastructure, including the replacement of the Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann fleets, and undertake road maintenance.
Little money will be made available for new road projects.
The €850 million M20 motorway between Cork and Limit will not go ahead, although the the N11 Rathnew/Newlands Cross link and the Enfield to Edenderry improvement scheme are due to start next year. The Ballaghaderreen bypass in County Roscommon will go ahead but is the only bypass which will be funded over the next five years.
Funding will be made available for the completion of the integrated ticketing projected for Dublin transport service and the extension of the Dublin bicycle rental scheme to regional cities.
The Luas BXD line, which will run from St Stephen’s Green to the Iarnród Éireann rail station at Broombridge Cabra is the only major rail project sanctioned for te duration of the capital plan.
The line, which will cost €270 million, will link the existing Red and Green Luas lines for the first time. Construction is not due to begin until 2015 and the line is not expected to be completed until 2018 or 2019.
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