Iarnród Éireann intends to significantly restructure its top management tier in an attempt to deliver improved services on the DART and mainline rail. Emmet Oliver reports.

Under the new structure three general managers, two of them from major UK rail companies, will have responsibility for the day-to-day performance of the rail network.

Mr Stephen Murphy, former managing director of Chiltern Railways in the UK, will be responsible for the rail services in southern and western regions and also commuter services to Kildare, Portlaoise and Athlone. He is credited with achieving punctuality improvements on Chiltern's London to Birmingham route.

The DART will be managed by Mr Tom Devoy, who has worked for the company for 34 years and was previously district manager for northern rail services, including the highly regarded Belfast Enterprise service. He will oversee the expansion of the DART fleet and upgrading of the line. This work on the southside of Dublin is due to end on July 25th.

The third general manager will be Mr Cal Carmichael, who previously worked with Network Rail Scotland, where he was general manager, east Scotland. He will be responsible for northern and eastern routes, including the Maynooth commuter route. He will also oversee the Heuston to Waterford route.

All three will report to Mr Dick Fearn, also a senior UK rail executive, who is now the company's chief operating officer. The re-structuring has been overseen by the company's chief executive, Mr Joe Meagher.

Mr Fearn said the three general managers would concentrate on three key areas - safety, punctuality and customer service. He said it was a major advance for the company to appoint three individuals of "such a high quality".

The management changes come at a critical time for the company, with major attempts to renew and develop the rail network. The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, has also warned that unless the company improves its service, the level of subsidy awarded each year might be trimmed.

The company points out that historically it has been starved of investment. However, in the last few years investment has started to flow into the company, with hundreds of bridges and level crossings being upgraded and 47 new commuter railcars entering service between 1999 and 2002. Almost 40 new DART carriages have been added between 2000 and 2002.

But the upgrading of the DART service has proved unpopular, with weekend work taking place on the southside for several months now. Similar work is expected to begin on the northside at the end of July.

Mr Brennan has spoken on several occasions about dissolving the main CIÉ board and splitting the company into three: Dublin Bus, Iarnród Éireann and Bus Éireann. But this has been fiercely resisted by unions and Mr Brennan has spent the last few months working on a similar break-up plan at Aer Rianta.