Cork reaction: The transport plan was yesterday given a broad welcome by local government and business interests in Cork, even though most of the proposals had been well flagged in advance, if not already announced.
Business and civic leaders nonetheless welcomed the specific time schedules attached to some of the proposals, in particular the commitment to have the Cork-Midleton commuter rail line opened and operational by 2008.
Cork city manager Joe Gavin said the council had submitted a list of priorities drawn from the Cork area strategic plan to the Government, and most of them had been included in the Transport 21 strategy for funding.
Mr Gavin said that inclusion of the N28 from Cork to Ringaskiddy, the Cork-Midleton rail link, the northern relief road and the improved rail service to Dublin, as well as improved road connections with Dublin and Limerick, were a particularly welcome proposal.
He said the strategic plan "has been lauded at national level as a very good model of planning featuring co-operation between the two local authorities, the State agencies and the private sector and it seems to have paid dividends in today's announcement".
Mr Gavin said the plan argued for the "front-loading of gateways" where investment is made in transport infrastructure to facilitate and attract development. The model had already provided a blueprint for the development of the greater Cork area up until 2020.
Cork Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Geary also welcomed the commitments, in particular to the Cork-Midleton rail, which is the first investment in a new railway line in the State in more than 50 years.
He pointed out that critical mass was essential for such a service and for the new stations at Dunkettle, Kilbarry and Blarney on the Cobh-Mallow line to prove successful and said that such critical mass had been reached in Midleton.
He also welcomed the commitment to upgrade the N28 from Cork city to Ringaskiddy and the commitment to improve the road network from Cork to Dublin and Limerick
