The image of a two-tier Ireland is now harder than ever to avoid, argues Tim O'Brien.
Development campaigners in the west often speak of two Irelands, a rich, predominantly east coast, and its poorer, mostly westerly, country cousin.
From next year the rich Ireland will see slick, new aerodynamic trains in green and silver, racing between Dublin and Cork each hour. In the northwest, however, the old trains in their brown and orange colours will still traverse the Sligo line, crossing the Shannon on metal bridges more than 100-years-old at about 15km/h. The image of a two-tier island could hardly be more striking.
Announcing the plan yesterday, Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said the €34 billion would be spread "fairly evenly" between the greater Dublin area and the regions. He was unable to be exact in his calculations but the conclusion that the Minister is mistaken is hard to avoid.
Taking out the €10 billion inter- urban motorway programme, which was announced as part of the National Development Plan 2000-2006, and which in any case simply links Dublin with the regional cities, there is little by way of the much hyped "connectivity" or "joined-up thinking" for regions outside the greater Dublin area.
A pledge to reopen the western railway corridor in three phases to Claremorris by 2014 did little to inspire development campaigners such as Marian Harkin, who described it as derisory. Nor will its cost of about €300 million represent a huge slice of the remaining balance of €24 billion in the plan.
As those trains whizz along between Dublin and the regional cities at least every two hours, there will be just four trains a day between Dublin and Ballina.
The plan singularly fails to tackle the problem of rail access to the proposed midlands gateway, as defined in the National Spatial Strategy.
This gateway is made up of Athlone, Tullamore and Mullingar, all located on railway lines, but to get from Athlone to Mullingar by train you must go via Dublin.
The plan also fails to address the problem of rail access to Shannon airport which lies less than 10 miles off the Ennis to Limerick line. The southeast also fares badly, with just four trains a day between Dublin and Rosslare.
Considering the massive investment in rail transport in greater Dublin - incidentally with the absence of the growing Wicklow-Wexford area - it is hard to agree with Mr Cullen that the plan supports "balanced regional development".
Indeed, the evidence of commitment to providing rail access to the developing regions looks dismal. This is particularly disappointing as the State's poorest regions are the northwest, the midlands and the southeast.
Another disappointment is that the "Atlantic road corridor" is not to be built to motorway standard. Indeed not even all of it is to be a dual carriageway.
Details were patchy yesterday but it was said that some of it would be developed as a 2+1 road. This is not the level of upgrade for which the 300 or so companies in the Atlantic corridor group have spent five years lobbying.
There is no doubt that the transport plan could have a huge impact on public transport in the greater Dublin region and no doubt either of the need for that, but yesterday's announcements fall far short of a national transport plan.