Sir, – David McWilliams (“Ireland needs to start thinking like a teenager, not a pensioner”, News Review, August 26th) lays out why we need to invest more in our infrastructure. Our population has effectively doubled since the 1970s and is predicted to reach close to seven million people in 20 years.
In comparing us to Austria, he forecasts what infrastructure will be required in Ireland in 2050.
The mainstay of our transport policy has been the car. In the last 20 years, 900km of motorway have been built during which time both the reach and capacity of the rail network have remained static.
A measure of our poor record in rail investment is that only 3 per cent of our currently limited network is electrified, 60 per cent being the EU average.
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Austria has consistently spent double on rail compared to road. This is because it is seen as the future and part of the solution to the climate crisis. Ireland’s target is to reduce transport-related carbon output by half before 2030. Last year it increased by 6 per cent.
We are a developed country but does Government policy dictate that we don’t have the money to double-track the line between Dublin and Galway which would cut 30 minutes off the journey? Can we not expect to connect major regional urban centres such as Sligo to Galway through an alignment that is completely intact and shovel ready?
I can understand the view of economists, Government and civil servants based in Dublin that all is in order with our transport system. Bus, rail, Luas and Dart are readily available in the capital. However, 15 minutes on the 46A is not the same as the daily gridlock faced by so many nationwide.
Using the technology available today commuters and goods can be moved from A to B on rail in Ireland for a fraction of the carbon of road transport. Nobody is suggesting that the roads network be rolled up and put away but a relatively humble increase in expenditure on rail would make it a viable option for so many more in Ireland, and our youth would thank us for it – Yours, etc,
ULTAN KEADY,
Caherlistrane,
Co Galway.