Sir, – Your Editorial (July 30th) identifies the further capital investment that would be needed in the Irish rail network to bring speeds up to European norms. However, it fails to mention the need to electrify the system. At 2.7 per cent, Ireland has the lowest proportion of electrified railway in the European Union – the average for the 27 countries is 57 per cent.
Electrification not only reduces travel times by allowing greater acceleration, it is an essential element in weaning our transport system off fossil fuels. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Your Editorial (July 30th) closed with the comment about Ireland’s public transport system: “Privatisation is surely not an option”.
Actually, it is an option; it is the reality as provided for in the 2009 Public Transport Regulation Act.
However, there may be different understandings of the word “privatisation”. If what was meant is the operating of public service obligation (socially necessary but loss-making) services by private companies, that is a welcome development scheduled to begin in 2014.
If privatisation is understood to mean the ownership and control of the public transport system by private companies, then we agree it should not be an option. It could lead to a private monopoly replacing a public one, and we would be the first to oppose such a scenario.
The network should be owned and controlled by the National Transport Authority, which tenders out all services in an open and fair manner, to both private and public transport companies.
Not all the UK was subject to what you call “Thatcher-era deregulation of bus services”. In London, almost all the red double- deck vehicles are privately owned and operated, but the network is owned and controlled by Transport for London, a local government agency.
In London, passenger numbers are up and government subsidies are down. We advocate such a model for Dublin. – Yours, etc,