TWO PROPOSED RAIL lines provided for in the draft All-Island Strategic Rail Review could in line for a European funding boost.

The rail lines between Claremorris to Athenry and Waterford to Rosslare Europort are to be added to the Trans-European Transport Network (Ten-T), which is a Europe-wide network of roads, rail lines, ports and airports.

The network’s aim is to create seamless transport systems across borders and make important connections linking major cities.

Inclusion on the European network does provide opportunities to access EU funding, though inclusion doesn’t grant any automatic entitlement.

The two rail lines are part of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, a review into the potential of rail travel on the island of Ireland, which was signed off by Cabinet in July. 

The review sets out 30 recommendations to transform the current rail system, with electrification, faster speeds, improved frequency, and new routes for people and freight, particularly across the west and north of the country.

The review’s recommendations span over 25 years with a number of proposals that could be implemented before 2030, including increasing the frequency of services to at least hourly between major cities and to at least one train every two hours between other centres, as well as improving line speeds on various parts of the network.

The review recommends the reinstating the Claremorris to Athenry line, moving towards a rail spine along the Atlantic, as well as starting to reinstate the Antrim to Lisburn line with a station at Belfast International Airport.

It also recommends re-establishing rail links from Waterford to Rosslare and Claremorris in Mayo to Athenry in Galway, so as to establish a rail line running down the spine of the country from Ballina to Wexford.

The negotiations between the EU institutions, as part of the Ten-T network, are now in their final stages and the revised network maps for the EU are set to be agreed soon.

As a result, even though the All-Island Strategic Rail Review is still in draft form, a decision must be made now as to whether Ireland will request changes and what, if any, changes will be requested.

With reporting by Christina Finn