West=On=Track -
News
Western Development
Commission
Press Release
Friday 25th April 2003
WDC hosts seminar on Strategic Rail Review
Fundamental concerns were expressed about the recently
published Strategic Rail Review (SRR) at a seminar hosted by
the Western Development Commission (WDC), namely that the
Review prepared by consultants Booz, Allen, Hamiliton
contains serious flaws and neither understands nor addresses
balanced regional development, a stated government objective
and a core element of the National Spatial Strategy.
Continuing with its important role in the debate on
infrastructure in the West and in response to the Strategic
Rail Review published on the 3rd of April, the Western
Development Commission in conjunction with the eight County
and City Development Boards has hosted a Rail Seminar.
The Seminar was held in Claremorris, a town which amongst
many others in the Western Region would benefit
significantly from the reopening of the Western Rail
Corridor. The WDC has already expressed disappointment that
the Western Rail Corridor and other Rail infrastructure
projects in the Region have not been in the priority list
for the Recommended Investment Strategy of the Strategic
Rail Review. Similar sentiments were also expressed by both
presenters and attendees of the Seminar.
The objective of the Seminar was twofold:
- To inform those active in development at a local
level in the Western Region of the Strategic Rail Review,
its recommendations and implications for the Region;
- To gain consensus on a number of the key issues and
to identify by what process these should be
addressed.
European transport policy was put into context by Mr.
Jean-Arnold Vinois, Head of the Railway Transport and
Interoperability, Unit of the Directorate-General for Energy
and Transport. Mr. Vinois gave a comprehensive overview of
the new EU Framework for Revitalising the Railways. He
highlighted the move towards optimizing the use of existing
rail infrastructure, the favouring of environmentally
sustainable uses of transport throughout the EU, development
of fair and efficient pricing mechanisms and the provision
of high quality and safe services to customers. In response
to the Strategic Rail Review, Mr. Vinois expressed concern
over the lack of reference in the report to EU White Paper
in general and EU Directives on Rail in particular.
Mr. James Nix from Dublin Institute of Technology
highlighted the current state of Rail Freight in Ireland
stating 'rail freight is at risk of irreversible decline if
the current policy vacuum continues'. He suggested many
innovative approaches to the development of rail freight but
reinforced in his concluding remarks that action is needed
soon. In response to the Strategic Rail Review, Mr Nix
highlighted the exaggerated costs of the WRC in the report
and presented his estimated capital costs of the project and
methods of reducing real costs.
Mr. Andrew Cullen from the Department of Transport
emphasised that the Strategic Rail Review is the
government's commitment to re-vitalise the railways after a
legacy of underinvestment. The SRR is Ireland's first rail
framework and this must be viewed positively. The Seminar
welcomed Mr. Cullen's willingness to accept responses to the
Strategic Rail Review from those in the Region and he
assured those present that the Review, as a framework for
policy, is not set in stone.
Mr Myles McHugh and Mr Michael Reidy from Iarnrod
Éireann welcomed the Strategic Rail Review and argued
that the Review indicates a strong future for rail transport
in Ireland. Mr. McHugh highlighted aspects of Iarnrod
Éireann's current investment programme including
their safety programme and investment in intercity
routes.The Seminar felt that basic improvements in
timetabling, investment in rolling stock were urgent and
this urgency had not been reflected in this Strategic Rail
Review.
Mr. Frank Dawson, Galway County Development Board,
challenged the accuracy of data contained in the Strategic
Rail Review and called for a revision of both the Cost
Benefit Analysis and the Multi Criteria Analysis sections.
He stated that there were no recommendations in respect of
Commuter Train Services in the Region and expressed grave
disappointment over the lack of consultation with
stakeholders in the Region. Mr. Dawson referred to the many
reports that have already been completed within the Region
and highlighted that these were not considered in the
Review.
The Government Response was given by Minister
O'Cuív, TD, Minister for Community Rural and
Gaeltacht Affairs. The Seminar welcomed the Minister's
commitment to developing the Region. The Minister stated
that critical mass should not be a prerequisite to the
development of key infrastructure in the Region and this was
positively received by all present.
In his presentation, Dr. Micheál Mac Gréil
challenged the Strategic Rail Review in the context of
balanced regional development and the National Spatial
Strategy. He questioned the understanding of balanced
regional development in the Review which concentrates on
creating infrastructure leading to and from Dublin. He
advocated that the development of the Western Rail Corridor
would do more for regional development by creating access
between rural areas, towns and cities in the West
strengthening the entire Region.
The only presenter from the private sector, Mr. Jim
Deegan of Railtours Ireland, gave a very positive overview
of his tourism business and spoke positively about his
business' working relationship with Iarnrod Éireann.
Mr. Deegan described how he provides a high quality product
to tourists, offering them a one day tour of parts of
Ireland via the Irish Rail Network. However, like other
speakers, he expressed his disappointment with the Review
stating that its findings are flawed but highlighted again
that the Review is not a blueprint.
He also pointed out that the report :
"concentrates on Rolls-Royce solutions but
strangely has ignored areas where vast improvements can
be made with little capital expenditure. One such project
is Mayolink".
In conclusion the debate on rail is welcome however there
are serious concerns over the Strategic Rail Review;
- There are errors in the Strategic Rail Review and
these must be addressed by the consultants;
- The Review does not address balanced regional
development, a central aim of the Government as outlined
in the National Spatial Strategy;
- The EU White Paper in general and EU Directives on
Rail in particular must be addressed in relation to a
National Rail Framework;
- The current public, private and voluntary partnership
work that exists within the Region in relation to Rail
infrastructure development must be acknowledged and used
to progress the issue further;
- The business case for freight must be examined and
innovative approaches to its development need to be
addressed;
- The role, relevance and development of the Western
Rail Corridor need to be prioritized as part of any
national rail framework.
All presentations from the Rail Seminar are currently
available on the Western
Development Commission's website.
The WDC welcomes the recent announcement by Minister
Brennan which indicates that he will make available
consultants Booz, Allen, Hamilton to engage further with
interests in the Western Region to develop a detailed and
realistic action plan to progress the Western Rail Corridor
project. The WDC will actively participate in this
process.
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