Mary Considine
Chief Executive, Iarnród Éireann
Rail investment doesn’t just affect transport — it can support policies from housing to climate action, creating an impact on our society, environment and economy.
Envisaging the future of transport and our transport systems is essentially envisaging the future of how our society, environment and economy will work.
For rail, this isn’t new — two centuries of history show how the railway’s introduction transformed countries and continents — but we’re on the cusp of the most significant increase in rail’s role in this country in generations.
Housing delivery, climate action, sustainable development and mobility and regional balance are just some of the national policy imperatives Iarnród Éireann’s ambitious investment goals can help deliver.
Housing plan highlights rail’s role
The recently published housing plan from the Government, ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities’, outlines how rail investment will unlock land for housing development and delivery across Ireland.
- The DART+ Programme won’t just double the capacity and treble the electrification of the Greater Dublin Area rail network, but enable tens of thousands of homes to be delivered along public transport corridors with far greater frequency of service.
- The Cork Area Commuter Rail programme won’t just yield a 10-minute service frequency along each of three commuter routes. Through the development of eight new stations, it’ll also enable focused Transport Oriented Development across the region.
- Developments in Limerick, Galway and Waterford are critical not just to supporting urban development in, and commuting to and from these cities, but to building strong inter-regional connections that can redefine how we travel and live away from a Dublin-centred pattern to one of true regional balance.
Additionally, we in Iarnród Éireann are working with national agencies, regional assemblies and local authorities to advance the pipeline of rail projects to unlock the potential for housing supply along high-capacity rail corridors into the medium and long-term.
Our vision is to be the backbone of Ireland’s sustainable transport network
Planning for further phases of the Western Rail Corridor, for reintroducing rail services to Navan and for bringing the vision underpinning the All-Island Strategic Rail Review to reality — including options for rail connections to our airports and ports — are underway.
Greater frequency on Intercity routes will be facilitated as DART+ fleet deliveries free up existing trains on national and regional routes, supported by quick wins in infrastructure development.
From an all-island perspective, jointly with Translink, we hope to order a new Enterprise fleet, which provides better customer facilities and faster journey times on our hourly service, and sets us on the route to decarbonised Intercity travel.
Across passenger and freight transport, rail presents an opportunity to meet the transport sector’s climate action goals. Under existing investment plans, both Dublin and Cork’s commuter networks will be fully electrified. Electrification of our busiest Intercity routes will follow, supported by alternative fuel strategies for other Intercity and regional lines.
Freight’s future is bright
How we move goods is also a consideration for our future transport strategy. The imperative of reducing emissions has ensured a re-evaluation of rail freight’s role, and our Rail Freight 2040 strategy targets bringing Ireland towards European norms in market share.
In 2026, the Limerick to Foynes rail line will be reopened for freight and aligned with existing routes, and the proposed Western Rail Corridor development from Athenry to Claremorris will become a significant freight corridor. New freight wagon orders have been placed to enable more customers in industry to choose rail, and plans for inland freight hubs at rail terminals are being advanced.
As Port Authority for Rosslare Europort, Iarnród Éireann is also poised to provide the onshore hub for the Offshore Renewable Energy developments in the Celtic and Irish Seas.
Our vision is to be the backbone of Ireland’s sustainable transport network: join us on the journey.
