Archived press release

Northern Ireland to lose out on Railways Renaissance

17 January 2002

Northern Ireland will miss out on the 'Railways Renaissance' promised today for Great Britain, according to warnings from Friends of the Earth. The Department for Regional Development's planned spend on railways here is, per capita, only a quarter of what will be spent on railways in Britain [1].

Commenting, Friends of the Earth's Transport Campaigner Lisa Fagan said:

"The Department for Regional Development is proposing to spend only a quarter of the rail investment promised for Great Britain, per capita. Under their most optimistic funding scenario, they plan to fund the purchase of just one new train which will run on the Enterprise route between Belfast and Dublin. There will be no additional trains for any of the other routes, meaning that service frequencies will remain pitifully inadequate to the challenge of tempting drivers out of their cars."

Notes

[1] The Strategic Rail Authority's Strategic Plan, published today, promises £56.5 billion investment in Britain's railways over ten years. Northern Ireland's population accounts for approximately 3 per cent of the UK total, and 3 per cent of £56.5 billion is £1,695 million. The Department for Regional Development's ten-year draft Regional Transportation Strategy proposes a maximum investment in rail of only £450 million, representing 26.5 per cent of £1,695 million.

Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland
7 Donegall Street Place
BELFAST
BT1 2FN
Tel: 028 9023 3488
Fax: 028 9024 7556
Email: foe-ni@foe.co.uk.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust