Translink Press Release: Northern Ireland Railways Strategic Review - Translink
31 March 2004
Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH)* leading transport consultants have published an independent report recommending radical expansion to Northern Ireland’s rail network.
Translink commissioned this study on behalf of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHC) in order to help develop a vision and strategy for the future of the railway and to evaluate the economic and social costs and benefits.
NITHC and Translink have welcomed the publication of the report which will enable Translink to submit investment proposals to the 2004 Government Spending Review.
The report examines options for the future of Northern Ireland’s rail network, including an ‘Expanded Offering’ (more services and trains) and a ‘Steady State’ option (maintenance of existing services only). The report concludes that the ‘Expanded Offering’ offers the most economic and social benefits.
The report highlights the following details:
- The ‘Expanded Offering’ would deliver trains up to every 10 minutes to Bangor and Lisburn, every 15 minutes to Whitehead, every 30 minutes to Ballymena and Larne and an hourly service to Coleraine and Londonderry, together with faster journey times.
- There would also be an hourly service on the flagship Enterprise service to Dublin.
- Northern Ireland would suffer an economic disadvantage if its rail network were to be closed down. N I Railways network, both core and non-core, are an important strategic asset for future generations, and should be subject to appropriate safeguards.
- The move from ‘Steady State’ to the ‘Expanded Offering’ option delivers a quantum uplift in total benefits for a relatively modest total cost increase, since the majority of capital investment (in particular, those associated with a twenty-five year asset renewals programme) is required under the “Steady State” option.
- Adoption of the ‘Expanded Offering’ would deliver value for money and a lower average PSO (public subsidy) per passenger journey.
- The ‘Expanded Offering’ includes the retention of the existing railway network including the ‘non-core’ sections.
- N I Railways when benchmarked against other operators is both efficient and effective given the scale of the operations.
“We are pleased with the outcome of this report, and accept its findings” said Translink Chief Executive, Keith Moffatt. “It is a credible, robust investigation on which to develop our strategies and deliver our vision of a significantly enhanced NI Railways network. The report justifies further investment in N I Railways as an economically and socially sound proposition. It also confirms that in order to maximize the potential of our rail network, we must have a long term investment programme which focuses on the lifecycle and renewal of our railway network assets. This will enable us to deliver a sustainable railway offering real value for money and capable of making a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of Northern Ireland.
“The ‘Expanded Offering’ has been developed with the customer at the heart of the plan, and is based on enhanced performance and reliability, increased quality and frequency; reductions in the cost to Government per passenger journey; increased passenger numbers and better ongoing stewardship of assets.
“If we implement these recommendations in full, we will be able to meet our Regional Transportation Strategy (RTS) target of 60% growth in N I Railways local rail patronage within the set timescales, providing positive economic and social benefits to Northern Ireland.
Dr Joan Smyth, NITHC Chairman urged politicians to support the strategies endorsed by the report, saying, “We have worked closely with our politicians to ensure investment in N I Railways – the 23 new trains which are due to start arriving in Northern Ireland over the coming months are an excellent example of what can be achieved in partnership with government. It is clear that NI Railways has the potential to provide much better services with the proper funding and investment, and this in turn would make N I Railways better value for money and enable it to become more efficient and effective, resulting in a positive cycle of growth and reinvestment .
“While we understand that there are competing claims for public investment, we are confident that the contents of this report make an excellent case for continued investment in rail transport. We urge our politicians to continue supporting NI Railways through appropriate levels of funding to ensure that we can maintain and deliver a visionary rail network which will benefit the Northern Ireland community as a whole.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact Sarah Stanczyk Translink's PR Officer on 028 90899 455.
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
- * Booz Allen Hamilton is a global leader in strategy and technology consulting and provides services to major international corporations and government clients around the world. A recent example of their work was undertaken in the Republic of Ireland, the results of which led to the current railway investment strategy.
- The ‘Expanded Offering’ would deliver improved services with a major uplift in service frequencies and significant journey time reductions across the network. To deliver the ‘vision timetable’ an additional 13 new trains would be required for local services.
- The ‘Expanded Offering’ delivers a net economic benefit to the NI community and includes an expectation of increased rail market share and a lower average PSO (public subsidy) per passenger. The ‘Expanded Offering’ represents good ‘value for money’ albeit with a risk and uncertainty profile that will require monitoring and management.
- The ‘Steady State’ option will not provide a level of service offering sufficient to radically alter NI Railways’ future and deliver net economic benefits from the substantial investment involved.
Files provided in Adobe PDF format. Use Acrobat Reader to view them. To view information on the features and capabilities of Adobe products that enhance electronic document accessibility for people with disabilities such as blindness, low vision, and motor impairments please refer to the Adobe accesibility site.
View Translink/NITHC – Position Statement..>>
Download full summary report..>>
(763 KB - Opens in a new window)
Download Final Main Report..>>
(2.3 MB - Opens in a new window)
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