I wish to share my time with my colleagues, Deputies Moynihan-Cronin and Deenihan.
Adjournment Debate. - Tralee-Mallow Railway Line.
Is that satisfactory? Agreed.
For a number of years Kerry County Council and many organisations throughout Kerry have made numerous appeals to have the Tralee to Mallow rail line upgraded, but to no avail. On Thursday last, 11 November, there was a very serious rail derailment on the outskirts of Tralee. Thirteen people were removed to Tralee General Hospital with minor injuries and all were detained. Thankfully, none of them was seriously injured, which could have been the case had the accident happened approximately 100 yards further down the line where the drop could have been from 50 to 75 feet.
Emergency funding is necessary on the Tralee-Mallow line. Substantial funding — £275 million — is included in the National Plan for upgrading the national railway line. I appeal to the Minister to make available the necessary funding to upgrade the Tralee-Mallow line forthwith.
The old Craven carriages, which are approximately 32 years old, are still in use on this line and this is no longer acceptable. The Tralee to Mallow line is a vital link to Kerry, which is a major tourist county. There are two Inter-city trains direct to Dublin. I understand that 550,000 people used the Tralee-Mallow line last year compared with 450,000 passengers on the Dublin-Belfast line. Millions of pounds are being spent on the Dublin-Belfast line with nothing being done for the Tralee-Mallow line. The people of Tralee and Kerry will no longer stand for this. They are now demanding action.
Tralee is a major rail depot for Kerry. Approximately 25,000 tonnes of fertilisers per year and 8,000 tonnes of cement is handled here as well as all Guinness products for Kerry, with the exception of Killarney and Kenmare. For Kerry Group, a major employer in Kerry, 1,000 40 ft. containers for the North American market are handled.
I understand that 17 diesel cars and ten new engines have been purchased and are due for delivery in April 1994. I appeal that a new engine and four diesel cars be allocated to the Tralee to Mallow line and that work on upgrading the track proceed immediately.
I thank Deputy Foley for sharing his time with me. The derailment of a train on the Tralee-Mallow line has caused serious concern in Kerry it has shattered the confidence of Kerry's travelling public in Iarnród Éireann services. It is absolutely vital that Iarnród Éireann restores that confidence. I ask the Minister to ensure that full details of the cause of the derailment be made public by Iarnród Éireann. Rail and rolling stock on the line must meet the highest possible safety standards.
The Tralee-Mallow rail line is used by huge numbers of rail travellers on a regular basis. The derailment could have occurred at a time when hundreds of passengers were on board. There are more than 600 students at Tralee Regional Technical College who do not come from Kerry, and many of these students travel home by train every weekend. Thousands of visitors use this rail line every year, and weekend commuters from Dublin and Cork pack these trains on Friday and Sunday nights. We can only imagine how serious the situation would have been if it had been a crowded train that was derailed. The Mallow-Tralee rail line gives access to two of Kerry's and indeed Ireland's most famous beauty spots, Killarney and Dingle, so one can imagine the usage of trains in the summertime.
As a public representative with responsibility to the community I demand that both rail and rolling stock are maintained to a standard that will guarantee safety of rail travellers on the line in question, the Tralee-Mallow line. I hope the Minister can give an assurance tonight that money will be provided for this purpose so that confidence can be restored in Iarnród Éireann.
I thank Deputy Foley for sharing his time with me. The recent derailment at the Bog Road Bridge, Ballyseedy, has again raised the question of the adequacy of the Tralee-Mallow line. In recent years there have been a number of incidents on this line, some of which could have been very serious. Iarnród Éireann carries out regular walking inspections of the line. However, I am sure the authorities in Iarnród Éireann will agree that the line needs to be considerably upgraded, including improved signalling, line straightening and alleviation of flooding at some locations.
If we are to make the line safer and restore the confidence of the commuters from Kerry to destinations outside the county, including students, businesspeople, tourists and so on, it is important that a large amount of the £275 million available for upgrading rail lines be used on this line. Ten new locomotives will be commissioned shortly and I appeal that one of these be assigned to the Inter-city line between Tralee and Dublin. Of the 17 rail cars promised by the Taoiseach to Cobh, at least one of these should act as a feeder service between Tralee and Mallow. As a result of the recent incident, the Tralee-Mallow line must be placed on top of the priority list for major upgrading work because of its importance to the future of the county.
The Deputy's motion has been prompted by the unfortunate accident which occurred on Thursday last when the 9.55 passenger train on its way from Tralee to Cork was derailed about three miles outside Tralee. The guard's van and the passenger coaches were derailed and indeed one of these coaches ended up lying on its side. As a result of the accident, 12 passengers were admitted to Tralee General Hospital and I understand that one still remains there at present. I am sure that the experience was a very harrowing one for those involved and I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sympathy to the injured and to wish them a speedy and complete recovery. Indeed on the day of the accident the chairman of CIE reported to me directly from the scene and I asked him to convey my sympathy to the injured. I would also like to pay tribute to the staff of Iarnród Éireann, to the medical and emergency services and to the Garda for the part they played in mitigating the worst effects of the accident, especially as regards the help they gave to the injured and distressed.
The priority at this stage is to identify the exact cause of the derailment. This is, of course, primarily a matter for Iarnród Éireann and I am advised that the company's investigation has already begun. The chairman has indicated to me that the investigating team's report is expected to be ready for submission to my Department within about eight weeks. The Department's railway inspecting officer, who also visited the accident site on the day of the derailment, will examine Iarnród Éireann's findings to see whether any additional inquiries are necessary. In particular, he will evaluate the report's conclusions with a view to making recommendations which I would submit to the company so as to prevent, or at least minimise, the chances of a similar occurrence in the future.
Safety is an essential element of railway operations and the maintenance of safety standards, including the allocation of the necessary funds, is as much a part of the rail operator's responsibilities as any of the other aspects of running a railway system. The requirement to have regard to safety of operation is one of the statutory duties imposed on Iarnród Éireann and one which, I know, the company takes very seriously indeed. The CIE chairman has assured me that safety continues to be Irish Rail's main priority and will not be compromised. The company continuously strives, as a matter of policy, to improve the quality of service and standards of safety on the railway. Under existing arrangements all of the 1,944 kilometres of track on the rail network are visually inspected at least twice weekly. Any defects found on inspection are reported and arrangements are made for their immediate repair. Maintenance personnel are located strategically throughout the rail network for this purpose. In addition, the chairman has indicasted that Irish Rail has detailed and extensive procedures in place to ensure the safe operation of railway services at all times.
Safety, as we know, carries a price tag, and the cost associated with maintaining safety standards on our rail network is one of these areas of essential expenditure for which Iarnród Éireann is required to budget in the normal way. If, for example, the investigation of the Tralee derailment identifies a particular need for safety-related expenditure on the line, it will be a priority matter for Iarnród Éireann to find the necessary funding within the overall resources available to the company.
Iarnród Éireann is, of course, heavily dependent on the Exchequer as a source of funding, and the level of Exchequer support for the railway over the years has been very substantial. Total direct support for the railways amounted to £1,030 million between 1980 and 1992. In the same period, capital investment of over £250 million was made by CIE in the railway network. Of the 1993 Exchequer grant to CIE of £108.4 million, £90.4 million will go to Iarnród Éireann. Of this amount, approximately £45 million will go to the maintenance and upkeep of the railway infrastructure. Apart from a small number of exceptional items, the deployment of the Exchequer support is a matter for CIE. In addition, the Public Capital Programme for 1993 provides for capital expenditure by the CIE group of up to £97 million, up to £77 million of which will be spent by Iarnród Éireann on a number of major developmental and track renewal projects.
The Deputies mentioned the question of assistance for improvements to the Tralee line under the National Devlopment Plan. The House will probably be aware that the plan includes provision for an EC-assisted national mainline rail development programme involving expenditure of approximately £185 million supported by the Cohesion Fund and the Structural Fund in the period 1994-99. In addition, a further £90 million approximately of unco-financed investment is proposed over the period of the plan subject to the resources available to CIE. The unco-financed expenditure will be funded from CIE's own resources. The total investment in railway network under the plan will amount to £275 million over the period of the plan.
The Mallow-Tralee line is included in the network proposed to the Brussels authorities for EC grant assistance under the proposed programme. This funding will enable an accelerated track renewal programme to be undertaken, together with the replacement of the existing signalling system. The new trackwork will be in the form of continuously welded rails on concrete sleepers which will permit faster speeds on the line.
Finalisation of the investment programme proposed in the National Development Plan, as regards specific expenditures on individual railway lines, will follow from consultations over the coming months between the Department, CIE and the European Commission.
Deputies will appreciate that in the circumstances any commitments to individual projects in advance of the finalisation of the overall programme would, obviously, be premature. I wish to confirm, however, that I will take on board the points raised by the Deputies and I will keep them informed of Iarnród Éireann's proposals in relation to this line.