Vol. 538 No. 4
54 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she is satisfied with the progress being made in the upgrading of the railway line between Waterford and Dublin; when it is anticipated the work will be completed; the amount of time which will be knocked off the Waterford-Dublin trip when completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18185/01]
Up to the end of 1999, the Waterford to Dublin line benefited substantially from invest ment of £10.7 million under the EU Operational Programme for Transport 1994-99. The National Development Plan, 2000-2006, launched in November 1999, provides £500 million for the mainline rail renewal and upgrading programme and I understand from Iarnród Éireann that work is progressing satisfactorily on all lines including the Waterford to Dublin line.
A sum of £2 million was spent on the enhancement of the line during 2000 and a further £5 million will be spent during 2001. The work to date has involved the replacement of life expired jointed tracks on timber sleepers with continuous welded rail on concrete sleepers. Iarnród Éireann expects the work to be completed by end 2003 and passengers will see improvements of up to ten minutes on the journey time.
