Of the € 7.7 billion for roads, most of the projects are outside the greater Dublin area. The funding provided for my Department in 2005 will enable record infrastructure investment by Government in rail, road and bus transport in the year ahead. This, taken with the capital envelope developments, will benefit jobs, the regions, commuters and businesses.
Among the highlights of the Government's transport spend for 2005 are the continued construction, planning and design on nearly 400 km of new roads, 103 new rail carriages, €5 million for commencement of work on a new rail station in Dublin's docklands, major benefits for the western line for Maynooth commuters, Sligo users etc. and relief capacity constraints on Connolly Station. Five new quality bus corridors for Dublin, three new green routes for Cork and one quality bus corridor for Galway will be provided in 2005. Up to 40 new DART carriages for 30% capacity increase will be supplied.
The sum of €10 million will be spent on a special programme for improving public transport accessibility for people with mobility and sensory impairments. This is in addition to ongoing investment in public transport infrastructure for accessibility. The sum of €9 million will be provided in 2005 to deliver integrated ticketing. Smart cards will be launched on Luas in early 2005 to be followed by Dublin Bus later in the year at a projected cost of €29.5 million. The rural transport initiative will receive €3 million.
Next year will see significant further improvements in public transport. The additional capacity and increased frequency of services already in evidence as a result of the massive investment of €1.6 billion since 1999 will be further augmented by an investment of €686 million in 2005. The Government is building roads because they protect and grow job opportunities and community life. Over €1.3 billion will be invested in roads in 2005 alone. I have committed €24 million for regional airports in the year ahead.
There will be an increase of 6%, to €686 million, in investment in the public transport system for 2005. The highlights for the coming year include the introduction into service of 36 additional diesel railcars which will increase capacity on the Sligo line and on Maynooth suburban rail services. There will be an increase for DART, phase one, with 30% increase in DART capacity, and for the commencement of phase two, involving upgrade of signalling to give increased train paths across Dublin city. Up to 67 intercity carriages for the Dublin-Cork line will be delivered and introduced, improving service quality on the line and allowing Iarnród Éireann to cascade existing rolling stock to other lines and remove from service older, life-expired carriages.
The Cork commuter rail project will commence in 2007, involving relaying of track from Cork to Midleton and development of a number of new stations from Mallow to Midleton. Work will commence on a new rail station in Dublin's docklands to relieve capacity constraints on Connolly Station and allow for increased service, particularly on the western suburban line. The roll-out of traffic management schemes in Dublin will continue, including the introduction of new quality bus corridors. There are nine quality bus corridors in Dublin, five of which are in the course of construction and will be opened in 2005. In Cork, the first two green routes are due to be completed before the end of 2004. A further three are due to be completed and opened in 2005. Work is proceeding at different levels on another five routes and the programme is due to be completed by the end of 2007. In Galway there is one quality bus corridor under construction, while in Waterford and Limerick they are at planning stage. As part of the phased roll-out of smart cards for passengers under the integrated ticketing initiative, smart cards will be launched on Luas in early 2005 to be followed by cards on Dublin Bus services later in the year.
The total spend on the national roads programme sees an increase in 2005 of 7% to €1.319 billion. This together with a carryover of approximately €40 million and €245 million of public private partnerships funding will maintain the high level of investment in this major infrastructural programme.
In line with the programme for Government, the NDP and the economic and social infrastructure operational programme, the development strategy for national roads is focused on the completion of the five major inter-urban routes to motorway or dual carriageway standard, completion of the Dublin Port tunnel and the M50, including upgrade, major improvement works on other national primary routes and pavement restoration on national secondary routes. Specifically, 2005 will see the commencement of 17 national roads projects, including phase 1 of the M50 improvements, the N25 Waterford city bypass, the N77 Kilkenny ringroad extension, the M3 at Clonee south of Virginia, the Edgeworthstown bypass and the M1 from Dundalk to the Border road. Construction continues on a further 21 projects, including the M1 Dundalk western bypass, the N4-N6 Kinnegad-Enfield route, the N8 Fermoy bypass, the N2 Monaghan bypass, the N15 Ballyshannon-Bundoran bypass and the N21 Castleisland-Abbeyfeale road. The completion of seven projects is scheduled, including the M50 south-eastern motorway, the N4 Sligo inner relief road and the N6 Loughrea bypass. Funding of €24 million will be provided for regional airports in 2005, of which €20 million is to meet the public service obligation programme for regional services. The remaining €4 million is allocated for capital expenditure.
I turn now to the post-2005 period. The Government recognised in the national development plan and the capital investment framework announced in last year's budget the importance of a long-term strategic and funding framework for the upgrading of our physical infrastructure. This is especially true in sectors such as transport in which major investment programmes are being undertaken over an extended period. Capital projects in the transport sphere are multi-annual in nature, involving long planning lead-in times and substantial construction phases. Given the time considerations, the scale of the projects and the investment involved, the Government considers an extended capital envelope to be appropriate in the transport sector. In this context, my colleague, the Minister for Finance, announced yesterday that he agreed in principle to an extended capital envelope of ten years. This radical departure in forward budgeting will afford the Government greater flexibility and clarity in the planning and delivery of infrastructure necessary in a modern economy.
Investment in road safety is of vital importance. The recently published road safety strategy established the primary target of a 25% reduction in road collision fatalities by the end of 2006 over the average annual number of fatalities in the period 1998 to 2003. This ambitious target will require a strategic, integrated approach by all road safety agencies. The success of implementing road safety policy as set out in the road safety strategy is critically dependent on major investment in resources by various Departments and their agencies. The Government remains committed to providing ongoing support in the pursuit of road safety policies.
The 2005 Estimates include increased provision for all road safety agencies under the aegis of my Department. The National Safety Council and the Medical Bureau of Road Safety will share €5.37 million in funding next year which represents an increase of 176% on funding provided for the agencies in 1998 when an allocation of €1.942 million was made. The level of investment in road safety measures since the introduction of the first road safety strategy in 1998 has increased significantly. Since then, the implementation of road safety policy has resulted in a 29% reduction in road deaths.