Paul Murphy
Question:538. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the estimated cost of completing the Western Rail Corridor on the basis of electrified rail. [47191/19]
View answerTuesday, 19 November 2019
Questions (538)
Written answers
As the Deputy is aware, Project Ireland 2040 committed to conducting an independent review of a possible extension to the Western Rail Corridor (WRC).
In line with that commitment an external company was commissioned to prepare a financial/economic appraisal and business case on proposals for extending the existing WRC from Athenry to Claremorris.
That work is now complete and the business case prepared will be reviewed in line with the requirements of the Public Spending Code. The review did not consider completion of the Western Rail Corridor on the basis of electrification but rather an extension of the existing infrastructure. I would note that electrification of any extension to the Corridor in isolation of its integration with the rest of the route would seem an unusual proposition.
As stated in Project Ireland 2040 if the findings of the review are approved by Government, the project will be prioritised during the lifetime of the National Development Plan.