The Deputy rightly differentiates between commuter rail services and intercity rail services and his differentiation is reflected in the manner in which the issue is currently being considered.
In terms of commuter rail services, each of the cities has, or will soon have, metropolitan area transport strategies. This move toward evidence-based, plan-led strategic infrastructure development is in line with international best practice and allows for better integration of transport planning and land-use planning. Development of these transport strategies allows for full consideration of the potential for rail services in each metropolitan area and currently both the Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area and the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy have extensive proposals for rail infrastructure improvements, while the Galway Transport Strategy calls for an increased frequency of rail services. I understand a draft Limerick-Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy will be published in August for public consultation while work has commenced on a Waterford Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy.
In relation to intercity services, I can inform the Deputy that my Department is about to launch a significant procurement process in relation to a review of high-/higher-speed rail along the Belfast-Dublin-Cork/Limerick line, including how that line would interact with the broader network. This will be the most significant Departmental-led review of the intercity network since the Strategic Rail Review on 2003 and I very much look forward to is commencement in due course.
