Expanding the rail network is “central to solving the housing crisis”, Eamon Ryan has said.

The All Island Rail Review has recommended the Irish Government and Northern Ireland Executive build 700 km of new track at a cost of €37bn over the next 26 years. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, Transport Minister Eamon Ryan described the plan as “the future” of transport in Ireland and said more rail infrastructure would open up new parts of the country for development.

“More than anything else, this is central to solving the housing crisis,” he said. 

“Because what you do is, you put in the public transport first and then you put in the housing beside the stations.

“That works and that’s where we need to go.”

Eamon Ryan cutting a cake at the 20th anniversary of the Luas. Image: Ellen Kenny

Minister Ryan said that Ireland had “probably the best rail network in the world” a century ago; however, much of that was closed in the 50s and 60s as cars became increasingly popular.

He said some of the old lines remain intact and the plan aims to “start getting some of that back and re-opening lines that were only recently closed”.

“Therefore, it’ll be relatively easy to bring back the likes of the Western Rail Corridor, the rail link from Wexford into Waterford,” he said.  

The new review of the rail system on the island of Ireland sounds amazing and would transform the Northwest.

The recommendations include new routes to the north midlands from Mullingar to Cavan, Monaghan, Armagh and Portadown, and also to the northwest from Portadown to… pic.twitter.com/fCY03KRj4N

— Barry Whyte (@BarryWhyte85) July 31, 2024

Minister Ryan also said expanding the rail network would help the country cut carbon emissions while simultaneously boosting connectivity between towns and cities. 

“It is firstly about decarbonising - it’s electrifying the entire rail service,” he said. 

“It’s about increasing speeds so that particular journey times between different cities would be quicker on rail than by car - in some cases even halving the journey time. 

“It’s about freight; it’s about switching away from trucks carrying everything to rail once again carrying a lot of our cargo.” 

Economic growth

The closure of so many railway lines left a number of counties in Ireland without any rail connectivity whatsoever – something Minister Ryan believes has hampered economic growth in more isolated parts of the country.

All of which, Minister Ryan believes, has hampered economic growth in more isolated parts of the country. 

“It is really looking at how we connect Donegal back in again and, indeed, the rail service in the North was probably cut more than anywhere else on the island,” Minister Ryan said. 

“So, it is reinstating rail in the North. 

“I would also argue it’s about better balanced regional development. 

“We know there’s investment coming into Dublin but what we really need, in my mind, is investment in metropolitan rail services in Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway. 

“So, that the country doesn’t just tip off into the east coast and that all the development isn’t just around Dublin.” 

The Government’s Climate Action Plan commits the State to halving Ireland’s carbon emissions by 2030. 

It also pledges a 20% reduction in the number of kilometres driven by vehicles. 

Higher numbers of people travelling by rail would help the Government hit both targets.

Main image: Eamon Ryan cutting a cake at the 20th anniversary of the Luas. Image: Ellen Kenny