Sir, – Martin Mansergh writes that high-speed rail in Ireland is not realistic and suggests people could drive faster on our motorways instead (October 3rd).
Iarnród Éireann proposes to upgrade inter-city services to speeds of 160 km/hour as part of the National Development Plan 2012-2016. This proposal is to be welcomed and faster train services are far safer than higher speeds on motorways.
However, we are still planning to be 50 years behind other countries. The first “high speed” service began in Japan in 1964 with speeds of just over 160km/hour and speeds of over 200km/hour became common in Europe by the late 1960s.
In government Fianna Fáil had a limited vision for our railways. Despite the Celtic Tiger boom, investment in rail remained low compared to expenditure on roads. In 1999, the government announced the investment of £430 million over 15 years in rail as commencing a “new age of train”. The “old age of train” might have been a better description.
With the right decisions our major cites (and airports) could be interconnected with a fast, efficient rail system. This investment would benefit the economy and transform transport on this island. Shifting from road to rail must also be part of our plan to fight climate change.
Let us hope the current Government gets onboard and progress in our railways is not further derailed. – Yours, etc,