AQW 9619/22-27

Mr Justin McNulty
Social Democratic and Labour Party
Newry and Armagh

Tabled Date: 08/04/2024
Answered On Date: 23/04/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure when he will provide a timeline for the implementation of the recommendations in the All-Island Strategic Rail Review.

Answer:

The draft All-Island Strategic Rail Review (AISRR) report was released for public consultation for the purposes of Strategic Environmental Assessment from 25 July to 29 September 2023. Work is ongoing to analyse the responses received and finalise the Review.

Once finalised, one of the key initial steps will be prioritisation of the Review recommendations and development of an implementation plan. My officials are already engaging with their southern colleagues on these matters.

In the meantime, the draft AISRR report released to public consultation includes a Roadmap which presents a timeline for the possible future development and delivery of key interventions, broadly broken down into short term (from today to c. 2030); medium term (2030 – 2040) and long term (2040 – 2050) which gives an indication of when interventions may be delivered in full.

In addition to developing an implementation plan, more detailed work will be needed to test the feasibility and affordability of the recommendations and guide future investment decisions. The implementation of each key intervention will be subject to feasibility studies and business case approval, and the necessary funding being made available.