Speech by Minister Martin Cullen TD, Minister for Transport at the announcement regarding plans for the redevelopment of Ceannt Railway Station in Galway (Iarnrod Éireann) and plans for improvement of bus services (Bus Éireann) in the Galway region.

Date: 22 February 2007

My fellow Ministers and colleagues in Dáil Éireann; Chairman of CIÉ, Dr John Lynch; John Clancy, Chief Architect, CIÉ, Myles McHugh of Iarnród Éireann, Brian Connolly of Bus Éireann, ladies and gentlemen:

I am delighted to be here today in this thriving and vibrant city to announce together with Dr. John Lynch and officials from both Iarnrod Éireann and Bus Éireann, CIÉ's proposals for the development of Galway Railway Station and for the improvement of both train and bus services in the Galway area. Thank you all for your detailed presentations.

Now is a good time for transport infrastructure not alone in the West, but also around the entire country. Thanks to the combined work of the people of this country and the policies of this Government, Ireland is now one of the world's most successful economies. It needs first-rate transport infrastructure if it is to sustain and build on that success. This year alone, under our transport programme, Transport 21, the Government is investing €777 million in public transport. Over €1.5 billion is being spent in 2007 on the national roads programme. People deserve the best possible services and with this funding, major upgrade projects are underway or planned, as we see here today, on national road, rail and bus services.

Great work is underway on plans for the upgrading of road infrastructure in, and serving the Galway city and region. The Dublin to Galway motorway is on target to be completed by 2010. The N6 upgrade from Galway to Ballinasloe is scheduled to start this year, while the Galway City Outer By-Pass and key projects on the Atlantic Road Corridor are to be accelerated under Transport 21, with work on the N18 Ennis to Galway route to now start in 2008. I made that announcement just last month here in Galway on the 25 January & but I am always happy to come back anytime to this city.

Railway services to and from Galway have also been improved significantly in recent years. There are now, seven services each way between Galway and Dublin on weekdays. Passenger numbers on the route have grown to 1.5m in 2006. Services are set to improve further as the 150 new Government-funded railcars come on stream. The entry into service of these new cars over 2007 and 2008 (serving all the main intercity routes) will enable Iarnród Éireann to increase services on the Galway/Dublin line to 10 per day with hourly services at peak time and two-hourly services off peak.

The reopening of the Western Rail Corridor starting with the Ennis-Athenry section, on which work is underway with line clearance, will greatly enhance the development capacity of the wider Galway region.

Galway Station Redevelopment Ceannt Station Quarter

This proposed development by CIÉ on their 5.7 hectare site, - Ceannt Station Quarter, - aims to deliver to the people of Galway, a new urban city quarter. The €1 billion investment plan will have at its heart, a transport interchange with plans to develop three full-length platforms (allowing for intercity and commuter service expansion); 25 dedicated bus bays, and enhanced car parking facilities (for public transport users).

Good quality facilities of the type envisaged are essential to attract more users to public transport.

It will be important in developing and taking forward the planning proposals outlined here today, that CIÉ consult widely with local and regional authorities and development interests to ensure that the proposed redevelopment of the station integrates well with local and regional development plans.

Proposed Improvements to Bus Services

An essential component of Galway's transport arrangements now and in the future are bus services. Bus Éireann currently operates a fleet of 120 vehicles in Galway including 50 school buses.

The Bus Éireann proposals are certainly ambitious and I welcome this ambition - involving the purchase of a total of 54 buses over the three-year period 2007-2009. The proposals for this period also involve an increase of passengers to 5.3 million; new and more frequent services; automated and integrated ticketing and greater incorporation with rail, air and taxi. Exchequer funding has, I am glad to say, already been approved for some of the new buses proposed by Bus Éireann as part of the funding package of €50 million approved by Government last September for Bus Éireann expansion of services. To meet this ambitious three-year target, 15 new vehicles have already been allocated for the Galway area to immediately expand the fleet.

We have also heard today that Bus Éireann is currently examining the potential for the introduction in our cities including Galway, of 'BRT' (Bus Rapid Transit), a system of "bus trams" or "streetcars" popular in the US, Canada and in a growing number of European cities. Streetcars or 'bus trams' are a hybrid vehicle capable of delivering a high quality tram-style service in terms of capacity and reliability, coupled with the far lower costs associated with manufacturing and running buses.

And this brings me on to an important point about providing sustainable public transport.

The Government's Ministerial Task Force, of which I am a member, will be preparing a new climate change strategy before Easter. This will be a comprehensive plan demanding ambition and action across the economy. I have asked Dr. Lynch, Chairman of CIE, as An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, TD, announced last Saturday here in Galway, to move all Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus existing fleet to a 5% bio-diesel blend and to plan to achieve a 30% bio-diesel blend in all new buses.

Bus Priority

Providing a high quality bus service requires more than the provision of buses. These are undoubtedly needed but they must be accompanied by more extensive bus priority measures, improved traffic and parking management and park and ride facilities. It is vital in the interests of deriving maximum value from existing and new bus fleets that priority is given to buses on the streets and at key junctions.

I am delighted therefore that Galway City Council is making good progress in the development of bus priority measures in the City through the drawing up of the Galway Bus Strategy.

I was also pleased that a full public consultation regarding proposed bus priority measures and changes to bus services in the City as set out in the Galway Bus Strategy has taken place, and that the Strategy was adopted unanimously by the City Council last week.

Conclusion

Transport 21 is about delivery of new and improved transport infrastructure and services throughout the country. The plans and proposals being launched today are a further step in that process which is vital for ongoing growth and development in this region.

Thank you all very much.

ENDS