OPINION: An all-Ireland rail network is the way of the future - Anderson MLA

We no longer have a ‘rail network’ but we need one.

What we currently have is a ‘line’ connecting Belfast to Dublin, a link to Larne and another line between Belfast and Derry. Donegal, Sligo, and much west of the Shannon is no better served.

What is required is a collaboration between Belfast and Dublin on a strategic plan, driven and co-coordinated at Ministerial level to create a proper all-island rail network. This would include a comprehensive reassessment of how we move freight as well as passengers. The use of an all-island rail passenger/freight network would reduce road traffic congestion and protect the environment by reducing toxic emissions. It would also provide thousands of well-paid jobs both in the construction and operational stages of such a massive venture.

We should be planning to connect the Southern system up again with the lines in the North to establish a proper all-Ireland network. The economic benefits of regenerating an all-Ireland rail network should not be underestimated. It would address the infrastructural deficiencies that are often cited as the main factors for failure to attract sustainable investment to regions outside the Dublin/Belfast axis.

‘Strategic transport planning’ is one of the areas listed for co-operation and implementation under the All-Ireland Ministerial Council’s remit. The AIMC could lead the way in developing and implementing such a visionary transportation plan. A lack of imaginative thinking is apparent on many fronts attached to transport policy such as the lack of train connections to airports at City of Derry and Belfast International despite the rail lines passing within a mile from the terminals.

The Ministerial Council has the potential to effect fundamental and positive change for the benefit of all the people on this island. The re-establishment of the rail link from Derry joining with the Belfast to Dublin line at Newry, the extension of the Belfast/Derry link to Letterkenny/Sligo and beyond and the associated new investment would not only transform the economic fortunes of the NorthWest of Ireland but would help strengthen the economic fabric of the island as a whole.

Sinn Féin is under no illusion about the massive financial investment a regeneration programme of this nature would involve. However, the Executive and the Irish government must realise that the solution to problems such as under-development, devastating damage to the environment, vandalism of our cultural heritage etc. lies in the development and implementation of long-term transportation strategies. The Centre for Cross Border Studies should be tasked to produce a cost analysis of such a project.

Some visionaries recently unveiled plans for a bridge or an under-sea tunnel connection to Scotland - enthusiastically welcomed by unionist politicians and commentators - at a projected cost of over £20billion. Great idea they say, but wouldn’t such an investment be much better spent on and go a long way towards establishing a modern all-Ireland rail network?

We must think imaginatively and look for the positives. The linking of ports, airports, and railways should be an essential element of a future transport network.

The re-establishment of an all-island Rail network would surely attract support from the EU, and given the planned maritime route from Ireland to France this initiative would complement that route. The Executive and the Irish government could develop joint proposals for the deployment of European Funds for such an ecologically protective and economically productive venture. The EU in its concern about the disastrous consequences of climate change has been examining for some time radical proposals to reinstate rail as the preferred option for freight and passenger traffic in the future. So why can’t we be the world leaders in reimagining future transport strategies?