Challenge to Dempsey to progress Navan rail link amid funding fears

A Meath County Councillor has appealed to Transpost Minister Noel Dempsey to 'lay down the law' to Iarnrod Eireann with regard to progressing the rail link from Pace (Dunboyne) to Navan. Independent Meath councillor Brian Fitzgerald said Mr Dempsey had to insist that, if Iarnrod Eireann was not going to progress the project, it must be handed over to some other body or consortium. The minister"s office yesterday (Tuesday) said the position on the rail line to Navan had not changed since a statement Mr Dempsey issued in late July 2008. In response to a question then on whether the link would proceed, the minister had replied 'yes'. As the 14th October budget looms amid reports of extremely harsh cut-backs and threats to capital projects, Cllr Fitzgerald and other Meath councillors called on the Transport Minister to confirm the project"s future. A progress report on the line was presented to Navan area elected members at their September meeting. Some of the points made were that the project required 'significantly greater funding than allowed for in the Transport 21 Budget'. Also outlined in the report was the emergence of an option to the original 'emerging preferred route" established for the line. That route follows the pre-existing rail line with local diversions at Black Bull, Drumree, Kilmessan and Cannistown. The optional route is to the east of Dunshaughlin. This, according to the report presented, was also shown 'to have potential to be delivered but was subject to further study to confirm engineering feasibility and cost to a similar level of confidence as was developed for the emerging preferred route'. Consequently, Iarnrod Eireann was selecting consultants for carry out the further study with a time frame of about six to eight months. This study would also examine optimum locations for rail stations, particularly those in Dunshaughlin and Navan. Cllr Fitzgerald stressed the importance not just to Navan but also Dunshaughlin of proceeding with the link. Should it not go ahead, it would be the county"s greatest 'let down' as a number of towns, including Dunshaughlin, were geared up for it to be delivered. Sinn Fein councillor Joe Reilly said that, for Meath to advance, the rail line was one of the most vital projects and must be provided. Cllr Jim Holloway of Fine Gael said that serious concern had been raised that the current economic climate could mean that the railway will be delayed. 'Any proposal to delay the construction of the railway to Navan must be vigorously opposed,' said Cllr Holloway. 'A decision to delay this project is a decision to abandon this project and must be read as such. And delay would mean a betrayal of the people of Meath and Navan, in particular.' Cllr Holloway added that, essentially what new house-owners who came to Navan and Meath had done was place their trust in Government to deliver jobs and the railway. Commuting figures showed that the jobs did not come to Navan as promised, he said. Also, the railway had been put to the bottom of the list of projects in Transport 21. The delay in finalising the route was 'clearly a device for abandoning the railway to Navan town', he claimed. In relation to the extension of the line to Navan, Transport Minister, Mr Dempsey"s statement in July was that Iarnrod Eireann completed a scoping study in December 2007 in which they examined nine routes and concluded that the project was economically viable. Two of these routes were found to be suitable and are now subject of a study to produce a comparative business case, which will be submitted to the department when it is completed. It is anticipated that phase two of the line will be opened and operation in 2015 in accordance with Transport 21, he added.