Local Labour TD Ged Nash has said the proposed North Drogheda train station has become a “nobody’s child” project, with no single agency taking responsibility for progressing it.
He said the Minister for Transport, the National Transport Authority and Irish Rail must move beyond discussion and commit to developing a formal business case for what he described as essential infrastructure for Drogheda and South Louth.
He said;
“I had a good one-to-one meeting with the Mary Considine in Leinster House today. I described to her the fact that the North Drogheda station idea is “nobody’s child” and my concerns that no agency has taken responsibility for the project.
“Irish Rail understands the challenges for the rapidly growing North Drogheda area. I am extremely concerned that, despite all the PR and ‘calls’ by local representatives for a new station that nobody in government has actually actioned the essential first-step.
“That step is the initiation of a formal business case and the gathering of reliable research and data to help make the case in the first place. Without that basic step, nothing gets delivered and the game of pass the parcel continues.
“I have previously requested that the NTA initiates that process. They claimed they had no responsibility for this as the Drogheda area is not in the Greater Dublin Area for transport planning although in practice, the NTA always has due regard for the Drogheda area when it comes to planning commuter services.
“I plan to meet NTA formally and to get that business case process underway and I will not be taking no for an answer.
“Passing this project from Billy to Jack may suit the Transport Minister, who is reported as saying the new station is a good idea. Darragh O’Brien has also said that City Status is a good idea too, and in opposition, he pledged to build the Port Access Route with State money. We have all seen this movie before when it comes to Darragh O’Brien and Drogheda.
“It may also suit the Minister to kick this project to other agencies or to private developers as Irish Rail’s capital funding asks is €500million a year below what’s needed to meet their existing new infrastructure roll out plans, and the Drogheda station, for some reason, is not an explicit ambition in their strategic plan out to 2050. That in itself requires an explanation from government.
“The fact that this is not the case means that it is even more critical now that the business case is done, and I believe that any business case will provide all the evidence needed to advance the North Drogheda station concept.”
