Electrification of Cork rail among requests for EU funding

The electrification of Cork rail is among the key investments in the Irish recovery and resilience plan included in the second payment request for €115.5m under the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility.

The European Commission has endorsed a positive preliminary assessment of Ireland's second payment request for €115.5m under the facility, the centrepiece of NextGenerationEU.

The payment request supports six reforms and five investments that will benefit citizens and businesses in Ireland, focusing on enterprise emissions reduction, sustainable transport, carbon taxation, digitalisation in schools, businesses and public administration, as well as ICT skills, healthcare, pensions, and housing.

Flagship measures include an investment to support the electrification of railways in the Cork metropolitan area, which will expand sustainable mobility in the region, reduce car use and increase the uptake of public transport, contributing to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The electrification is part of the Cork Area Commuter Rail programme, which also focuses on decarbonisation and expanding the rail network to nearly 3,000 km.

The programme will ultimately deliver increased train capacity and frequency, providing for more connected communities, and a more sustainable transport network.

Two parts of the strategy are set for completion next year, the Glounthaune-to-Midleton twin-track project and Cork area signalling and communications upgrades, while a new Platform 6 at Kent Station was opened in April.

Overall, the programme represents the largest ever investment in the Cork commuter rail network.

Also included in Ireland’s payment request is an investment to provide high-speed broadband connectivity for primary schools to ensure that learners of primary and post-primary schools are equipped with appropriate digital skills.

Funding to accelerate the decarbonisation of the enterprise sector, targeting manufacturing enterprises is also part of the request. The fund will provide support for carbon-reducing technologies, energy monitoring systems, and research and innovation.

The Commission has now sent its preliminary assessment of Ireland's fulfilment of the milestones and targets required for this payment to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which has four weeks to deliver its opinion.

The payment to Ireland can take place following the EFC's opinion, and the adoption of a payment decision by the Commission.