No date yet for opening of Cork's €17m Tivoli bus depot – which must close by end 2030

A €17m temporary bus depot in Cork city has been delayed again, and the National Transport Authority will not say when the facility will be in use.

The Tivoli temporary depot, which can only be used until the end of 2030, according to planning documentation, is being delivered under the BusConnects Cork Programme.

The facility will provide parking for up to 150 buses and coaches on a 25,800sq m site, on the former Tata Steel facility within the Port of Cork’s Tivoli Industrial Estate.

The temporary depot is necessary to allow for electrification of the Capwell depot, so that Cork can switch to the electric bus fleet necessary for BusConnects.

The Capwell depot is operating at capacity, so that electrification works cannot be completed in parallel, as was done in Limerick.

More buses will also be needed for BusConnects. A permanent new depot is meant to be ready by the time the temporary one must be taken down, but no plans have been shared yet.

Cork City Council granted permission for the temporary bus depot in November 2023, and at the time Bus Éireann told The Echo that on-site works would begin in 2024, and that the depot would be operational in the first half of 2025.

Initial reports suggested the temporary depot could cost up to €8m to develop, while the cost increased to €10m when the project went to tender in March 2024.

NO PERMANENT STRUCTURES

The planning documents note that the temporary depot cannot be used after the last day of 2030, and that no permanent structures, including electrical charging facilities, other than those identified within existing planning documentation, would be permitted.

Following a public procurement competition, in January 2025, the NTA approved Bus Eireann to commence the delivery of the Tivol temporary depot, with a budget of €17.1m — more than double the earliest estimates — and with a completion date of March 2026.

The approval indicated that the works would be substantially complete by January 2026, and that fit-out works by Bus Eireann would become operational in March.

In December, as a result of a Freedom of Information request by The Echo, an NTA spokesperson said: “Following a period of mobilisation, construction activities commenced on-site in February 2025, in line with the agreed programme.

“The works are progressing in line with the agreed programme. However, some delays have been experienced, due to unforeseen ground conditions and utilities.”

The spokesperson said that 60% of the work had been done, and that the substantial completion date was programmed for February 2026, “and, following the fit-out works, it is anticipated that the depot will become operational in April 2026”.

However, The Echo contacted the NTA, requesting an update on the project in March, and then again on three occasions in April, and no responses were received.