Cross-border train: cooperation is rolling!
- 01 January 2004
A few years ago, the prospect of travelling by train between Belfast and Dublin would cause a sigh of resignation, so uncomfortable was the line and so inadequate the service. Today, the line is faster and the journey is safe and pleasant, with modern and clean trains. The result has been a growing number of users.
Concerned with the improvement and integration of the line between the two capitals, the two railway companies (Iarnrod Eireann in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland Railways) embarked on a joint study in 1988 to come up with an investment plan. It was thanks to the allocation of European financial aid, aimed at the development of transport infrastructure for the trans-European network, that the project was subsequently launched in the early 1990s.
Under the project, repairs had to be made to the line over a length of 182 km and the tracks in particular had to be upgraded (continuous welding needed to be done), an efficient computerised signalling system had to be installed, 50 bridges, level crossings and junctions in the train stations had to be replaced, and the stations of Drogheda and Dundalk had to be renovated. The line now has new fully automated and air-conditioned trains. The trains can travel up to 150 km/h on certain sections and the trip is about a quarter of an hour less, taking 1h50' with one stop and some 2 hours with stops at all the stations. Despite two new, more powerful motor coaches, the trains cannot travel at maximum speed along the entire length of the line because of geographical obstacles like through-cuts, viaducts and tight curves, and because of the speed limits imposed in Drogheda and along the stretch between Lisburn and the border. The number of trains running daily has nonetheless increased, and the 400 000 people who took the train in 1993 grew to about 700 000 in 1997 and currently stands at 950 000. The two companies have also registered on both sides of the border an equivalent increase in domestic traffic, meaning passengers travelling locally and not going to the other country.
A significant aspect of the project is the standardisation of the service: a common operating system, joint marketing and the same uniform for all the personnel. Created in 1997, the new "Enterprise" service represents a model of cross-border cooperation and is the backbone of the island's railway development. Both from a human and economic point of view, this major technical operation clearly illustrates the possible results of cross-border cooperation, not only improving business opportunities on both sides of the border but also fostering closer social links between the two capitals and the towns serviced by the line.