Study confirms train service will cover costs

Reinstating rail passengers services to Navan will cost €6.8m per annum to run, and this cost will be met entirely by revenue generated on the line according to the joint Iarnród Éireann / Meath County Council study presented to Meath County Councillors on Monday 7th January 2007.

Using modelling based on 85% of the growth expected in the catchment area of the service, and utilising demand from comparable population centres on the Dublin-Belfast line, it is now estimated that the line could be up and running within five years (2013) and that over the period of the next thirty years running costs would be met by revenue.

The report stated that depreciation costs would have to be met by Iarnród Éireann, but as this is standard practice across the entire railway network this is not unusual.

The original alignment in the main will be used according to the report with route 3 listed as the company's preferred option. Route 3 is effectively the former alignment with minor deviations to bring the line closer to Dunshaughlin, as well as minor deviations at Kilmessan and Cannistown to avoid homes and the station house hotel that would be affected if the former route were used.

The choice of station sites for Dunshaughlin and Navan also appear welcome. At Dunshaughlin the proposed Park and ride would be located beside the town's M3 interchange and will be significantly closer to the centre of Dunshaughlin than the former station which was located at Drumree.

Navan will have two stations under the proposal, one at the rear of Páirc Táilteann and Coach road (near Chadwick's)  to be named Navan Central and another called Navan North close to PC World on the Kell's Road. The north Navan Park and Ride would cater for north Meath Commuters.  

Another welcome aspect of the Study is that the line will be built to double track standard as it was acknowleged that building a busy commuter line as single track with passing loops would have operational challenges and could be brought to a halt

The original route was built to exacting high standards originally. There was only one public level crossing along the entire 23 mile route, and was built to the same standard as the Dublin-Belfast and Dublin-Cork mainlines.

The absence of a railway line along the north-west corridor from Dublin through central Meath to Cavan has resulted in higher than average car dependency ratio in the region, a fact borne out in recent CSO figures.

The next step in the project is for the Department of Finance to confirm that it will provide funding to advance the project.
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