Written question asked by Lord Laird (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Tuesday, 6 December 2005.

Northern Ireland: Railways

Question: Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 2 November (WA 34), why there are no plans to run direct trains from Londonderry to Dublin; and whether they will conduct a feasibility study and a consultation exercise on this matter.

Answer: Although there are no direct daily routes between Londonderry and Dublin, seven of the nine services between Londonderry and Belfast connect with the Enterprise service to Dublin. On the return journey seven of the eight Enterprise services connect with the Belfast to Londonderry service. These arrangements apply from Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, there are two connecting services from Londonderry to Dublin and three between Dublin and Londonderry.The outcome of the consultation on the Railways Review Group report in 2004 allocated funding of £17.2 million over a five-year period for the lesser used parts of the NIR network, which include the line north of Ballymena to Londonderry. As connecting services already exist between Dublin and Londonderry, and as funding for the lesser used lines is limited, there are no plans to run direct routes between Dublin and Londonderry and there are no plans at this stage to commission a feasibility study or consultation exercise on the issue.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 2509; 676 c95-6WA
Session: 2005-06
Related items: Northern Ireland: Railways
Wednesday, 2 November 2005
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Railways Public participation Dublin Londonderry
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk