 Irish Exporters welcome investment as IWT Ballina-Dublin rail freight become first customer of new facility.
Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar TD today marked the opening of a new rail spur in Dublin Port, set to enhance the competitiveness of rail freight for Dublin Port and Iarnród Éireann customers. The expansion of the rail spur follows a €1.5 million investment made by Dublin Port Company. The spur is 1.6 kilometres long, and the project took six months to complete. The new rail spur facilitates access for rail freight to ship side at the Ocean Pier, eliminating the need for loading and unloading on Alexandra Road , and will improve the competitiveness of rail freight to/from Dublin Port. Rail freight is enjoying a resurgence, as a focus on targeting key business sectors pays off. While various factors led to a reduction in rail freight in Ireland in the last decade, the tide has turned and volumes grew by 9% between 2009 and 2010 and are set to increase again this year. The catalyst for this revival in fortune is the strategy of targetting trainload business. Iarnród Éireann operates the train point to point for a customer, and the onus is on the customer to fill or sell the train. In the last two years, trains operating to this model have increased from 6 to 14 trains per week, resulting in 12,500 truck movements per annum being removed from the roads. This in turn leads to a reduction in the level of CO2 emissions being generated, as well as other environmental benefits. Ballina has become a crucial hub for this business, with Iarnród Éireann currently operating six trains per week between Ballina and Waterford Port for DFDS and eight trains per week between Ballina and Dublin Port for IWT, transporting ISO containers and tanks. Volumes of pulpwood have also increased in recent years and are set to increase by upwards of 30% this year over last. Iarnród Éireann operates four trains per week – two each from Ballina and Westport to Waterford for Coillte, transporting 3m long logs for the Smartply factory outside Waterford, resulting in over 6,000 truck movements per annum being removed from the road. Speaking at the launch of Dublin Port Company’s new rail spur, Mr. Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive Dublin Port Company said: “This investment by Dublin Port Company underpins the rail freight operation started by IWT in August 2009. At this stage IWT is operating five round trips per week to Ballina and I am hopeful they will expand their service offerings to other locations around the country. The co-operation between Dublin Port Company, Iarnród Éireann and IWT shows how private sector and public sector companies can work together. Dublin Port has always had excellent connections to the national rail network and it is wonderful to see viable commercial container rail freight services linking Dublin to an ever expanding hinterland”. John Whelan, CEO of the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) said: “The completion of the rail link connecting the Common User Terminal in Dublin Port with the national rail network is a major milestone in the development of an internationally competitive range of freight options for Irish manufacturing Exporters”. “Dublin and Waterford Ports can now offer Exporters and the Shipping Lines that serve them European standard transport links and the Association looks forward to working with them, Iarnród Éireann and others to develop a twenty-first century distribution system that is fully compliant with developing EU Transport Policy.” Image via Irish Rail
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