Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 October 2025
325. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Transport for an update on his Department’s work on the advancement of the Enterprise Replacement Fleet project, as committed to in the Climate Action Plan 2025 and due in Quarter 3 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55484/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, the Enterprise rail service is the only cross-border rail service on the island of Ireland. It is a well-known symbol of North-South cooperation and provides an important public transport link operating between Dublin and Belfast.
In October 2024, the Enterprise moved to a near hourly service supported by funding provided by the Shared Island Fund. The Enterprise now operates 15 services in each direction between Dublin to Belfast from Mondays to Saturdays, with eight return services on Sundays.
The Enterprise Fleet Replacement Programme will replace the current rolling stock of four diesel trains with a more sustainable fleet of eight trains. This programme is progressing as the current Enterprise rail fleet will reach the end of its standard design life later this decade. In addition to this, the current frequency of Enterprise service since October 2024 is only made possible by augmenting the four current Enterprise train sets with two non-Enterprise sets on a temporary basis.
Iarnród Éireann and Translink Northern Ireland Railways have secured approval in principle for funding of €165 million for the Enterprise Fleet Replacement Programme under the PEACEPLUS cross-border EU programme, which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), a North South Implementation Body established under the Good Friday Agreement. The balance of funding for the programme will be provided jointly through the Department of Transport and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland on a 50:50 basis.
The procurement process for this project is now nearing completion, and Iarnród Éireann and Translink have a well-developed business case. The contract for the manufacturing of the new Enterprise fleet is expected to be awarded in the near future, subject to final funding approval from the Northern Ireland Executive, the SEUPB, and subject to approval from the Government of Ireland at Approval Gate 3 of the Infrastructure Guidelines.
The first of the new Enterprise trains are expected to be delivered by 2029. They will then need to undergo testing to ensure they meet the required safety and operational standards before they can be used by passengers. The Enterprise Fleet Replacement Programme will reduce the intercity journey time of the route to less than two hours and should improve the timetable to a typical hourly frequency of 16 return services.
