101. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Transport the steps his Department is taking to improve regional and rural transport connectivity in the west of Ireland, with particular reference to rail and bus links serving County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51780/25]

Sentiment score: 0.15

Will the Minister outline the steps he and the Department are taking to improve regional connectivity, particularly rail and bus services in Mayo?

Sentiment score: 0.44

Will the Minister of State please focus on regional rail? The Dublin to Westport line has had no significant upgrades in quite some time. From Westport to Athlone, we are still operating off a single-carriage line. The distance from Westport to Dublin is 262 km. The journey takes three hours and 20 minutes, which means that the average speed is 80 km/h. There are tractors in Mayo that can reach 80 km/h.

Sentiment score: 0.04

The distance between Cork and Dublin is the same. Trains on that route reach Dublin in two and a half hours. The TGV in France has an average speed of 300 km/h. With such average speeds, it would be possible to get from Westport to Dublin in under an hour. In many cases, the people of Mayo are waiting in Roscommon for half an hour for a train to pass because of the single line and because the speeds needs to be increased.

Sentiment score: 0.06

Does the Minister of State have any plans to upgrade the Dublin to Westport line-----

Sentiment score: 0.00

-----particularly with regard to the speed of the trains?

Sentiment score: 0.00

The big point is that in recent years the housing crisis has pushed a lot of people from Mayo out of Dublin. Covid and working conditions also played a role. We have seen many young people returning to live in Mayo and commuting to Dublin, if you can believe it. Many of these people travel to Dublin one, two or three days a week. The point I am making is that a journey of almost three and half hours on the train line from Mayo is unacceptable. The average speed is 80 km/h. Does the Minister of State have any plans to increase capacity and speed and develop a double carriageway rather than a single one in order that the people of Mayo can get to Dublin in a timely fashion? The distance from Cork to Dublin is the same, but there is a difference of an hour in the commute time. It is about two and half hours versus just under three and half. That is the point. Does the Minister of State have any plans to improve the line?

Sentiment score: 0.00

I am glad the Minister of State mentioned ten years ago.

Sentiment score: 0.46