A Euros 175m plan is being drawn up by Irish Rail (IE) to increase the proportion of lines passed for 160km/h operation. The plan will run from 2012 to 2016 and will cut journey times significantly from Dublin to the main cities in western and southern Ireland.

 

At present only 50km or 19% of the Dublin - Cork line is capable of 160km/h operation, but the improvements would save 25 minutes to achieve a journey time of 2h 20min. The maximum speed on the Dublin - Galway line is 130km/h and only 63% of the route is passed for that speed. Here the track upgrading will reduce the journey time by 33 minutes to around 2 hours.

 

IE has already invested in new trains capable of running at 160km/h, so the plan will not require any additional investment in rolling stock other than that already underway.