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20 February 2002

MINISTER APPRAISES COMMITTEE ON ANTRIM-KNOCKMORE RAILWAY LINE

Regional Development Minister, Peter Robinson, MP, MLA, said today that rail services on the Antrim to Knockmore railway line could not be continued within his Department’s current funding allocation.

He made his comments while appraising members of the Regional Development Committee on the future of services on the line.

However, the Minister stressed that while he was prepared to propose a discontinuance of services, under the statutory procedure any decision to discontinue rail services on the Antrim-Knockmore line would require the approval of the Assembly.

Mr Robinson said: "I have given very careful consideration to the outcome of the consultation process and the Equality Impact Assessment. I have also considered the financial feasibility, value for money and wider social and economic factors.

"Against the backdrop of other competing transportation priorities, I have concluded that the continuance of rail services on the Antrim-Knockmore line, given the limited financial resources available to my Department, is not such a priority as to enable me to fund it within the current budgetary allocation."

The Minister said it was important to stress that discontinuing the service did not mean the abandonment of the line. The line will be mothballed in the hope and expectation that it could be reinstated as part of a Belfast-Antrim-Lisburn-Belfast circle line in years to come.

He also said that a review of the line’s future potential will be undertaken every five years and a full bus substitution programme will be provided to cover the services previously provided by the rail service.

He said: "I am fully committed to advancing public transport in Northern Ireland and where feasible rail travel in particular. However, the continuance of rail services on the Antrim-Knockmore line could only be achieved at huge opportunity costs to wider transportation needs.

"Getting the balance right between competing transportation priorities is a challenge for all of us, especially since funding is finite and our current transportation assets are in poor condition following years of under-investment. Clearly there are difficult choices to be made."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. The statutory procedure for discontinuing services on railway lines is set out in Section 60 of the Transport Act (NI) 1967. If, as in this case, the railway operating company (Northern Ireland Railways) receives valid objections on the grounds of hardship to its proposal to discontinue services on a line, it must refer the matter to the Minister for Regional Development. The company may not discontinue services, without first obtaining the Minister’s consent and the Minister may not give such consent until the Assembly has approved a proposal for the discontinuance.

  2. The decision to invest in the reinstatement of the Antrim-Bleach Green line in 1995 was based on the assumption that the Antrim-Knockmore line would close when Antrim-Bleach Green reopened.

  3. The December 2000 Budget agreed by the Assembly voted £103m to railways for the period of 2001-2004. This covered the costs of the "consolidation option" identified by the Railways Task Force. This option envisaged the discontinuance of rail services in Antrim-Knockmore with bus substitution arrangements.

  4. The Antrim-Knockmore line reopened in June 2001. The then Minister for Regional Development, Mr Gregory Campbell MP MLA, stated that Antrim-Knockmore would remain open until at least March 2002 to enable the Department to undertake an Equality Impact Assessment or to gauge the impact on rail usage as a result of the introduction of free fares for older people. Prior to June 2001 nine trains each way serviced the Antrim-Knockmore line as part of the Londonderry-Belfast line. Since June 2001 the Londonderry-Belfast line incorporates the more direct Antrim-Bleach Green line and a restricted rail service of three trains each way during weekdays service the Antrim-Knockmore line.

  5. Translink commissioned ERM Economics to undertake an economic appraisal of the costs to retain the Antrim-Knockmore line. The February 2001 study concluded that the line could continue with minor maintenance until 2004 but thereafter would require capital investment in the region of £19m including rolling stock.

  6. The average passenger usage of the line is approximately 60 people per day representing 47,500 passenger journeys per annum. This represents 0.82% of NIR journeys. The Belfast-Antrim and beyond line has an annual passenger journey of 750,000+.

  7. Without significant investment the line will be forced to close in 2004. The scale of transportation needs in the Department is such that the Antrim-Knockmore line cannot be prioritised within existing resources.

  8. In January 2002, the Department published a Proposed Regional Transportation Strategy. This sets out a 10 year funding scenario for investment in transportation in Northern Ireland. (Copies are available on the website www.drdni.gov.uk/rts/

For media queries, contact Eamon Deeny on 028 9054 0004 or 07768 798916.

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