News Release Page Title

21 March 2005

£1.57 BILLION REGIONAL STRATEGIC TRANSPORT NETWORK TRANSPORT PLAN LAUNCHED

Regional Development Minister John Spellar, today announced the publication of the Regional Strategic Transport Network Transport Plan (RSTN TP), which he said would shape Northern Ireland's strategic transport systems over the next 10 years. The total estimated cost of the proposals contained in the Plan is £1.57 billion.

At the launch in the Lagan Valley Island Conference Centre this afternoon, the Minister emphasised that the RSTN TP carried on the vision set out in the Regional Transportation Strategy of working towards a modern, sustainable, safe transportation system, which will benefit society, the economy, and the environment and actively contribute to social inclusion and everyone's quality of life.

Mr Spellar said:

"The RSTN Transport Plan builds upon the Regional Transportation Strategy that was accepted by the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002. It therefore has a sound strategy base and follows the realistic funding assumptions established by the Regional Transportation Strategy.

"Proposals in the Transport Plan include enhanced public transport infrastructure, improved rail and bus services, new and improved park and share/ride facilities as well as enhanced walking and cycling provision, all of which would help reduce reliance on private cars."

The RSTN Transport Plan also identifies a £529.4m programme of Strategic Road Improvements (SRIs) that would see enhanced access to regional gateways (international ports and airports) and cross border links from the network. SRIs are defined as those schemes with a capital value of greater than £1 million, provided to remove bottlenecks throughout the network where lack of capacity causes undue congestion.

Thanking all those who had contributed in the various stages of consultation throughout the preparation of the Transport Plan, the Minister said:

"All comments received throughout the development of the RSTN Transport Plan have been considered and have helped shape the final document."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. The Regional Strategic Transport Network (RSTN) represents the skeletal transport framework of the region connecting all the main centres of economic and social activity and the major public transport hubs. The RSTN incorporates 5% of the road network and all the rail system. The RSTN TP is one of three transport plans related to the implementation of the Regional Transportation Strategy (RTS) and includes proposals for the maintenance, management and development of the network.

  2. An extensive consultation exercise was undertaken as an integral part of the RSTN TP process, taking into account the views of a wide range of stakeholders in the development of the Plan. This included a major working conference to obtain views on the 'Emerging' Plan and an Equality Impact Assessment consultation.

  3. The RSTN TP sets out a range of proposals under Walking and Cycling, Public Transport (Bus and rail) and Highways. Key features include:

    • improvements in facilities for walking and cycling;

    • step-change in quality of public transport to:

      • develop the most frequently used part of the railway network and maintain the condition of the lesser-used lines to avoid deterioration in existing service levels; and
      • increase service levels and standards of accessibility on the inter-urban bus and coach fleet.

    • Highway improvements focus on:

    • maintaining the existing network to ensure that at least 85% of motorways and 75% of trunk roads have a residual life of greater than 5 years.
    • improving the efficiency and safety of the road network with a programme of highway schemes necessary to remove bottlenecks and increase network capacity;

  4. The total proposed expenditure is estimated to be £1.57bn, which is broadly consistent with the levels of funding indicated in the RTS. About £704m (or 45.1%) is proposed for improvements to rail services whilst £81m (or 5.2%) is proposed for improvements to inter urban bus and coach services. £770m (or 49.2%) is proposed to highways, of which, £530m (or 33.8%) is for the provision of Strategic Road Improvements through the network. The Plan proposals will be progressed on a measure-by-measure basis subject to:

    • detailed economic appraisal;
    • clearing the relevant statutory procedures such as environmental assessment, planning and land acquisition (each of which may require public inquiries); and
    • the availability of funds through the normal budgetary processes.

  5. Of the £530m identified in the RSTN Transport Plan for Strategic Road Improvements the following figures are highlighted:

    • £336.2m or 63.5% of SRI funding is intended for routes serving the area West of the Bann.
    • £171.9m or 32.5% of SRI funding is intended for routes serving the North-West.

  6. For media enquiries contact Paddy Cullen at DRD Press Office (028) 9054 0817.

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