Iarnród Éireann is receiving nearly €22m to lead two projects aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change.
Two Irish projects and three multi-country projects involving Irish organisations have been approved to receive more than €26m in EU funding to develop transport infrastructure.
Funding from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Transport will be invested into projects that aim to improve Ireland’s transport connectivity, sustainability and digitise transport systems.
CEF Transport is the EU funding instrument that supports the development of the trans-European transport network (T-ENT) by modernising railways, inland waterways and maritime routes.
The latest CEF funding round is giving out nearly €2.8bn to more than 90 transport projects, with nearly 80pc of all funding going towards rail transport.
Iarnród Éireann, or Irish Rail, is receiving nearly €22m to lead two projects. Of these, project Green Drift, with funding of €19.2m, will be developing emission-reducing port infrastructure, including developing berths and roll-on roll-off ramps at Co Wexford’s Rosslare Europort.
The project will also develop onshore power supply in France’s Dunkirk, as well as in Rosslare. In addition, Irish rail will upgrading Rosslare Europort to accommodate larger vessels and install on-shore power connections for vessels on the Dunkirk-to-Rosslare route.
The work is aimed at addressing the transport infrastructure’s resilience and adaptation to climate change.
Another project led by Irish rail, ECRIPP (East Coat Railway Infrastructure Protection Project) received €2.7m to support research studying the mitigation measures needed to protect a 65km length of coastal railway between Dublin and Rosslare from erosion and flooding caused by climate change.
The project hopes to reduce vulnerabilities, ensure stronger connectivity and contribute to safe mobility along the east coast line which lies on Ireland’s section of T-ENT.
In addition, three multi-country consortium projects which include Irish partners have also received funding from the EU. This includes ‘Clean ATM 3’, which will help implement air traffic management functionalities.
While project ‘ATN Multilink Expansion in European Airspace’ will modernise European air traffic management infrastructure.
Another project called ‘Verkko’ will be deploying cooperative intelligent transport systems in 12 countries to improve sustainable mobility and digital traffic management system. Transport Infrastructure Ireland is one of its participants.
“These projects were selected from 265 applications across Europe, showing their contribution to the continued development of the Trans-European Transport Network in Ireland,” said Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien, TD.
“This is the backbone of our European Single Market. These projects will pave the way for our delivery of a more resilient, competitive and sustainable transport system.”
While Seán Canney, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, said: “As Minister of State with responsibility for international and road transport, logistics, rail and ports, I am particularly pleased to see Iarnród Éireann and Rosslare Europort’s success under the 2024 CEF call.
“As an island nation, it is crucial that we support this increase in activity by building resilience and sustainability into our ports, as the Green Drift project will aim to achieve.”
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