The EU Commissioner for Transport, Mr Neil Kinnock, has said that a combination of a surface light-rail system, coupled with a toll on private vehicles, presents the best long-term option for tackling Dublin's chronic traffic congestion.
His remarks in Dublin yesterday run contrary to the Government's plans for Luas, which involve an underground railway from Harcourt Street on the southside of the city to Broadstone on the northside.
Mr Kinnock had discussions with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mrs O'Rourke. He described the Government's decision this week to seek regionalisation in order to maximise EU structural funding as "the obvious course to take" in terms of "necessary strategic intelligence".
Meanwhile, in order to alleviate traffic clogging in the city, it was necessary to introduce "push and pull policies", Mr Kinnock said. "Anti-car policies" were achieving "damn all", he said. Dublin faced two options - a surface rail system, backed up by some kind of pricing system in the city centre, or an underground system also supported by a levy on vehicles. Mr Kinnock said he believed a surface rail project and a charge for vehicles would probably be best in the long run.
With a 40 per cent increase in road traffic predicted between now and 2012, a change of attitude to Europe's rail system was required or the result would be "devastating", he said. Thirty-two per cent of freight was carried by rail in 1970 but that had dropped to 14 per cent today.