A proposed Irish Rail network expansion could be affected by a failed €50million IT project, which recent testing found was ‘demonstrably not suitable’ for rollout in Ireland.

Irish Rail and the National Transport Authority (NTA) went before the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee on Thursday to be questioned about why so much money was spent on a project that will not be delivered.

After initial proposals, the rail traffic management system was set to be commissioned for €19.5million in 2024.

Pic: Getty Images
A proposed Irish Rail network expansion could be affected by a failed €50million IT project. Pic: Getty Images

The IT project was planned to regulate train movements across Ireland, described as the ‘critical component’ in the broader National Train Control Centre (NTCC) project by the NTA.

The new NTCC is currently under development at Heuston Station and will replace the existing Central Traffic Control Centre at Connolly Station.

The system’s contractor is Spanish-based Indra Group, which was given the contract in 2020.

Pic: Anton_Ivanov/Shutterstock
The new NTCC is currently under development at Heuston Station. Pic: Anton Ivanov/Shutterstock

Members of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee were set to hear on Thursday that the system’s most recent testing in June ‘definitively confirmed that Indra will not achieve’ its key milestones.

Irish Rail’s opening statement read: ‘Six years on, and two years after the original commissioning date, Indra still do not have a developed product fit and safe for deployment on our rail network.’

They continued: ‘The project has reached a point where Iarnród Éireann has no certainty as to when the contractor will fulfil its contractual obligations, and no confidence in its ability to do so, despite the extensive and continuing efforts of Iarnród Éireann and the National Transport Authority.’

Irish rail
The NTA were also set to tell the committee that it is ‘rightly concerned about the write-down reported by Iarnród Éireann’ and the project’s delays. Pic: Mark Gusev/Shutterstock

The NTA were also set to tell the committee that it is ‘rightly concerned about the write-down reported by Iarnród Éireann’ and the project’s delays.

Anne Shaw, head of the NTA, stated: ‘Let me be clear: the NTA takes these issues extremely seriously. Protecting public funds and ensuring value for money are central to our assessment of all requests and recommendations from sponsoring agencies.’

The committee was told that Irish Rail and the NTA engaged extensively with Indra to try and progress the project.

However, the NTA said that the evidence indicates that the system will not be delivered within a reasonable time frame and an alternative delivery approach is needed.