Assembly Written Question 18018/17-22

To ask the Minister for Infrastructure what assessment has been made in regards to the electrification of the Larne railway line.

Answer: As Infrastructure Minister, I have made addressing climate change one of my key priorities. I am focused on delivering clean public transport, however the cost of delivering a full decarbonisation of our bus and rail network will be significant.

To date, there has been no assessment to electrify the Larne railway line as this is a decision that needs to be taken strategically across the whole rail network. To that end, I can confirm that the recently announced All Island Strategic Rail review will consider the decarbonisation of the rail network on the island of Ireland.

In addition Translink's ambition is to decarbonise the public transport fleet by 2040 and is undertaking the necessary feasibility studies to examine this issue. Any decision to decarbonise the rail network will therefore need to be taken on a strategic basis considering the technologies available and the funding required at that time.