New Heuston Station control centre faces further delays and cost overrun

Seán McCárthaigh

A new centre in Dublin developed by Iarnród Éireann to control all train movements on the national rail network which was completed in 2022 will not become operational until late 2028 and is projected to cost €41 million over budget.

Further delays and cost overruns on the development of a National Train Control Centre (NTCC) at Heuston Station and a new train traffic management system have been confirmed by the National Transport Authority.

The NTA admitted that “additional funding will be required to support the completion of the project."

The State’s public spending watchdog has also forecast that the total cost of the project, which had an original budget of €148 million, is now likely to be €189 million.

In a report on the NTA’s annual financial statements for 2024, the Comptroller and Auditor General observed that the estimated cost overrun is now 28% over the original budget.

The C&AG, Seamus McCarthy, also noted that the proposal by Iarnród Éireann to develop the NTCC was first approved by the NTA in July 2019.

The project included the construction of a new train control centre building at Heuston Station, the refurbishment of the existing central train control centre at Connolly Station, and the development of a new electronic train traffic management system and back-up facility.

In its latest annual report, the NTA said expenditure on the NTCC had increased by €9.5 million last year compared to 2023 due to “additional expenditures incurred in 2024 on equipment, materials and project management resources.”

While the NTA said it performed in the role of approving authority for public transport projects, the delivery of the NTCC is the responsibility of Iarnród Éireann as the designated sponsoring agency.

The NTA said total expenditure on the project up to the end of December 2024 has been €132.5 million.

In addition to the completion of the new centre at Heuston Station in 2022, the NTA said signalling, electrical and telecommunications enabling works were progressing “on time and budget.”

However, it confirmed that the delays had been experienced over the past two years in relation to the development of the traffic management system component of the project.

“As a result, while the remaining element of the project is planned to be delivered on a phased basis, the final phase is forecasted to be delayed by two years to May 2028,” the NTA stated.

Last year, the NTA had estimated that the project would be completed by May 2026.

The C&AG said final acceptance and handover of the complete system including the back-up facilities are now expected in November 2028 due to “a significant delay” over the development of the train traffic management system.

The NTA said Iarnród Éireann had agreed a revised delivery strategy and associated contractual changes to the software element of the project last year in order to address the delays.

In a letter to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee last month, the NTA’s interim chief executive, Hugh Creegan, said the current train control system in use on the Irish rail network was reaching end of life and had become “challenging to maintain.”

Mr Creegan stressed that the costs for the building works and other elements of the programme had been and were being delivered within their projected budgets.

He told TDs that the contractor for the train traffic management system has replaced some key personnel and brought a significant number of additional resources to the project to provide further experience and expertise to the delivery of a complex system.

In addition, Mr Creegan said Iarnród Éireann has enhanced its project management resources to deliver better oversight of the contractor and for monitoring progress.

The new NTCC building also houses a new control centre for An Garda Síochána in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.

It will also be the location for a new control centre for regional road traffic being overseen by Dublin City Council which is expected to be operational in mid-2026

The Minister for Transport, Darragh O’Brien told the Oireachtas Transport Committee in June that the expected cost outturn for the NTCC was expected to be between €170 and €200 million.

“It is a very important piece of infrastructure. It is something we are working on with the NTA and Iarnród Éireann to get under the bonnet on that,” said Mr O’Brien.