Public sector
State-owned operator loses confidence in delayed traffic management system as politicians compare Ireland’s latest public-sector IT fiasco to 'Groundhog Day'
Irish Rail has quietly written off €50 million on a troubled train traffic management system that now appears headed for the same graveyard as many ambitious public-sector IT projects before it.The State-owned rail operator no longer has confidence the new Traffic Management System can be rolled out across Ireland’s rail network as originally planned, according to reporting by The Irish Times. The system was supposed to modernize how train movements are managed nationwide as part of the wider National Train Control Centre project.Instead, the project has become the latest addition to Ireland’s increasingly crowded museum of expensive state IT mishaps.
Irish Rail has now reportedly reduced the carrying value of the asset by €50 million in its 2025 accounts, after years of delays, technical concerns, and apparent doubts over whether contractor Indra can deliver a workable system at all.
The system was initially expected to cost less than €20 million and launch last year, before the usual gravitational forces affecting large public sector IT projects took hold.
