For several years, concerns have been raised about governance failures, spiralling costs, delays, and a lack of delivery of a long-planned IT system to manage the movement of trains across the rail network.
However, it appears that over the coming month key decisions will be taken on the future of the troubled traffic management system (TMS) dubbed by Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien as the “brain of the railway network”.
In April, the chairman of the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee, John Brady of Sinn Féin, described the TMS saga as “a slowly developing shambles”.
O’Brien told the Dáil on June 18th that “decisions on software acceptance and future commissioning phases will be taken in mid-July”.
The Minister said a new IT system was needed but given concerns that €50 million may have been lost, he said: “The manner in which it is being brought about is far from acceptable, and that is putting it mildly.”
