Why are the projects needed?
The Dublin to Wicklow section of this line is a critical part of the rail network, with southside DART, Gorey commuter and Rosslare Europort Intercity services operating along this scenic route.In recent years, Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) has seen an increase in the frequency of storm events as result of climate change. This necessitates increased maintenance works to be carried out to respond to the effects of coastal erosion, wave overtopping and coastal flooding on the rail line and supporting infrastructure. These works result in increasing disruption to existing services.
Some areas of the East Coast rail line have seen encroachment through the loss of coast of up to 20-30 metres in the last 10 years alone. This has resulted in large losses in land and habitats, and incursions to such levels that existing infrastructure, in particular the railway line between Dublin and Wicklow, is at real risk of loss to coastal erosion.
The proposed East Coast Railway Infrastructure Protection Projects (ECRIPP) will examine how to protect railway infrastructure at five key locations that run along a 65km route on the east coast. These locations are vulnerable to the impacts of coastal erosion, coastal flooding, wave overtopping and coastal cliff instability that is expected to increase both in frequency and severity in future years as a result of climate change.
The primary focus of these projects is to identify and implement sustainable coastal erosion protection measures to protect the existing railway infrastructure.
ECRIPP enables IÉ to continue to contribute towards the social and economic development along the east coast railway line. The railway is an important asset to enable a better quality of life and more sustainable travel and Iarnród Éireann will continue to invest in long term strategic infrastructure.
The current east coast rail line is fully operational. ECRIPP will mitigate against coastal erosion, extreme weather and coastal flooding to ensure rail connectivity is maintained. Iarnród Éireann will continue to undertake maintenance and remedial works in key areas along the east coast rail line.