NI to receive new state-of-the-art trains

Northern Ireland's rail service to receive a boost next week with the arrival of 23 new state-of-the-art trains.

The first of the new generation, three-carriage trains, which will arrive from Spain, is part of an £80 million investment designed to meet the needs of rail travellers over the next 30 years.

The first trains will go into service on the Belfast-Bangor line and are all expected to be operating within 12 months.

The trains, which will be subjected to a rigorous testing and commissioning programme of up to 16 weeks before entering service, have been described as the safest in the world.

Today's news follows last weeks report by Northern Ireland's bus and rail company, Translink which said that the rail service should be expanded. The report into the future of rail travel in the province said the rail system could be dramatically improved for just an extra few million pounds a year. It said that such an expansion would have social as well as economic benefits for Northern Ireland.

Among the recommendations were trains every ten minutes on the Bangor line in Co Down, and an hourly service to Londonderry.

(MB)