Quote:
Originally Posted by iknowwhereiamgoing
I beleive that the line to Youghal was not officially closed but look at the state of it now!!
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I think that there needs to be a realisation that there has been a régime change. No longer is the situation run by the CIÉ "least resistance route" with a nod and wink from an indifferent department that only really got involved when there was a major problem and a ministerial team that was out for goodies for constituents.
While one can look at the NTA and think, jadedly, that its just a hived off bit of the DoT, one still needs to realise that there is a legally binding contract in place for the first time and that that contract is overseen, not in Dublin, but in Brussels ... and London, Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin where such contracts have been the norm for decades and that operators under such contracts are looking to expand their markets. While yes there are hurdles, the scene has changed utterly in the last 6 months.