While they are talking about quick wins, one thing I have often thought would make a lot of sense on the Sligo line as a quick win would be to run 2x3 22K sets as far as Longford or Mullingar and have half of it turn back to Dublin allowing you double the frequency and capacity to Longford although this would be a push on a single line.
The report notes that the loadings on the Sligo line past Longford are extremely low. I would say very few trains run more than 50% full past Mullingar.
Another major omission to me is that there is very little attention paid to the possibility of massive increase in oil prices. Car-based commuting from Mullingar or further has become decreasingly viable over the last five years due to the increase in fuel prices. It is only a matter of time before 2 euro per litre diesel happens and at that point, a car trip from Sligo starts to get less viable than the train. What happens if there is 3 euro diesel? At that point, a billion euro motorway is a white elephant while a similar sum invested in a dual track electrified rail system become a sensible investment. It is more than 50% likely that diesel will cost greater than 3 euro per litre inflation-adjusted by 2030.
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