Train Management Contract - Finally A Way Forward
July 16 2026
After much indecision it has been finally confirmed that Irish Rail can now proceed to terminate the failed TMS Indra contract.
Serious questions must be asked as to the management of the TMS program, especially why the contract was not terminated when Indra withdrew the product (DaVinci v2) which was the basis of the tender award in favour of an unbuilt, unproven solution. This v3 system is still not in service anywhere.
RUI has seen some internal testing reports and follow up workshops which show Indra did not incorporate use of Irish Rail's signaling control tables in its software, relying on its generic algorithms instead which encountered major issues in certain safety critical scenarios. This appears to have been the final straw.
The involvement of the NTA must also be questioned. The NTA in 2011 blocked Irish Rail's first attempt to build a new control centre and at various stages expanded the scope of the project to include unrelated matters, e.g. Garda control centre and Dublin City Traffic control, this inflated the total cost and timeline of the project which makes the cost of the Irish Rail element larger than it was. The NTA has minimal competency in railway engineering, signalling or operations. The NTA reporting was noticeably more positive than the internal Irish Rail reporting which was looking for a plan B in 2024.
While much is made of 50 million written off, liquidated damages and legal action may recover some of this, the passenger cost from these delays is likely worth much more.
The TMS promised a reduction in delays network wide. The TMS monitors progress of all trains and intervenes during delays to return service to schedule, in the case of major delays it would offer options to recover service. Based on deployments elsewhere a reduction of 15-25% in delay minutes per incident could be expected. So fewer delays, delays shorter when they happen.
The continuing lack of accurate real-time information, some parts of the country have no real-time information at all such as Mallow-Tralee/Cork/Cobh/Midelton, Athlone-Westport, Greystones-Rosslare, Limerick-Athenry. On routes with real-time information it fails to provide accurate information when delays occur a train can go from on time to 30 minutes late in a matter of minutes. With the TMS real time information is based on the simulations and predictions of the TMS so reflects the live plan not the timetable.
The current control centre is outdated and unsuitable for current needs. The control systems have become increasingly unreliable. Despite upgrades is still a 2004 system. A failure on May 29th shutdown services during the morning peak for 40 minutes. The frequency of these breakdowns will increase. A major risk is when changes occur to the infrastructure, there is a long list of projects in Dublin, Cork and Galway underway or pending, each change made is a risk.
We welcome the proposal to appoint a contractor to provide a replacement signalling control system which is likely Siemens. This draws a line in the failed TMS project in favour of a vendor who can supply everything from the trackside to the control centre technology proven in other countries. Irish Rail has a framework agreement with Siemens for signalling equipment, the Irish Rail journey planner and App is provided by Hacon a Siemens owned company. This provides confidence in integration.
Recent total system failures
Suburban - November 28, 2024, several failures back to back starting at 6:45pm
Mainline - October 27, 2025, failure at 1:30pm
Mainline - March 22, 2026, failure at 2:30pm
Suburban - May 29, 2026, failure at 8:35am
Mainline is Inchicore to Mallow/Athlone/Athy/Limerick/Tipperary Town
Suburban is Bray Head to Connolly to Dundalk/Howth/Docklands/Sligo (but not Clonsilla).