Green Party Senator, Mal O'Hara, welcomed the investment of €165 million in cross-border rail services between Belfast and Dublin.

The PEACEPLUS programme aims to upgrade the transportation service by introducing brand new trains and improving journey times to under two hours.

Senator O'Hara said that the investment will contribute to net zero ambitions whilst showing "the level of Green ambition to revitalise rail for this century".

Welcoming the new funding, Senator O'Hara stated: "This is a hugely important announcement for our Shared Island.

"Intercity travel has for too long been dominated by a presumption of private car travel. The ambition to reduce journey times and enhance and electrify the fleet means that more and more people they will be able to choose rail as their method of travel between Belfast and Dublin. We have seen a Green Transport Minister in the Republic change departmental priorities of spend in favour of public transport and I hope to see similar bravery from a Northern Transport Minister so we can live the ambition of the All-Island Rail Review.

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"Being able to get an affordable sustainable transport option to travel between cities is so important. It reduces stress and time lost in commute, means that you don’t have to pay for parking or worry about congestion. In 2022, Belfast was the 5th worst congested city in the UK which greater access to intercity travel can help reduce. Congestion means lost hours of productivity for business, it means commuters frustratingly stuck in soulless commutes everyday and it means that residents of Belfast and Dublin experience polluted air. This announcement sets out the ambition to make that step-change."