Transport investment is particularly expensive. And two points are emerging in Ireland. First, some facilities are significantly overcapacity. Second, there isn’t enough capacity in areas set to grow as the price of carbon emissions rise: the failure to adequately price carbon emissions links both.

During 2009 freight by road and rail each fell by 12 per cent while car traffic on national routes declined somewhere in the region of 2 – 4 per cent, with final figures awaited from the National Roads Authority.

Viewed against the road plans formulated between 2002 and 2008, which rested on the continuation of year-on-year growth, these falls are significant.

For the fourth river crossing under the Shannon at Limerick, due to open later this year, the National Roads Authority envisaged traffic growth in excess of 10 per cent during 2010. Under the public private partnership contract used on this project, the taxpayer, through the NRA, will need to make additional payments to the tunnel operator if traffic passing under the Shannon falls short of projected levels. A similar arrangement is in place on the M3, also due for completion shortly. (more…)