Cross-border rail services are to be enhanced with a €165 million boost in funding from the European Union.

Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland's Translink say they welcome the funding from the Special EU Programme Body, Peace Plus.

The entire Enterprise fleet, which travels between Dublin and Belfast, will be replaced with brand new trains by the end of the decade.

Existing four train sets will be replaced with eight new, modern and sustainable train sets reducing journey time between the cities to under two hours, improving accessibility and passenger experience.

The new trains will also support the goal of net zero carbon emissions as both jurisdictions move towards a fully electrified rail corridor.

'Significant investment'

The funding follows the recent announcement from the Government of €25 million to provide for an hourly Enterprise train service under the Shared Island Initiative which is set for launch later this year.

Iarnród Éireann CEO Jim Meade said the changes will allow more people than ever to use the service.

“Iarnród Éireann and Translink are hugely ambitious to grow and develop the Enterprise service," he said.

"That ambition is now supported by this significant investment from SEUPB (Special EU Programme Body) to help deliver a transformative new fleet.

"This will enable more people than ever to travel sustainably along the Enterprise route and contribute to our economy, society and environment," he added.

Passengers boarding the Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast, 22-3-16. Image: Radharc Images / Alamy

Translink CEO Chris Conway said the investment is a tremendous opportunity for growth.

"Approximately 3.3 million people live within a 40-mile commute distance from the Belfast–Dublin railway corridor," he said.

"This is projected to grow to over 4 million by 2030 and represents around half of the island’s population.

"Development of the Enterprise service is key to building competitiveness and in the creation of close links and communications between the people and communities living and working in and between the two main cities on the corridor," he added.

The Enterprise train service recorded over one million passenger journeys in 2022.

Peace Plus is a cross-border funding programme supported by the EU, Irish and British Governments and the Northern Ireland Administration.

Main image: An Enterprise train from Belfast at Dublin's Connolly Station, 5-4-19. Image: David Broadbent / Alamy