Irish Rail writes down 50M after train IT project goes off the rails

Irish Rail has reduced the carrying value of a troubled train traffic management system by €50 million in its 2025 accounts. The system was intended to modernize nationwide train movement control as part of the National Train Control Centre project. After years of delays and technical concerns, confidence has fallen that the system can be delivered and rolled out as originally planned. The project’s cost and timeline have shifted from an initial expectation of under €20 million and a launch the previous year. The issue has drawn attention from Ireland’s Public Accounts Committee, where lawmakers criticized the slow spending and questioned governance, ministerial oversight, and financial control. Concerns also extend to potential impacts on rail expansion plans.

"Irish Rail has now reportedly reduced the carrying value of the asset by €50 million in its 2025 accounts, after years of delays, technical concerns, and apparent doubts over whether contractor Indra can deliver a workable system at all. The system was initially expected to cost less than €20 million and launch last year, before the usual gravitational forces affecting large public sector IT projects took hold."

"The State-owned rail operator no longer has confidence the new Traffic Management System can be rolled out across Ireland's rail network as originally planned, according to reporting by The Irish Times. The system was supposed to modernize how train movements are managed nationwide as part of the wider National Train Control Centre project. Instead, the project has become the latest addition to Ireland's increasingly crowded museum of expensive state IT mishaps."

"John Brady, chair of Ireland's Public Accounts Committee, called the situation "quite simply unbelievable" and questioned how the project had been allowed to "slowly drift, with more and more public money being spent every single day." Brady also warned the failure could have broader implications for Ireland's rail expansion plans, raising "massive questions about the governance, ministerial oversight and financial control in place on the project.""

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