NI Tories: We will need better leaders if we are to improve our rail network

The draft report sets out 30 recommendations in total, with many focused on Northern Ireland.

These proposals would see rail return to towns such as Strabane, Omagh, Dungannon and Banbridge.

The proposals however do not come without costs

The estimated costs to Northern Ireland are in the region of £7.7bn over 25 years.

As Conservatives, choice is a core tenant of our philosophy and giving the public and businesses choice of transport is part of that.

For too long Northern Ireland has been corralled down a single choice road and that creates dependencies and risks on motoring infrastructure and driving up costs for road users and the public at large.

Improving the existing rail lines and adding new lines will give us choice and that is good for consumers.

It is better for congestion too and there is therefore a knock-on benefit to our environment. It will create jobs and support industries in the construction process too.

But let's be clear, this is a vision which comes with complex challenges on the engineering and construction sides as well as large costs.

Experience tells us that the Northern Ireland Executive does not have the determination to follow through with tough choices.

They have wasted time and money on deciding not to transform our health system. They continue to waste money by not reforming our divided education system or our woefully slow justice system.

Of course, they have also failed miserably on infrastructure to date.

This report was kicked off by Nicola Mallon as Infrastructure Minister, who dithered on both the York Street interchange and Bangor sea front, harming our economy.

If this vision is to ever see a spade in the ground, we are going to need different leadership in Northern Ireland. Parties who aren’t either trying to crash the economy deliberately to serve their single interest politics or through ignorant identity politics.

Barry Hetherington, Northern Ireland Conservatives