Ceannt Station upgrade costs remain bang on track

And the National Transport Authority (NTA) has weighed into the debate to confirm that the project remained on track to be delivered within budget – and by mid-2026.

Management of Galway City Council dropped a bombshell last week when claiming that the budget for the revamp of the rail station had ‘significantly over-run’, a scenario that was labelled a ‘disgrace’ by a former Mayor of Galway.

Director of Services Derek Pender announced at a City Central local area committee meeting on Thursday that monies earmarked for other transport projects in the city were being diverted to cover unspecified cost over-runs at Ceannt Station.

He was responding to former Mayor, City Councillor Eddie Hoare (FG), who sought clarity about whether the rail project – being delivered by BAM, developers of the National Children’s Hospital – was over-budget.

But in a statement to the City Tribune, Irish Rail denied there was a cost over-run, and this was backed up by statements from the NTA and Galway City Council.

Another co-funder of the project, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage also insisted Ceannt Station was within budget.

“There is no cost overrun whatsoever in the Ceannt Station project. It remains on budget and on target for a summer 2026 opening,” said Barry Kenny, communications manager for Iarnród Éireann.

“The confirmed budget from all sources, including NTA and URDF (Urban Regeneration and Development Fund) funding is €69.5 million. We understand that what may be referred to (by Mr Pender and Cllr Hoare) is allocation within the URDF funding envelope for a range of projects in the Galway City Council area, but again, the (Ceannt Station) project remains 100% on budget for the approved programme,” added Mr Kenny.

The Department of Transport is a co-funder through the NTA.

“The project remains on track to be delivered within the budget approved in the Final Business Case and construction work is expected to be substantially complete by middle of 2026,” the NTA said.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is supporting the Ceannt Station redevelopment through the URDF.

One tranche of URDF funding allocated €39.44 million to Galway City Council for four Transport Connectivity projects. These included Ceannt Station regeneration, Galway City cycle network, access to the planned new town of Ardaun, and the Clifden Railway pedestrian and cycle bridge at Woodquay, the final leg of the proposed Connemara Greenway.

At last week’s Council meeting, Mr Pender suggested monies within this allocation had been diverted from three of the four projects – including the greenway bridge – to fund cost over-runs in Ceannt Station. This was labelled a “disgrace” by Councillor Hoare.

But in a carbon copy of the NTA statement, a spokesperson for the Department said: “The project is currently projected to be delivered within the budget approved in the Final Business Case and construction work is expected to be substantially complete by middle of 2026.”

This was echoed by Galway City Council. “The project is currently projected to be delivered within the budget approved in the Final Business Case and construction work is expected to be substantially complete by middle of 2026,” a Council spokesperson said on Tuesday of this week.

Reacting this week, Councillor Hoare said if the project was to be delivered for the budgeted-for €70m, then the NTA should clarify why more of the City Council’s URDF allocation was being used for Ceannt Station, to the detriment of other projects in that round of funding. He said he would seek further clarity on costings and funding drawdowns to date.

Pictured: Progress: work continues apace on the overhaul of Ceannt Station.