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Infrastructure, Public Utilities and Spatial Developmentaddress projected growth in traffic through a combination ofinvestment in infrastructure and demand management measures toreduce the relative attraction of commuting by car, thereby reducingtraffic congestion. Investment and other measures to address trafficcongestion in the GDA are discussed further below.Investment in mainline rail is by far the largest element of theregional public transport strategy and incorporates both a rail safetyprogramme and rail renewal and upgrading. The level of investmenthas increased substantially since the publication of the NDP andnow stands at over €1.05 billion on rail safety and €396 million forupgrading. While expenditure is on target with regard to rail safety,only 43 per cent of the money allocated for upgrading in 2000/2001has been spent (NDP/CSF Evaluation Unit, 2002a). The reviewestablished to examine the future of Iarnród Éireann made recommendationson changing governance, rolling stock, fares structureand policies for handling peak traffic. The review recognised thatthe core business of Iarnród Éireann was passenger transport andthat the purpose of most of the Government’s investment andexpansion in renewal and expansion of rail services was to improvepassenger transport. The Council believes that ongoing developmentof mainline rail can make an important contribution to thedelivery of a viable system of public transport on both inter-city andsuburban routes. A high-quality rail system can greatly enhancenational well-being and is an indispensable factor in an advancedeconomy and society. Consequently, the Council welcome thedecision to undertake a Strategic Rail Review and looks forward toits conclusions.The NDP also includes investment in public transport in the maincities (€63 million). This focuses on the upgrading of bus services inLimerick, Galway and Waterford, while in Cork the commuter railservice is also being upgraded. The NDP also provides forinvestment in regional bus services outside the five main cities andthe renewal and expansion of the Bus Éireann fleet.A detailed report on progress on NDP infrastructure projects is9. The GDA covers Dublin City and County as well as Meath, Kildare andWicklow.491