Cross-border rail services between Belfast and Dublin are set to benefit from a £141.9m investment.
The investment is part of the Peace Plus initiative which funds projects in Northern Ireland and border counties.
The funding will support a major programme aimed at providing an hourly service between Belfast and Dublin.
As part of this all existing Enterprise trains are to be replaced with brand new trains by the end of this decade leading to faster journey times.
Funding is also being provided by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) in Northern Ireland and the Department of Transport in the Republic of Ireland.
Jointly operated by Northern Ireland Railways and Iarnród Éireann, the Enterprise train service has provided a transport link between Belfast and Dublin for over 75 years.
The funding will see the current fleet of four train sets replaced with eight newer and more sustainable sets.
These new trains will reduce journey times to one hour and 55 minutes between the two cities.
The procurement process for the new train-sets is expected to be completed over the next year.
They are expected to be in operation from 2029.
Designed to run on electric and battery power for part of the route, there will be the option to convert them to fully electric in future…
