The final cost of renovating Ceannt Station in Galway city is likely to surpass €70 million, well beyond the €50 million first budgeted.
In 2022, before the tender process to appoint a main contractor completed, the estimated cost of upgrading the Victorian rail terminus was €49.68 million, of which €30.98 million comprised construction costs including VAT.
The project’s Final Business Case indicates estimated total project costs immediately soared to €69.51m following the tender process – with a revised estimate of construction costs, including VAT, accounting for €48.12m of this.
Five firms tendered for the project - Sisk, Stewart Construction, Purcell Construction, and JJ Rhatigan - with BAM succeeding after scoring the most competitive on a number of metrics, despite flagging the most expensive delay charges. Media reports in 2023 indicated the value of BAM’s initial contract was €24 million.
All five tenders had total estimated costs, excluding VAT, of between €40 and €43 million; far above the initial estimated cost of €30.98 million (which was inclusive of VAT ).
Documents seen by this newspaper suggest unforeseen construction snags, wildlife concerns and last-minute changes requested by Iarnród Eireann, may result in significant extra project cost overruns of between €500,000 and €2.04 million beyond the €69.51 million bill expected - with a potential headline figure of €71.55 million.
The rail operator said it has requested “no major client changes” as of this week.
Sources close to the project report minor changes have caused cumulative delays, while a protected species of sea gull discovered roosting in crevices when the station’s main, 70-year-old roof was removed, caused up to seven weeks of site delays. A new, statement curved roof of more than 400 glass panels has now been installed, mimicing the original, 1851 canopy removed in the 1960s.
BAM tendered to charge an agreed delay rate of €17,000 per day to facilitate changes in the overhaul of the train terminus, originally due to be finished by July. Irish Rail has now confirmed that Ceannt will be “substantially complete” by late August, with its northern concourse finished by November.
“Statements that there are cost overruns or “secret budgets” for the project are simply untrue,” said Barry Kenny of Irish Rail. “The project remains on budget, set for completion as planned in 2026, and customers are already experiencing some of the benefits of a stunning new landmark station for Galway city which will facilitate service expansion, improved customer facilities and integration with other public transport modes for generations to come.”
Funding for the refresh and expansion of Ceannt Station is 70 per cent funded by the National Transport Agency, with the vast majority of the remainder coming from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s URDF (Urban Regeneration and Development Fund ).
The station is the lynchpin for the entire redevelopment of the the city centre’s Fairgreen and Augustine Hill quarter, with private developers expected to pump €320 million into the largely derelict and underutilised space on the eastern side of Eyre Square.
Public funding for ‘Ceannt Quarter’ is important, as there has been suggestions that cost overruns at the station prompted the NTA to reduce monies earmarked for other projects in Galway city.
In November last year, the NTA pulled €5.5m to match €5.5m in URDF money to transform the defunct Clifden-Galway railway bridge into a state-of-the-art, €14m pedestrian cycle bridge linking Woodquay with the University of Galway, and onward to the Connemara Greenway.
The project received €5.5m through the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF ) in 2020, with the NTA initially agreeing to finance the remaining half of its then estimated cost of €11m. All of this funding – originally earmarked for Galway in 2001 – has now been pulled, although Galway city council has pledged to finance the project to planning stage.
“Questions have to be asked on the costs for the station – the upgrade of which everyone welcomes, and its impact,” said city councillor Alan Cheevers. “What we don’t want in Galway is another National Childrens Hospital-like fiasco.”
