Ireland's road and rail networks are set for significant improvements following separate funding announcements today.
The Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen, has said 223 new railway carriages will come into service over the next three years.
And the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, has said the Government is to allocate more than €495 million to improve the non-national road network this year.
The €262m rail contract will be used on suburban and inter-city routes.
The improvements will lead to Ireland having the newest inter-city rail service in Europe by 2008.
A spokesman added that 36 other carriages for suburban routes will come on stream this year to serve links from the capital to Kildare, Drogheda, Maynooth and Leixlip.
67 other carriages, to serve the Dublin to Cork line, will come into operation at the beginning of next year.
A department spokesman said the combined announcement would ensure the number of rail passengers would grow while existing passengers would have a better service.
