Rail electrification in Northern Ireland is among the projects awarded UK government funding to boost transport connectivity.
Public transport provider Translink has been awarded £3.3 million (€3.8m) for a study on the cost, feasibility and value for money of electrifying the railway between Belfast and the border.
The announcement follows a review of the UK's transport links by Network Rail Chairman John Hendy.
The report, published in November 2021, was commissioned by then British prime minister Boris Johnson to include the feasibility of building a bridge or tunnel between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The study found a bridge would cost £335 billion (€390bn), while a tunnel would require a budget of around £209 billion (€244bn).
Either project "would be impossible to justify" as "the benefits could not possibly outweigh the costs", the report concluded.
