a) The Department of Transport has developed a High Speed Rail (HSR) Framework following the adoption of the White Paper on National Rail Policy by Cabinet on 23 March 2022. Drawing its policy direction from the National Rail Policy, the draft HSR Framework provides the foundation for the prioritisation of HSR corridors in the country. Following approval of the draft HSR Framework by Cabinet and the securing of the required funding, feasibility studies will be undertaken on prioritised HSR corridors. The outcome of feasibility studies on priority corridors will determine the estimated cost of implementing HSR on a specific priority corridor.
b) See response in (a).