Córas Iompair éireann

Córas Iompair éireann (CIE), established by the Transport Act of 1944, the result of a merger of the Great Southern railway and the Dublin United Tramway Company. CIE also absorbed many of the smaller bus companies, a process that was eventually to lead to state monopoly. It inherited a rail system dogged by soaring coal prices and wage demands, old stock, unprofitable lines, and a dwindling number of customers due to competition from road transport. The government stipulated that CIE become self‐financing and at the same time perform the social service of keeping open non‐commercial routes. These contradictory requirements led to repeated overhauls, but in practice political and social considerations have forced successive governments to subsidize CIE to a considerable degree. Under the Transport Act of 1950, CIE absorbed the Grand and Royal canal companies. In 1953 the government approved a programme of railway modernization, including the change‐over to diesel. In 1958 southern lines owned by the Great Northern Railway Company became part of CIE. Under the 1986 Transport Act, CIE became a state‐owned holding company, with three highly autonomous subsidiaries, Iarnród Éireann, Bus Éireann, and Bus Átha Cliath.

Peter Collins