Western Rail Trail welcomes significant greenway funding

A spokesperson for the Western Rail Trail Campaign has welcomed the announcement from the Department of Transport that almost €1 million has been awarded to separate projects along the route to make the whole project happen.

“This is a real landmark day for the campaign,” said Brendan Quinn as county councils around the country were asked to make submissions for funding to bring proposed greenway projects to a ‘ready to go’ stage.

Locally, Galway County Council requested funding for a feasibility study and preliminary planning for The Quiet Man Greenway on the closed railway route from Athenry to the Galway/Mayo border at Milltown and was granted €75,000 to get this project off the ground with a new feasibility study.

Sligo County Council applied for funding to bring a greenway on the closed railway from Collooney to Charlestown on the Sligo/Mayo border to a ‘shovel ready’ stage and was awarded €300,000 to help with this work.

Leitrim County Council applied for similar funding to bring the route from Enniskillen to Sligo to a ‘ready to go’ stage, using the closed Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway. This project was awarded €500,000.

Mr. Quinn noted, however, that Mayo County Council, despite 'huge public support' for the greenway on the closed railway in the county, has yet to apply for any funding to build a greenway from Charlestown to Milltown. The Mayo section of the Western Rail Trail would link the projects using the closed railway in Galway, Sligo and Leitrim to create Ireland’s longest greenway.

While Mr. Quinn of the Western Rail Trail – an alliance of community-based campaign groups in Galway, Mayo and Sligo campaigning to preserve the alignment of the closed rail line from Athenry to Collooney by utilising the route for tourism and leisure as a greenway until such time as a railway may be possible – has welcomed the grants to each of the county councils who applied for funding, he said he couldn't understand why Mayo County Council is 'lagging behind'.

He stated: “This project is clearly an open goal when it comes to funding and has full support from the Department of Transport and regional planners.

“In the most recent regional plans from the North West Regional Authority, the route is clearly identified as a potential greenway project and is fully supported in the regional spatial economic strategies.

“The fact the Department of Transport has granted all this funding to utilise the route as a greenway in counties Galway, Sligo and Leitrim clearly shows departmental thinking on the future use of this route.

“We really hope Mayo County Council will be allowed to make a late entry in this project, otherwise we could end up with the situation in which a greenway terminates in Charlestown coming down from Enniskillen and another greenway terminates in Milltown coming up from Galway, and Mayo County Council and people living in east Mayo will be left looking at a rusting closed railway line just because the council will not apply for funding for a project that has government support.

“In the meantime, we congratulate the forward thinking councils of Galway, Sligo and Leitrim in seizing this opportunity and urge all Mayo councillors to ensure that the county plays ‘catch up’ as a matter of urgency.”