West on Track welcome rail corridor reopening recommendation
WEST on Track has warmly welcomed the news that the next stage of the Western Rail Corridor, linking Mayo and Galway, is recommended for reopening in the All-Island Strategic Rail Review.
Speaking on Newstalk , Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan stressed the importance of developing rail to achieve balanced regional development and highlighted the contribution that the Western Rail Corridor can make in achieving that objective.
A spokesperson for West on Track paid tribute to the minister and said the reopening will represent a major delivery of key infrastructure as part of the Atlantic Economic Corridor and provide a huge boost for the western region.
He expected that the railway would reopen for both freight and for passengers.
Said the spokeperson: “This is an existing railway, fully in public ownership, and is a shovel-ready project. It is listed as a short-term project in today’s report.
“Last December the government succeeded in having the Athenry-Claremorris link included in the EU’s Comprehensive Ten-T network and people in the west will expect to see appropriate initial funding being made available to initiate the work of restoring the line without delay. An implementation strategy, currently being developed in association with the EIB, is due to be published shortly.
“Congestion in the regional capital of Galway has already reached crisis proportions so re-opening the Galway-Mayo rail link for passengers and freight will have a major positive impact. This is strongly supported by Galway City and County Councils and by Mayo County Council. It will make an enormous difference to places like Tuam and Claremorris, allowing people to commute easily into their local city for work, business and medical appointments, etc., and even allowing many students to travel in and out to college while living at home, representing a massive saving in accommodation fees.
“This next phase of the Western Rail Corridor can be made operational within 3-4 years, linking Tuam, Westport, Ballina, Castlebar and Claremorris to Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford and is the only shovel-ready infrastructural project for the west that can be initiated without delay. Once work is under way on bringing the railway to Mayo we expect the next phase to Sligo to then become the focus for subsequent development.
“As Minister Ryan said, taking people out of cars and attracting them to public transport is critical for the sustainable development of this country. This is why phase one of the WRC has succeeded so dramatically in the past few years, making it the fastest growing rail route in the country.
“We are confident that the restored Mayo-Galway rail link will have a similar impact, as well as facilitating direct freight flows to the south for the first time in over 20 years.”