Green light for opening of Western Rail route

THE Government is set to give the green light to the Western Rail Corridor from Ennis to Sligo after a report yesterday recommended it be re-opened on a phased basis.

The Working Group on the Western Rail Corridor said the most viable section of the 114-mile railway was the 51-mile section from Ennis in Co Clare to Athenry and Tuam in Co Galway.

It would cost around €110 million to re-open, as opposed to €365m for the project as a whole.

“It would create a rail link between the four largest cities outside Dublin; Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Cork and thus implement a major objective of the National Spatial Strategy,” the report said.

At the launch in Castlebar, Co Mayo, Transport Minister Martin Cullen said he was committed to re-opening the railway.

“I want to be clear, as the Taoiseach and a number of my Government colleagues have been, that the Western Rail Corridor has serious merit and offers serious benefit,” he said.

He added that the report would be sent to the Cabinet, which is currently finalising a long-term transport investment plan.

The West on Track Group, which has campaigned for the re-opening of the line, said it was optimistic that the decision would be favourable.

“There are 250 people attending this conference from all over the West of Ireland and that in itself has sent a message to the Government. This is a project which makes sense to the whole community spectrum - tourism, industry and ordinary people,” said a spokesman.

Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Eamon Ó Cuiv said the working group’s report was a very positive step forward.

“I am firmly convinced that this train is ready to leave the station,” he said.

The working group on the Western Rail Corridor was set up by former Transport Minister Seamus Brennan in response to a lobbying campaign by the West on Track group.

Examining other sections of the Western Rail Corridor, it found the 17-mile line from Tuam to Claremorris in Co Mayo would cost almost €59m and around €197m for the 46 miles from Claremorris to Collooney in Sligo.

“Expenditure of this order would be very difficult to justify and the case for its restoration is weak except on the grounds of balanced regional development,” the report said.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny TD, who attended the conference, said afterwards that the Government should take a risk and provide the infrastructure beforehand which would lead to an increased demand for rail services.