New rail link brings hope of better days ahead

THE sun shone as the crowd gathered and at 12.46pm the mass assembly heaved with shouts of glee and clapping as the first scheduled train in 46 years tooted its way into Midleton railway station last Thursday.

It was a very happy day for Midletonians and some who remembered the service to Cork from a previous generation were close to tears. It is the first major extension to the national railway system in more than a century and press and TV crews were assembled to record the fruits of the Government’s investment of €75m. The rail link follows the recent opening of Midleton’s northern relief road at a cost of €36m.

Let’s hope that prosperity follows these developments and that Midleton will continue to grow.