Liam Quaide: East Cork is stuck in traffic — the train is the way out

Chronic congestion, uneven growth and climate targets all point to one conclusion: East Cork urgently needs rail connectivity restored, writes Liam Quaide

Despite being firmly in favour of cycleways, it struck me as gravely short-sighted to tarmac over this rail corridor for a recreational amenity when East Cork’s transport system was increasingly seized up with traffic. Picture Dan Linehan

My entry into politics was shot through with irony. In May 2018, I organised a public meeting in the Walter Raleigh Hotel on the need to reinstate the Youghal-Midleton rail link. I was, unusually, a Green Party election candidate arguing against a proposed greenway along the rail corridor between those towns — the only local representative to take that position.

Despite being firmly in favour of cycleways, it struck me as gravely short-sighted to tarmac over this rail corridor for a recreational amenity when East Cork’s transport system was increasingly seized up with traffic. The greenway risked scuppering any hope of restoring a key infrastructural link that would transform mobility and enhance economic opportunity in Youghal and its surrounding areas.