By Emma Ryan
THE news that Donegal is set to be included in the national rail network has been cautiously welcomed as a move that will ‘change lives’ in the county.
Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan could be connected to the national rail network for the first time in decades under new proposals in the All-Island rail review which is set to be published later this month.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan previously said the national plan would contain proposals for a new line to serve Donegal for the first time since the 1960s, and the route proposed could run from the existing Dublin-Belfast line at Portadown, through Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane, Letterkenny and on to Derry.
Mr Ryan has confirmed that he will be bringing a memo to Cabinet in the coming weeks.
While the news has been widely welcomed, campaigner for Better Transport Richard Logue said it is not time to pop the champagne just yet.
“This is fantastic news but we will put the celebrations on hold as we are not yet aware of the timescale for this.
“We still don’t know how long it will be before we see this happening but it needs to be made a priority.
“Can you imagine the difference a railway line would make to the lives of people in Donegal? It would be incredible and Eamon Ryan has already described it as a game changer.
“With Letterkenny and the North West City Region, this would bring further investment and improve the economy of the entire region,” said Mr Logue.
The All-Island Rail Review is set to be published in the coming weeks and Mr Logue hopes the plan will include a time scale for the major project.
He said the procurement of land for the railway line will be expensive and time consuming.
“We do not expect the routes to follow the old lines and the procurement of land could hold up the process. However, there is a number of infrastructure projects which are ongoing such as the Ten T project where the railway could be included.
“While they are preparing for the dual carriageway, they could also set land aside for the railway line and could look at places where these projects are being done that the railway line could go alongside,” said Mr Logue.
Mr Logue also added he would like to see a link included further down the country through Sligo, Galway and Limerick. He believes the lack of rail infrastructure has held Donegal back, but the new proposals could make the county less car dependent.
“We are starting from scratch up here and this will open up the entire country to us,” he said.
“We are so car dependent here in Donegal and there is no incentive for people to get out of their cars so it will take something major to change that. This is why the railway line is so important. We used to have one of the longest and most wide spread rail networks in Europe but now we have nothing and that has held Donegal back.”
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