European support for Western Rail Corridor

“The Western Rail Corridor will enhance the development of all the north-west region of Ireland,” Portuguese MEP Paulo Roberto do Nascimento Cabral, said, at a meeting in Athenry last week.

The MEP was part of a delegation visiting Galway, on a fact-finding mission facilitated by Midlands North West MEPS, Ciaran Mullooly and Maria Walsh – both of whom were in attendance. The visiting group was led by MEP Ľubica Karvašová – a Slovakian member and included Raúl de la Hoz Quintano, a member of the parliament from north west Spain.

“The rail project will establish enterprise opportunities and will speed up the delivery of progress to the region,” MEP do Nascimento Cabral added.

“It will help retain qualified young people in the region. This project is an excellent example of what needs to be delivered to connect all of Europe. This comprehensive approach will create jobs. The north Atlantic face of Europe is strategically very important for the integral operation of the European Union. Connectivity to the ports is vital too.” 

The railway lobby group, West on Track, met with the delegation in Athenry last week, to campaign for European funding for the extension of the railway line from Athenry to Claremorris, and ultimately on to Collooney, in Co Sligo, a project known as the Western Rail Corridor.

Marian Harkin, TD who was recently named Minister for State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was in attendance, as was Martin Lydon, CEO of Sligo Co Council.

The group met on the Athenry station platform to examine the infrastructure, before meeting with the West on Track delegation at the Raheen Woods Hotel.

Cllr Peter Feeney, Colman Ó Raghallaigh and Peter Bowen Walsh of West on Track outlined the history and progress to date, of the rail corridor.

MEP Mullooley said he was following up on a promise he made to the group during the election campaign, to bring a European delegation to Ireland, to see first-hand, the lack of proper travel infrastructure in the region, and he was delighted that the MEPs had taken up his invitation.

The West on Track committee members expressed confidence that the second phase of the project, the reopening of the line between Athenry and Claremorris, would be completed in the lifetime of the present government, but needed support at European level, to leverage the necessary funds. The group is also campaigning to reopen the section from Claremorris to Collooney, in Co Sligo.

The first phase, the line from Limerick to Athenry, has proven successful, with over 700,000 passengers annually, the committee said. This number would rise significantly with the extension of the line further north. There are also considerable opportunities for freight – especially from multi-national companies based in Mayo – anxious to have a direct route to the ports of Cork and Waterford for export.

The committee said that the third phase – that from Claremorris to Collooney – was a brownfield site and could be completed for a tenth of the coast of a corresponding motorway.

MEP Karvašová said it was the first time that the three visiting MEPs had been in any part of Ireland outside Dublin.

“Rail infrastructure is the backbone of regional development,” Ms Karvašová said. “The timing of the visit is crucial because the parliament will be formulating its budgets over the next few months, for the next cohesion policy.

“If the European Union wants to be competitive on the world stage, it all starts at local level,” MEP Karvašová said. “The railway will be an enabler for proper regional development. We found the visit very informative and we will report to the Parliament and its committees, and support the proposal to fund the project.”