Roads are important but rail is a key part of the West's future
The Western Rail Corridor between Limerick and Galway was the fastest-growing passenger line in Ireland in 2022.
SIR -
I absolutely agree with Adrian Langan (Home Thoughts from Away, Western People, April 11, 2024) that the West needs significant investment in infrastructure to continually create sustained and sustainable economic growth.
In infrastructure terms, our region ranks in the bottom 7% of European Union (EU) regions. It is also now classified at EU level as a region in transition. Economically, the West is being downgraded. We need investment in all infrastructure including road, rail, renewable energy and broadband. Front-loading infrastructure creates the right environment for economic growth.
Luckily in Connacht, we have the ingredients for a rail network that will be the envy of every other province in Ireland. Most of it is already open but runs towards Dublin. Reopening the railway that exists in its entirety from Sligo to Galway will rail-connect every main town in Connacht. The population of these towns has more than doubled since the 1970s.
Adrian is right to point out the benefits of the M17/M18 in journey time from Tuam to Limerick but it has done little to address the time taken to reach Galway City centre from there in the morning or evening. Focusing on road building only does not reduce congestion. Galway is now Europe's seventh most congested city.
Phase 1 of the Western Rail Corridor was opened in 2010 and it connects Galway and Limerick. This line was by far the fastest-growing passenger line in 2022. Jim Meade, the chief executive of Irish Rail, outlined to the Oireachtas Transport Committee earlier this year that the service is at capacity and investment is planned for longer platforms and trains. This route is flanked in its entirety by the M18 but the rail service is thriving. The railway cost just 10% per km of the M18.
The railway from Sligo and Mayo, running south through Tuam, will be even more successful. Ask any commuter into Galway about Bothar na dTreabh or the Headford Road and their blood will boil instantly. Commuting to Galway by Intercity Rail from Westport, Ballina, Claremorris, Sligo, Tubbercurry, Swinford, Charlestown and Kiltimagh will be more sustainable and infinitely safer than road transport. EU data shows that rail commuting is 30 times safer than road.
Planning for growth means we must cater for where we will be and not where we are. Rail is a good news story and is part of the future. Passenger usage increased nationally last year by 27%. Movement of freight by industry and commuting are close to five times more carbon efficient by rail.
More investment in roads is paramount but is expensive and takes time. Reopening the railway will be relatively simple, fast and affordable. The railway is there. It is shovel-ready, no planning or compulsory purchase order (COP) needed. It just needs to be relayed and reopened.
Yours sincerely
Ultan Keady
Caherlistrane
Co Galway
