Western Rail Corridor is vital to Mayo’s economic development, say councillors

Members of Mayo County Council have once again emphasised the importance of the Western Rail Corridor to the county.

Speaking at a recent council meeting during a discussion on the draft economic strategy for Mayo, Cllr Brendan Mulroy said a train service for all of the county was vital.

“I did my own survey of visitors to Westport last weekend and nearly 70% of them arrived by train, which is huge. But when you want to go from Westport to Galway, you have to drive a really bad road, so the train service is vital for links from Westport and Ballina and the whole county, and it is critical we get that rail corridor into Mayo. It will be a different county then as it will be opened up completely and all of Mayo can take off."

Cllr Ger Deere said the proposed freight hub near Castlebar “will be huge”, adding that Castlebar had been looking for a freight hub at the railway station for a long time. 

"There is a lot of land around it there and it is a prime location.” 

Cllr Neil Cruise said the Western Rail Corridor needs to have a link to Ireland West Airport. 

"In Dublin [Airport], they are getting a huge extension to Metro North but we haven’t heard a word about Knock. The silence is amazing. We need to draw on the partnerships we have to get active on this because time is moving on.” 

The council's chief executive Kevin Kelly told members the Western Rail Corridor is currently “being pursued by the Western Development Commission and we would expect to see the first stage being progressed quite quickly”.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme