Campaigners confident Western Rail Corridor will come to Mayo

Campaigners confident WRC will come to Mayo in near future


Michael Commins

IF Johnny Cash was still around, he could well have launched into “I hear that train a comin” yesterday. For all associated with the West on Track campaign, this was a momentous occasion, the re-opening of the Western Rail Corridor from Limerick to Galway for passenger traffic. And it certainly was something to sing about.
All of 34 years had elapsed since the last passenger train rain between the two cities. But yesterday, a new era was ushered in as the Limerick-Galway section via Ennis, Ardrahan, Craughwell and Athenry was once again opened to public transport. Students will now be able to avail of the facility, sports fans can look forward to travelling in comfort to the big hurling and rugby games in Limerick, and the more senior folk can enjoy a day out in Limerick and Galway and places in between at their leisure.
A spokesperson for West on Track said yesterday: “This is truly a historic occasion, the largest reopening of a railway in the history of Ireland. That this has come about through the voluntary work of the people of this region, supported by our public representatives, our national Government (with the support of the opposition) and our national rail company.
We now urge the Government to proceed with the next phase of the project immediately.
“Since the West on Track campaign began there has been much ill-informed and disparaging comment from Dublin-based economic commentators and consultants. These people should be ashamed of themselves. The truth is that the Western Rail Corridor is being delivered for a tiny fraction of the cost of other road and rail projects at less than €2m a mile, making it the best value for money, mile for mile, of any project in Transport 21.
“The Government commitment to be in Tuam by 2011 remains a sensible and achievable objective and one which has the overwhelming support of all in this region. That this railway will be a stunning success in serving the needs of commuters to Galway and Limerick is beyond doubt.”
Iarnród Éireann plan to run five services a day in each direction Monday to Saturday and four on Sundays. Eight stations will be serviced by the re-opening, Limerick, Ennis, Athenry and Galway, and four new stations at Sixmilebridge, Gort, Ardrahan and Craughwell.
Jim Higgins, Fine Gael MEP for Ireland North West, expressed his delight with the opening of Phase 1 of the Western Rail Corridor, and strongly urged the continuation of the project. “This is a great boost to the communities and businesses in the West of Ireland, many of whom never caught a glimpse of the Celtic Tiger.” said Jim Higgins
“We need to make sure that people avail of the service, for a less stressful and more environmentally friendly way of travelling, and so that continued investment can be secured into the future.” added Mr Higgins
Galway Fianna Fail TD, Frank Fahey commented: “This is a great occasion for the west of Ireland with the official opening of the Western Rail Corridor. I stood on the platform at the Gort Station in 1974 as the last train left the station and I never thought I’d see the day when the line was re-opened.
“I returned to Gort on Monday to join the train as it travelled on its first journey from Limerick to Galway and I was very impressed with the modern, state of the art train that will run on the line. The West on Track campaigners are to be commended for their campaign to get the train line re-opened. They succeeded in convincing successive Government to commit more than €100 million in funding for the project, and we are all witnessing the result today.”