Westport councillor calls Kiltimagh Velorail 'an hour and a half of boredom'

A WESTPORT county councillor has described a new tourism project in Kiltimagh as ‘an hour and a half of boredom’.

Cllr Peter Flynn has said there is ‘nothing enjoyable’ about the newly opened Kiltimagh Velorail, which he said is ‘not going to deliver’ for Mayo.

Opened in June, the Velorail allows users to explore 13 kilometres of disused train track on pedal-operated carts either side of Kiltimagh's former railway station.

The last train ran on the line around 1975 with passenger traffic having ceased in 1963.

IRD Kiltimagh CLG had estimated that the project could deliver up to 30,000 visitors a year for the area.

The launch of the project was attended by dozens of council officials and local representatives and was officially opened by former Minister for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD.

The €700,000 project has been described by Cllr Flynn in the past as ‘a white elephant’.

Speaking at Friday’s meeting of Mayo County Council’s Tourism SPC, the Fine Gael councillor bemoaned a recent experience he had on the Velorail.

“I actually brought my niece with me, she hasn’t talked to me since, I’ll be straight up with you. It’s the best part of a million euros spent on a project that is not going to deliver for the county as a whole. It will hardly deliver for Kiltimagh,” he said.

“It was an hour and a half of boredom looking at, quite literally, scrubland. It was the noisiest experience I’ve ever had. There was certainly nothing enjoyable about a rural landscape because of the shaking and rattling on the Velorail itself.”

Cllr Flynn said that the local authority should prioritise ‘projects that will deliver for the entire county’.

“I’m sure people’s hearts were in the right place when they were building it, but we have taken money and people…onto that project as opposed to focusing on other key projects around our county that really will deliver for our county,” he said.

“If we look at the Clew Bay development plan and we look at some of the projects that are on it; Keem Bay, Croagh Patrick, Downpatrick Head, Céide Fields, the whole Gráinne Mhaol experience, Westport House. They are projects that will put Mayo on the world map, not just simply on the map in Ireland. That’s where we need to be really focusing our resources and our people and our money.

He also suggested that new amenities, such as looped walks, should also be of benefit from local people.

“In my view, projects in the likes of the Kiltimagh of the world are fine. But I honestly believe we should be putting in amenities that facilitate locals, be it linear parks, looped walks, parks and themselves. Things that people can use for their daily enjoyment and pleasure.”

Cllr Christy Hyland, who is also based in Westport, said that people counting machines should be installed at attractions such as the Velorail to gauge visitor numbers.

Mayo County Council’s Head of Tourism Anna Connor could not say exactly how many people had visited the Velorail but said there had been ‘really good numbers’ using the facility.

“It is a bit noisy, but that’s part of the experience as well,” she commented.

She told the Tourism SPC that IRD Kiltimagh CLG employs seven people on the Velorail on a seasonal basis.