Campaign launched to reopen rail links in North West

Public meetings are to be held in the coming weeks as a campaign is launched to bring back rail links to the North West.

Lobby group ‘Into the West’ has launched the campaign and will be hosting meetings in Omagh, Derry, Strabane and Dungannon throughout November ahead of the publication of a cross-border rail review.

The stations and rail lines which connected the west were stripped away in the 1950s and 1960s, with Co Tyrone and Co Fermanagh left without a functioning train station.

The lobby group has published a proposal for the ‘North West Rail Corridor’, which would connect Derry with Portadown, via stations in Strabane, Omagh and Dungannon. It also includes a connection with Letterkenny in Co Donegal.

The group says the line would serve as a ‘foundation stone’ for bringing rail back to Co Fermanagh via Enniskillen.

The results of the all-island strategic rail review announced by infrastructure departments in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were due to be published this year.

However, with no Executive currently in place it is unclear whether the review will be signed off by the Department for Infrastructure here.

Ahead of the publication of the review and local elections next year, as well as a potential Assembly election, Into the West chair Steve Bradley says they want to make the issue a priority for elected representatives and the public in the coming months.

“We wanted to get our case in early to say this should be the number one rail priority on the island of Ireland. No other opening would connect so many counties and key towns," Steve said.

“What we’re proposing is a link which goes through four counties and some of the largest towns which currently aren’t on the rail network.

“By linking these towns and counties directly to the island’s main economic and tourism hubs in Belfast and Dublin, the Corridor would enable employment, tourism and population growth in towns that currently feel neglected and left on the periphery.”

In terms of Co Tyrone specifically, Bradley said the return of rail links to the county would be transformative.

He added: “I can’t think of anything else which would be as transformational for Tyrone in terms of its economy, its population and its tourism.

“Tyrone is kind of stuck on the periphery despite the fact it’s not on the edge of the island, it just doesn’t have the type of infrastructure you would expect an area in the middle of a province to have.

“In an era of climate change, poor air quality, increasing road congestion and unbalanced regional development, it is no longer acceptable for the north-west corner of the island to be left almost entirely without access to rail.

“There is a very strong case for the restoration of the North West Rail Corridor - but it won’t happen without a huge display of public support and pressure.

“It is therefore essential that people across the West of NI and beyond get behind this campaign to show politicians north and south that the public demand the reintroduction of rail across this region. It’s finally time to close the huge gap in the map of the island’s rail provision.”

The series of public events kick off in Derry on Monday 7 November, with the full list of public meetings organised by Into the West below:

Derry: Monday 7 November, 7pm (Holywell Trust, 10-14 Bishop Street)
Letterkenny: Tuesday 8 November, 7pm (Station House Hotel, Lower Main Street)
Omagh : Wednesday 9 November, 7pm (Strule Arts Centre, Townhall Square, BT78 1BL)
Dungannon: Monday 14 November, 7pm (Tower Room, Ranfurly House, Hill of the O’Neill)
Strabane : Thursday 17 November, 7pm (Alley Theatre, Railway Street)

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