Rail campaigners Into The West recently met ministers in Leinster House in Dublin to make the case for reopening a rail link between Derry city and Letterkenny in Donegal.

Into The West is the rail campaign for counties Donegal, Derry, Tyrone & Fermanagh, and was established in 2004.

Over the Summer the group said it had a "productive” meeting in Derry with officials from the Department for Transport (ROI) and the Department for Infrastructure (NI), as a result of which they were recommended to meet with Minister Sean Canney TD. A delegation from Into The West therefore travelled to Leinster House recently to meet Canney and his officials in his role as the Transport Minister with responsibility for road and rail. Donegal TD and government Minister Charlie McConalogue also attended.

At the meeting Into The West outlined the case for rail to return to Donegal – highlighting how Letterkenny is the largest town in the Irish State without any plan for rail. This is despite the fact that the busiest part of the entire 500km border for cross border commuting is between north-east Donegal and Derry city. They also raised the recent road traffic issues that have blighted Letterkenny, and the role that rail and new bus connections could play in reducing road congestion there.

Into The West committee members with Minister Sean Canney TD and Minister Charlie McConalogue TD at their recent meeting in Leinster House, Dublin.

placeholder image — Into The West committee members with Minister Sean Canney TD and Minister Charlie McConalogue TD at their recent meeting in Leinster House, Dublin.

Chair of Into The West, Steve Bradley, explained “We’re very grateful to Minister Canney and his officials for their time, and to Minister McConalogue for joining the meeting too. We used it as an opportunity to outline the unique public transport challenges facing Donegal and the north-west. Letterkenny is the largest town in the Republic without a plan for rail, and within a decade will be the largest town there without rail full-stop. It is also the largest population centre in the south without a local or ‘Town Bus’ service. It’s therefore no surprise that Letterkenny’s roads are jammed in peak hours, because there are no alternative travel options for people to get around.

"Census data shows that one in seven households in Donegal have no access to a vehicle – whilst it’s as high as one in three households in Derry city and one in four in Strabane. Yet they’re all forgotten about in the car-dominated north-west, where bus provision is limited and there is just one single rail station.”

Mr Bradley continued “Restoring rail between Derry and Letterkenny is as a key priority in the All-Island Rail Strategy, and combined with the reopened Derry-Portadown corridor it will provide direct train services from the north-west to Dublin and Belfast. There is currently no plan for where that Derry-Letterkenny rail route will physically run, however, so Donegal or Derry-Strabane Councils could unwittingly give planning permission for developments that hinder or physically prevent the return of trains to Donegal. It is therefore essential that a detailed study and route-plan be conducted as soon as possible, and we pressed the Ministers to fund that task immediately”.

Mr Bradley concluded: “Letterkenny is well known for suffering from significant traffic problems, and that will only increase as the town continues to grow. Derry is also starting to suffer significant congestion, particularly on the Buncrana Road corridor which connects it to Donegal. It is therefore essential that viable transport alternatives are provided to ensure that driving doesn’t feel like the only way to get between Derry and Donegal – and rail must play a vital role in that.”

The Into The West delegation said they left their meeting in Dublin feeling that Minister Canny had taken the issues they raised on board. They hope to receive positive news about funding for a route study into restoring the Derry-Letterkenny rail corridor in the months ahead.