Planning approval for a resurrected Derry to Portadown rail link with an onward line to Letterkenny should be secured within the next ten years as a priority.

That’s according to a new Rail Project Prioritisation Strategy (RPPS) for the island, which has insisted the new route should be completed by 2050.

The RPPS was published jointly by the Department of Transport in Ireland and the Department for Infrastructure in the North on Monday.

It outlines how to best sequence and optimise the recommendations of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review (AISRR), which was published last year.

placeholder image — The North West Transport Hub.

The AISRR recommended reopening a route from Derry to Portadown as a ‘long-term intervention’ and estimated the project could cost between £1.8 and £2.8billion (€2.2bn-€3.4bn) based on 2021 prices.

The RPPS has largely confirmed the timings of the AISRR and said the project should be prioritised for completion by 2050.

Among short-term interventions that should be prioritised between now and 2030, however, is a Portadown Station spur, which, the authors state, will 'future-proof the line to Derry'.

The report also prioritises capacity and frequency enhancements and line speed improvements as a major project on the Derry to Belfast line.

Planning approval for a resurrected Derry to Portadown rail link with an onward line to Letterkenny should be submitted within the next ten years as a priority.

Necessary planning approval should be secured by 2035. Work should start shortly thereafter with higher speeds and capacity enhancements fully realised between 2040 and 2045.

The RPPS acknowledges existing rail infrastructure is already being enhanced along the Derry to Coleraine line.

The report does not mention the AISRR’s recommendation that the transport authorities should explore the potential for new stations along the Derry to Coleraine line, including at Ballykelly, and a new spur to Limavady.

However, northern transport minister Liz Kimmins recently indicated Translink plans to submit a revised strategic outline case that could include proposals for rail halts at Strathfoyle, Eglinton, City of Derry Airport and Ballykelly by the end of this year.

The extension of the rail network from Derry to Portadown via Strabane, Omagh and Dungannon would see rail return down the central spine of the north of the country for the first time since the Great Northern Railway (GNR) line – known as the ‘Derry Road’ – closed in 1965.

Ms. Kimmins said: “This is the next step in progressing the implementation of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review. I believe the transformation of our rail network will help address regional imbalance and encourage a shift towards greater use of sustainable transport.

"This includes important projects including Portadown to Derry, Portadown to Armagh and Lisburn to Antrim. The publication of this Strategy provides a way forward for connecting communities who have been without rail, particularly in the northwest, alongside increasing frequency and improving services for those along existing lines.”

Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said: “I welcome the publication of this Strategy which provides a way forward for faster rail services, improved frequency, and greater accessibility and connectivity across this island. I look forward to the progression of the rail projects in the years ahead.”

The report prioritises capacity and frequency enhancements and line speed improvements as a major project on the Derry to Belfast line.

The strategy identifies a number of ‘major projects’ to be progressed for the longer-run, involving intercity electrification and significant capacity upgrades.

These ‘major projects’ include ‘FourNorth’, to add track capacity on the busy Northern line north of Connolly; electrification and speed improvements on the Dublin-Cork and Dublin-Belfast routes; and the Portadown to Derry and Letterkenny line.