Derry and Donegal rail links estimated £2.1-£3.3bn, could start 2030-40, be finished 2040-50

These are the capital cost estimates for the reopening of a new Derry to Portadown rail link – formerly known as the ‘Derry Road’ when it was still operated by the Great Northern Railway – contained in Arup’s draft All-Island Strategic Rail Review.

The long-anticipated draft report suggests a rail link from Derry to Portadown could be started between 2030 and 2040 and finished by 2050.

Arup has also recommended the creation of a cross-border spur between Derry and Letterkenny (estimated capital costs £200m-£300m) and the creation of new stations between Derry and Coleraine including a spur to Limavady (estimated capital costs £100m-£200m).

The total cost range of the flagship recommendations for Derry and Donegal thus runs from £2.1bn to £3.3bn.

The report lists the Derry developments as ‘medium term interventions’ that could plausibly be started between 2030 and 2040.

They are, the authors state, ‘interventions that are likely to take longer than seven years to deliver, but could still be delivered (or have made significant progress) by the end of the next decade’.

The ‘completion’ of the Derry to Portadown link and the Letterkenny spur is listed as a ‘long-term intervention’ likely to take longer to deliver in full, probably in the 2040 – 2050 period.

The All-Island Strategic Rail Review (AISRR), was jointly commissioned by the Department of Transport in the South and the Department for Infrastructure in the North, in April 2021.

A draft version was published on Tuesday in order to facilitate a Strategic Environmental Assessment and public consultation.

Among its 30 key recommendations is the restoration of a ‘rail line between Derry~Londonderry and Portadown’.

The authors state that ‘this would link the large towns of Strabane, Omagh, and Dungannon to the rail network and greatly improve intercity connectivity between Derry~Londonderry and both Dublin and Belfast (as an alternative to the indirect and constrained existing route)’.

Among the report’s key recommendations that will have a direct impact for Derry and Donegal are the following:

• A new 160km/h (100mph) dual-tracked electrified line between Portadown and Derry.

• A new single-track line between Derry and Letterkenny.

• New stations between Derry and Coleraine, including a spur to Limavady.

• Dual-tracking and new stations between Belfast and Antrim (on the existing Belfast–Derry line).

• A new single-track line between Portadown and Mullingar via Armagh, Monaghan, Clones, and Cavan.

Notably, the report hints that the new stations between Derry and Coleraine may include a halt at Strathfoyle.

The report includes a case study on the commute of a fictional student from Strathfoyle to Coleraine.

‘Derry Road’ rail link to Portadown with Letterkenny connection in Arup draft

The study refers to ‘a potential future railway’ and states ‘a new station at Strathfoyle would provide much more convenient access to the network’.

Arup – the consultancy commissioned to carry out the reports – put the recommendations in a socio-economic and political context by pointing to the relative underdevelopment of Derry compared to cities in the east and south of Ireland better served by rail.

"Many regions of the island, including Derry~Londonderry and Waterford, have not benefitted from the same growth as the largest cities and have less access to key services and international gateways.

"Improved rail connections to the strongest performing urban areas, together with better regional connections and regeneration based around railway hubs, would improve access to economic opportunities in these places,” the consultancy states.

The revival of a route along the old ‘Derry Road’ and greater links along the Derry to Coleraine route would, the authors state, help improve the sustainability of cities and towns in the north west and further afield.

“The development of a new railway between Portadown and Derry~Londonderry could free up additional capacity on the existing Coleraine route and enable separate suburban and inter-city services on these two corridors.

Rail desert has to be addressed

"Improvements to suburban services could include building a spur to and station at Limavady and building new stations at places such as Ballykelly,” the report maintains.

It transpires a number of rail links in the north west have been ruled out due to the difficulties and costs of developing new railway lines in mountainous areas as well as projected low demand.

Rail links in the Sperrins, in West Donegal, and between Derry and Sligo have not been given the green light.

Arup said it ‘considered multiple options for a new railway between Portadown and Derry~Londonderry but ruled out options that ran through the Sperrins Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’.

‘He viewed the Derry railway lines with the dead eye of an undertaker’

"Some of the options considered were found to have limited viability for rail services within the horizon of the review. Physical constraints ruled out some options, such as the Sperrin Mountains ruling out Cookstown as a stop on a service from Derry~Londonderry to either Belfast or Dublin.

"In other cases, remoteness from population centres was the major factor, particularly for routes serving Enniskillen where anticipated travel demand is unlikely to justify the cost of delivering rail services at this time,” the report states.

A link to Sligo was not included despite its potential for opening up Derry and Donegal to the rest of the Irish rail network.

“There is challenging terrain in many parts of the region – for instance a line between Sligo and Derry-Londonderry would require complex crossings of the River Garavogue and River Erne and then a route through the Barnesmore Gap,” the report states.

Portadown-Derry-Letterkenny railway a ‘critical investment priority’ says Eamon Ryan