Into the West urges public to seize last chance to stop Derry being only city left with sub-200km/hr rail services

The campaign group has outlined nine areas of concern regarding the strategy’s contents that it is asking people across the north-west to raise.

The ‘All-Island Strategic Rail Review’ is a joint north-south initiative to plan the development of rail across the island of Ireland over the next 30+ years.

Following a public consultation last year the North-West of the island had by-far the highest number of submissions of any region on the island

When a draft version of the strategy’s proposals was released in July of this year, Into The West were pleased to see that it recommended some of the improvements they have been campaigning on for years.

But they were also concerned at some other inclusions and omissions – including the recommendation that Derry should be the only city on the island not to have 200km/hr (120mph) rail services.

Chair of Into The West, Steve Bradley, explains “The All-Island Rail Strategy is a fantastic opportunity to ensure the north-west finally receives the infrastructure it needs to fulfil its potential.

"Some of the recommendations within the Rail Strategy do indeed do that and are very welcome – such as restoring rail between Derry and Portadown to give the north-west a direct rail route to Dublin, and also reintroducing rail to both Letterkenny and Limavady.

"But unfortunately the strategy has also got some things badly wrong in its recommendations – especially the idea that Derry should be the only city to not have 200km/hr trains.

"The strategy also rejects a number of other proposals that were made for restoring rail, which is a major concern. Particularly its decision to leave Fermanagh as the only county on the entire island without rail, and to also leave all of Donegal except Letterkenny without trains too.

"What should be a fantastic Strategy to deliver better rail right across the island for the next 30yrs has therefore turned out instead to be one that – whilst making some welcome improvements – falls short over all in fully addressing the limited provision and quality of rail in the north-west.

"And it also fails to fulfill its own objective of delivering better regional balance - and instead reinforces the idea that the island’s rail primarily exists to serve the needs of Belfast, Dublin and the Eastern Seaboard”.

With the public consultation on the draft Rail Strategy closing this Friday, Into The West have identified 9 issues of concern that they’re encouraging people to raise in their own submissions to the consultation :

1. Derry should not be the only core city on the island left without 200km/hr rail services.
2. Letterkenny and Derry should be linked together by direct rail services. And there should be a single rail route between the north-west and Dublin – starting and ending at Letterkenny – rather than separate services from Derry and Letterkenny (which would only reduce frequency for both).
3. City of Derry Airport should be connected to the rail network, via a multi-purpose station. Serving not just the airport - but also villages like Eglinton and Greysteel, and providing a Park & Rail to reduce traffic congestion on the A2, Gransha Roundabout and Limavady Road.
4. Foyle Port should be connected to the rail network, with a rail freight terminal located there. The Strategy recommends that all key cities on the island should have rail freight terminals, but fails to propose one for Derry (or anywhere in west Ulster).
5. A spine of rail should be reintroduced through Donegal Connecting Derry and Letterkenny to Sligo via Ballybofey, Donegal Town, Ballyshannon and Bundoran. It is unacceptable that the draft Strategy leaves almost all of Donegal without rail.
6. Fermanagh should not be left as the only county on the island without any rail. The Omagh-Enniskillen-Sligo rail route should be recommended.
7. Rail should be restored to Cookstown via Dungannon. It should then continue north from Cookstown to Magherafelt before turning east to link with the Derry-Belfast line near Antrim - via a Park & Rail facility at Randalstown to reduce traffic on A6.
8. The impact of tourism on the demand for rail has not been factored into the Strategy. This disadvantages popular visitor destinations like Donegal and Fermanagh, and means the Strategy has underestimated the viability of rail services there.
9. By failing to propose a restoration of rail to Fermanagh and most of Donegal, the Strategy will ensure that a large ‘gap in the map’ of rail services remains in the island’s north-west.

The email address to send submissions to the public consultation on the Draft Strategy is [email protected] – with a deadline of 11.59pm on Friday, September 29.

Steve Bradley concluded “The All-Island Rail Strategy will determine the pipeline of rail improvements on this island for the next 30 years or more.

"It is therefore essential that we ensure it makes the right recommendations for the needs of communities, visitors and businesses in Derry and the North-West.

"The good news is that the Strategy is still only in draft form – so there is an opportunity to challenge its recommendations and have them improved.

"We would urge everyone who wants to see Derry and the north-west have the best possible infrastructure to take advantage of this opportunity.

"Please make a submission to the Review before the deadline, and please include the nine points we have highlighted above in your contribution. Let’s ensure that the final version of the Strategy really does recommend a rail revolution for our region”.