Mayo 'expectant' over rail corridor delivery
October 13 is decision day for long-awaited infrastructure
A FIRM political effort is being made behind the scenes to ensure the long-awaited reopening of the Western Rail Corridor is finally sanctioned, The Connaught Telegraph has learned.
Protracted negotiations have been taking place in the context of the formulation of the national economic plan.
The multi-billion-euro dossier of major infrastructural projects is due to be unveiled by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe during Budget Day 2021 on October 13.
The main driver of the project over the years has been the West on Track group while Mayo Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary has been playing a key role in seeking approval since the new government was put in place on June 27 last.
Ultimately, the view of Transport Minister Eamon Ryan, the Green Party leader, is central to the decision on whether or not to invest in the reopening of the 234 km corridor from Sligo to Limerick.
The advantages include the multiple social, tourism and business benefits which would accrue from the development in terms of revitalising and regenerating rural counties along the western seaboard, with the future possibility of linking it northwards into Donegal and Derry.
From a Mayo perspective, it would re-establish rail links for the county with the three cities of Galway, Limerick and Cork as well as providing a connection between three international airports, three universities and four institutes technology.
The project is also regarded as central to addressing regional imbalance by helping to attract greater Irish and multinational investment to the west and north west, growing jobs and supporting local communities in urgent need of economic recovery.
The West on Track group has consistently pointed out that there is no other big-ticket infrastructural project in the western region that is ‘shovel-ready’ and that can be speedily delivered in the next three years.
Since 2005, approximately 10,000 chartered freight trains have operated between Mayo and the ports of Waterford and Dublin without any state subsidy.
In 2018 alone over 1,000 chartered freight trains operated and currently number 20 per week.
The direct and indirect cost benefits of moving freight directly to and from southern ports other than via the congested Greater Dublin Area, especially post-Brexit, is regarded as enormously important, not to mention the environmental benefits of moving freight from road to rail in terms of reaching carbon emission targets.