MEPs reaffirm support for bringing rail corridor through Mayo to Sligo
A NUMBER of MEPs have confirmed their support for the completion of the Western Rail Corridor to Sligo.
Speaking to prominent rail and equality campaigner Helen Rochford-Brennan in Brussels this week, Midlands-North-West MEPs Ciaran Mullooly, Nina Carberry, Barry Cowen and Luke Ming Flanagan all expressed support for the completion of the railway to Sligo, while Southern MEPs Billy Kelleher and Michael McNamara also lent their support. MEP Maria Walsh, also a prominent rail supporter, is currently on leave.
Several of the MEPs expressed surprise at moves to try to replace the railway with a greenway and suggested that a greenway could also be delivered alongside the railway, as Iarnród Éireann had proposed.
Ms. Rochford-Brennan, a founding member of West on Track, was in Brussels to participate in 'Alzheimer’s in Europe: Turning Innovation into Patient Access,' an event hosted by MEP Nina Carberry in partnership with EFPIA at the European Parliament. Her contribution to the event focused on equity and access.
Speaking afterwards, Ms. Rochford-Brennan welcomed the unanimous support of MEPs for the preservation and development of the railway.
She said: “This event has been all about equity and access, and those two words sum up exactly what is at stake for Sligo and the north-west.
“For me, access is about much more than healthcare. It is about whether people living in rural Ireland can reach the services, opportunities and connections that others may take for granted. If people living in rural Ireland cannot reach those services, then we do not have true equity of access.
“The Western Rail Corridor has never been simply about trains for me. It is about people. It is about being able to reach healthcare and centres of excellence, education and employment, visit family and remain connected to our communities. It is also about investment, tourism and giving people the opportunity to live, work, keep our brightest and best and grow older in the west without being disadvantaged because of where they live.
“We are not just talking about the present but about the future of Sligo and the north-west for decades to come. It is ridiculous to be talking about 2050 when we should be calling for development, both road and rail, now.
“It is obvious that Sligo is severely lacking in primary infrastructure, so we have a responsibility to maximise the infrastructure we actually have. Our disused railway is the gateway to Ireland West International Airport and to our regional capital of Galway.
“The restoration of the railway from Galway to Mayo is about to get under way and there is no justifiable reason why it should not be completed to Sligo at a time when demand for rail services is growing year on year.
“I fully support seasonal active travel, and I would like to see all of the people of Sligo and the north-west uniting behind the reopening of the railway while also supporting a parallel greenway so that everyone is catered for. This should not be a choice between rail and active travel. We can and should have both.”