A major new rail strategy that could transform the railway network in Northern Ireland and across the island of Ireland has been announced but does not include Fermanagh.
The ambitious All-Ireland Rail Review strategy plans to transform the railway network in Northern Ireland to include new lines from Derry to Portadown and Belfast to Newry, with a recently published map detailing the proposed lines.
However, the map clearly shows that the western county of Fermanagh doesn’t feature in this strategy, meaning that Enniskillen, and other towns and villages that had previously availed of a rail service before its closure in 1957, will be left unconnected.
Enniskillen railway station.
Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott has criticised All-Island Rail Review for its exclusion of Fermanagh from the plans.
Commenting yesterday, Mr. Elliott said: “Once again Fermanagh is excluded from infrastructure proposals.
“It is good that these plans are suggesting to link up areas of Northern Ireland by rail that haven’t had a rail line for many years, but with the planned cost of the rail development of almost £30 billion and totally ignoring Fermanagh, it will be difficult for many in the area to feel excited about the considerations.”
The strategy plans to include upgrades to the intercity rail network, which could allow top speeds of 200km per hour on routes connecting Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford – making train journeys significantly faster than travelling by car.
Map
The All-Island Strategic Rail Review, prepared for the Department of Transport and the North’s Department for Infrastructure, recommends electrification, new and enhanced routes, greater regional balance and improved speeds and frequency between Ireland’s cities.
If accepted in full by the government, the plan would see an additional 600km of track across the island. It sets out 30 recommendations for developing the rail network along new and old routes, particularly across the west and north.
The plan will cost €36 billion between now and 2050 with €9.2 billion to come from Northern Ireland on the basis of Stormont.
However, firm timelines for specific rail projects under the plan have not yet been set. This is unlikely to happen until strategy is finalised and adopted as government policy.
Three time periods for implementation have been set: short-term “interventions”, which are to be delivered by 2030; medium-term interventions to be delivered between 2030 and 2040; and long-term interventions to be delivered between 2040 and 2050.
Transport officials have said more detailed work will be needed to test the feasibility and affordability of many of the recommendations.
The Transport Minister in the Republic of Ireland, Eamon Ryan, said this week that the strategy represented a “vision” and was the “most vital step” for improving the island’s rail network.
Quizzed by a journalist about specific timelines for the plans, Ryan said he had a meeting with Irish Rail earlier in the week, where he asked the company similar questions.
“In terms of the Northern elements, we need to see the Northern administration come back. Some of the big, big spending decisions are in their area, but in terms of the elements in the south, what we can progress we will,” he said.
“Other projects will take longer, but having the vision of what we want to do and where we want to go is the first, most vital step.”
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