Infrastructure Minister John O'Dowd has said work to finalise the All-Island Strategic Rail Review - which does not include Fermanagh - will be complete soon.

"Since the public consultation closed in September last year, work has been ongoing to consider the outcomes of the consultation and finalise the Review," the Minister stated. "I expect to receive the final Review for my approval in the coming weeks, after which the Review will be shared with my Executive colleagues."

The Minister added that officials are currently in discussions with their counterparts in the Department of Transport in the Republic of Ireland to coordinate the approval process and agree on a publication date. "It is anticipated the final Review will be published in the summer," he confirmed.

Last year, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council responded to the review, expressing significant disappointment over the exclusion of Fermanagh from the proposed rail plans. The council highlighted that Fermanagh would remain the only county in Ireland without rail access, exacerbating an existing transport infrastructure deficit and denying a large portion of the district's inhabitants fair and equitable access to public transport.

The council resolved to address these concerns by requesting that the All-Island Strategic Rail Review be withdrawn in its current format and redrafted to include an Enniskillen to Omagh line and an Enniskillen to Clones line.

Additionally, the council requested all data used to determine the inclusion or exclusion of specific lines, including stop-by-stop breakdowns of estimated passenger numbers and travel times. This data is considered essential for understanding the decisions made in the report and for allowing a comparison between included and excluded stops and lines.