Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

The western rail corridor is the name given to a proposed rail link that would connect Sligo, Galway, Limerick and Cork. The corridor was one of more than 150 proposals evaluated as part of the strategic rail review which was undertaken on behalf of the Department of Transport and published in 2003. It was not included in the review's recommended investment strategy because, among other things, it was not supported by complementary land use and settlement strategies at that time. The Minister for Transport has stated before that such strategies are essential for the viability of any public transport project because they provide the basis for the travel demand that would justify the level of capital investment, put at approximately €400 million in current terms.

The western rail corridor was, however, identified by the review as fitting particularly well with the aims of the national spatial strategy, particularly in terms of balanced regional development. To explore fully the issues surrounding the development of this corridor and to allow an opportunity for all aspects of the proposal to be examined, the then Minister for Transport established a working group in 2004. This group, chaired by Mr. Pat McCann, group chief executive of Jurys Doyle hotel group, provided a forum for the proponents of the western rail corridor to put their case to the chairman of the group, as well as to Iarnród Éireann, CIE and the Department of Transport. The working group met in plenary session on four occasions after its establishment. The group and its sub-groups have now concluded their deliberations and the chairman of the working group delivered his report to the Minister for Transport on 10 May last.

The chairman's report identifies five main sections of the proposed western rail corridor and proposes that much of it be restored on a phased basis subject to various conditions and reservations. The report recommends that a line survey be carried out on the Athenry to Ennis section with a view to re-opening it in the short term. This would provide direct rail links between Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Cork and implement one of the main national spatial strategy objectives of creating greater linkages between these four cities. While the Athenry to Galway section is not strictly part of the western rail corridor, the report recommends that improvements on this section would be necessary for Galway-Limerick services to become a reality. The report suggests that a commuter rail service between Athenry and Galway could also be developed relatively quickly and inexpensively.

According to the report's recommendations, the next section to be considered for restoration should be the Tuam to Athenry section. It notes that the introduction of a rail service between Tuam and Galway city would serve to strengthen linkages and advance the objectives of the national spatial strategy for the region. Restoring this section would also provide connections to Dublin-Galway intercity train services and the cities and towns to the south via the Athenry-Ennis section. The report concludes that in the short term a commuter service to Galway should be introduced.

The report notes that the restoration of the line from Tuam to Claremorris would link up the western rail corridor with the Castlebar to Westport and Ballina lines and thereby link these Mayo hub-towns with Galway and the cities in Munster. The development of rail freight could also make this section more viable and the report therefore recommends that a thorough study to quantify the potential for rail freight in the region be initiated.

The section from Claremorris to Collooney would be by far the most expensive to restore, accounting for 54% of the restoration costs of the entire line. As things stand, the report finds that the case for its restoration is weak. This section is characterised by low population densities with few towns of reasonable size. However, the report acknowledges that restoration of this section would connect, by rail, the Sligo gateway with the other gateways and hubs on the western and southern seaboards. For this reason, it recommends that the section should be preserved in its entirety, that Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo county councils should make the necessary arrangements as soon as possible and that the viability of restoring this section should be reviewed in three years to see whether the objective conditions for line restoration have changed.

The report also recommends that an implementation group be established to oversee the implementation of the report. The full report is available on the Department of Transport's website.

Upon receipt of Mr. McCann's report, the Minister for Transport requested his officials to examine the content to ensure that it is fully appraised in advance of the final preparation of the multi-­annual capital investment framework for transport, as it is in that context that decisions will be made on the future of the western rail corridor. I understand that the framework is being finalised at present and the Minister expects to be in a position to bring his proposals to Government shortly.

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