Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This issue is of particular importance to our independent colleague, Shaun Cunniffe, in Galway County Council, who is part of a campaign to have a vote passed in the council to commission a feasibility study on the complementary use of the disused rail alignment between Athenry and Milltown as a greenway. The group is forthright in its belief that the provision of a greenway would not preclude the use of the alignment as a railway again in the future and if, in time to come, a railway is needed, the wide alignment could be used for both a greenway and a railway. To progress its case the group needs to establish that there are no current plans to redevelop the railway which has been closed to passenger traffic since 1977. The group has been in communication with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, who has confirmed that the rotten wooden sleepers and old railway tracks are all obsolete and would need to be replaced by concrete sleepers and continuous rail track if the railway was to be reinstated.

In 2015, the Department report, Investing in our Transport Future - A Strategic Framework for Investment in Land Transport, more or less ruled out the consideration of more rural railways such as the western rail corridor, and Iarnród Éireann's strategy explains why reinstating the western rail corridor is not under consideration. First, the dispersed population along the disused railway route is not remotely sufficient to fill trains. Second, there will be a new Tuam-Gort motorway running alongside the railway alignment. Third, well-established local bus operators are faster, cheaper, more frequent and can go to multiple destinations, unlike a train service.

The Minister and his Department are to be congratulated on their recent launch of a public consultation process on the development of a new greenway strategy, and I agree that some of the greenways that have been developed to date have been outstanding success stories for their localities. I also believe the proposed Athenry-Milltown greenway, utilising existing infrastructure, requiring minimal intrusion into private property and with the widespread support of the local community, is worthy of serious consideration, but before it can get on track, the issue of whether the line is going to be reopened or not has to be unequivocally resolved.

The greenway story has been a runaway success, with Mayo and Waterford particular success stories. Sligo and Galway have been trying for years to get greenways on disused railway lines and Waterford proves it can be done. I am a supporter of building the country's rail infrastructure and the more trains we have to move freight around the country, the better.If we used the rail infrastructure, there would be no need for 40 ft. trailers and big trucks to be on the roads. I see merit in Councillor Cunniffe's query and that is the reason I bring it to the Minister's attention. I look forward to hearing the Minister's reply and thank him for his time.