Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

47. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport for an update on plans to continue the western rail corridor north to Sligo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22471/25]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As the Deputy may be aware, the All-Island Strategic Rail Review was undertaken by the Department of Transport in co-operation with the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The Review will inform the development of rail on the Island of Ireland in the coming decades to 2050.

The Review’s Final Report was published in July 2024. The Review sets out 32 strategic recommendations to enhance and expand the rail system in Ireland and Northern Ireland up to 2050. The recommendations seek to transform the quality of the rail system to the benefit of passengers and wider society on the island, through additional track capacity, electrification, increased speeds, higher service frequencies and new routes.

Included in the Review’s recommendations is the reinstatement of the Western Rail Corridor between Athenry and Claremorris. Modelling undertaken for interventions on the corridor between Claremorris and Sligo, as part of the Review, showed there would be very low demand for passenger rail services on this corridor. This, along with the high capital costs associated with new rail infrastructure meant that the extension of the Western Rail Corridor further north was not deemed viable as the cost of this extension would outweigh the benefits.

The final recommendations also include an update of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review once a decade, taking account of latest policies and developments, and this part of the Western Rail Corridor may be reassessed in such future reviews.

Assisted by the European Investment Bank (EIB) Advisory Services, the Department of Transport and Department for Infrastructure, and agencies north and south, are working to progress the Report’s recommendations in the years ahead to help optimise the sequencing and implementation of the proposed investments.