RESTORATION OF MONAGHAN, CLONES RAIL LINKS ADVOCATED IN NEW REPORT

The future return of rail services to Co Monaghan could be in prospect if the recommendations of a new Government report are implemented. The All-Ireland Stategic Railway Review has recommended the establishment of a new rail link between Cavan and Armagh incorporating stops in Clones and Monaghan Town as well as Portadown and allowing for links to Belfast. Part of a proposal to reinstate the railway connection that once linked Athlone with Portadown, the new link would “greatly increase inter-regional accessibility across the northern half of the island”, according to the report. Other recommendations include the reinstatement of the Portadown and Letterkenny line, taking in Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane, Derry, and Letterkenny.

There are 32 strategic recommendations to enhance and expand the rail system in Ireland and Northern Ireland up to 2050, with new rail lines throughout the north midland and north west areas prominently advocated. The implementation of 200 kph trains and at least one train every two hours in rural and regional areas at regular intervals is also a goal that the report puts forward. The report was jointly prepared by the Irish Government’s Department of Transport and Northern Ireland’s Department of Infrastructure under the New Decade, New Approach agreement, who have described it as “a strategic vision for the development of the rail system across the island of Ireland over the coming decades”.

“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 and higher service frequencies,” the Department of Transport….