Rail review: 'no regard' for Cooley and rural Louth commuters says Louth cllr

Cllr Paula Butterly has said that the All Island Rail Review which was published last week, which if implemented would see new 200km/h (125mph) intercity trains between Dublin and Belfast, has “no regard for rural commuters in County Louth”.

The Department of Transport in Ireland and the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) in Northern Ireland last week published the Final Report of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, which includes recommendations for train services at least hourly between cities and at least every two hours on regional/rural routes.

While welcoming publication of the review, Cllr Butterly a Fine Gael councillor in the Ardee Local Electoral Area, said that “the announcement of the All Island Rail Review brought good news for many areas in the country but had no regard for rural commuters in County Louth.”

Cllr Butterly continued: “Despite viable options in the Mid-Louth area such as Dunleer, there seems to be no forward thinking on how these areas will look in the future and my previous calls for a transport hub in the area which could link bus, rail and cars have not been taken into account. Such a hub could service North Drogheda and the entire Mid-Louth area.

“Even if rural commuters wanted to use rail services how are them supposed to get there? In their cars of course, but they would have to cross a busy town in Drogheda only to find nowhere to park their cars or head for Dundalk where not only would they face the same issues but also incur the pleasure of a more expensive fare.

“There was also no regard for the residents in the Pennisula or the possibility of reinstating the Dundalk-Greenore line. Not only could this alleviate traffic on a busy and often dangerous road, it could attract new visitors but also serve as a new way to transport cargo.”

Hoping for a rethink on rail services in Louth into the future, Cllr Butterly added that, “as the review is not necessarily set in stone, hopefully the key stakeholders will take into consideration the need and viability of a better connected rail service for the county.”