Cllr proposes controversial plan to speed up train trips from Leitrim to Dublin

 Sligo councillor Marie Casserly has suggested a controversial change to the Sligo–Leitrim train schedule that could reduce journey times to Dublin.

Speaking to Ocean FM, the councillor said that while plans to add more DART carriages were welcome, they would not speed up train journeys for residents in the region.

“The other issue is that there’s no mention of improving capacity at Sligo station, or Collooney, or Carrick-on-Shannon, or Drumod, or stations along the line. They need to be able to provide space for people to actually travel — that they can park their car, get on the train, travel to Dublin and come back. If you’re increasing the number of trains but not reducing the length of time it takes to get from Sligo to Dublin, I can’t see how that’s going to improve things,” she said.

The independent councillor proposed that the route from Sligo to Dublin could be made more efficient if some trains did not stop at every station along the way.

“What I think they should be doing is maybe having two trains running every day that don’t stop at every single station, and that can be addressed by increasing parking at different stations. People would drive an extra couple of miles to park at a station if they knew the train would get them to Dublin quicker, particularly for appointments,” she said.

“It’s different if you’re visiting or shopping for the day, but if you have to be there early in the morning for work or appointments, you need to get there as quickly as possible. That could be an option — cutting out some stops. It might not be very popular, but it could possibly work if people are given the option of travelling on a train that doesn’t stop at every station.”