All-Island Rail Strategy a ‘mixed bag for the North-West’ - campaigners say

Local rail campaigners ‘Into The West’ have given a mixed reaction to Wednesday’s publication of the final version of the All-Island Rail Strategy.

The strategy is a north-south initiative that was launched jointly by the transport Ministers from both sides of the border in 2021. It is designed to consider how and where rail should be improved on the island to boost sustainable connectivity and address regional imbalance - with a stated focus on the north-west of the island, where rail links are largely absent.

A draft version of the Review was published in July 2023, with a second round of public consultation held in the months afterwards. And it is the lack of changes to the strategy following that consultation which has most disappointed rail campaigners in Derry.

Chair of Into The West, Steve Bradley, commented: “It’s fantastic to see the final version of the All-Island Rail Strategy released at long last, and it contains much to be positive about for the north-west. The strategy recommends reopening a rail line between Derry and Portadown - via Strabane, Omagh and Dungannon, as well as reconnecting Derry with Letterkenny.

"Together those steps would link the north-west of the island directly to Dublin, bring rail back to Tyrone and Donegal, and create a second and faster rail route to Belfast from this area. The proposal to reconnect Limavady to the rail network is also very welcome, and something Into The West has been campaigning for.

"But there are further aspects of the report that should be of genuine concern to everyone in this area. The previous draft version of the report said that every core city on the island (of which Derry is one) should have 200km/hr rail service – but then singled out only Derry to have a recommended slower speed of services instead.

"It has since been claimed that was an error, with the final version of the report stating that Derry should also have 200km/hr services – but it qualifies that by saying only “where this is found in further study to be beneficial”.

"None of the other seven core cities have such a caveat attached to their rail services – so yet again Derry is being singled out for a lower quality of service than everywhere else. This theme is replicated again when it comes to rail freight.

"The strategy says that all seven core cities on the island should have a rail freight hub – but then refuses to propose one for Derry. So yet again – the report is going against its own recommendations by singling Derry out for poorer services. It really needs to be explained by the civil servants and politicians why this keeps happening to Derry”.

Mr Bradley continued: “Other concerns with the final strategy include the fact that it proposes leaving Fermanagh as the only county in Ireland or Britain without rail. And that it leaves the vast majority of Donegal, except Letterkenny, without even a basic level of rail. In short – none of the feedback we gave to the consultation on the draft report last year has been listened to.

"The only significant change made to the proposed strategy since then appears to be to open a new railway station in Craigavon - which as well as coincidentally being in the Infrastructure Minister’s own constituency, also already has two existing rail stations three miles away in either direction at Lurgan and Portadown.

"So this is clearly a rail strategy which seeks to double-down on the dominance of the East of NI and the east coast of the island, at the detriment of places like Derry in the west."

Mr Bradley concluded: “The good news is that the strategy is just a set of recommendations. It will be the Minister and the Executive who will decide what rail projects across NI should be advanced – and crucially when.

"However – given that the very modest idea of just upgrading the out-of-date rail track between Derry and Coleraine has been delayed repeatedly for the last15yrs, and pushed back yet again recently by the current Minister, the signs are not good with regards Derry and the north-west receiving fair treatment as this strategy is taken forward.

"It is now time for the Minister to start replacing words with action. He must make it clear that key proposals such as reopening Derry-Portadown are a top priority within this strategy, and ensure it is expedited and funded accordingly. The days of treating the north-west as second-best when it comes to infrastructure must be brought to an end, and this strategy must be turned into an opportunity to do that”.