Derry rail lobby group to confront Transport Minister today

A lobby group fighting for better rail services in Derry will today meet the Transport Minister at Stormont.

There has been much debate in recent years about the need to improve the Derry to Coleraine railway line.

There have also been repeated calls for the former Waterside railway station at Duke Street to be redeveloped as the focal point of improved rail services to and from the city.

The findings of a public consultation released this year showed strong support for the refurbishment of the station building.

However, details emerged last month of a further blow to upgrade the Derry to Coleraine line.

Transport Minister Danny Kennedy revealed that the cost of the latest stage of the project had almost doubled from an estimated £22 million to around £40 million because of changes to accommodate larger trains.

It is against the backdrop of these latest developments that members of the Into the West lobby group will meet with Mr Kennedy today.

Members of the group also last week met senior management at Translink to discuss their concerns.

An Into the West spokesperson said they welcomed from the Translink managers that  they are ‘fully committed’ to the Derry line and intend to complete phase two of the upgrade before the end of 2016.

'This will involve new signalling and construction of a passing loop, making an hourly service with a “clockface” timetable possible - trains leaving at, say, 10.10, 11.10, 12.10 etc.

'Trains ariving and leaving every hour will help to increase the number of passengers using the train.

'This has been a long time coming. It was originally scheduled for completion by now. We told Translink that further delay would be totally unacceptable in Derry and the north west.'

However, the lobby group’s spokesman said they were worried that the extra money needed for the upgrades was ‘not secure’ because of the competition for funding within Stormont departments.

'Translink could give us no guarantees on this. We were told that the extra funding will have to be approved by the Department of Finance and Personnel. We found this alarming. 

'We have pressed before for a rebalancing of transport spending. Currently, only 16 per cent of the budget is devoted to public transport. Roads take the lion's share. This runs counter to the priorities across Europe and doen't sit easily with Executive commitments to environmental protection. 

'A minor adjustment would make full development of the line possible without delving into funding for health, education etc.

'This is matter for the Executive. We will be pressing the Minister to make it a major issue around the table. 

'A clear united voice from elected representatives and others in the north west will be needed to push this project over the line..