Meeting of rail campaigners in Letterkenny
A meeting was held on Saturday, November 27 in the Station House Hotel, Letterkenny under the auspices of the West Ulster Rail Initiative (WURI) to co-ordinate the responses of the various rail interests in Donegal to the forthcoming intergovernmental, all-island rail review. The first since 1906.
The meeting was well attended by all rail interests and campaigners from across the county and the north west of Northern Ireland.
Canon David Crooks, Chairman of WURI addressing the meeting thanked everyone from the general public, fellow rail campaigners in Connaught and Northern Ireland politicians in every party, public officials at all levels and the radio and print media who had supported his 20 year campaign.
He outlined the neglect of Donegal since its rail network was gradually dismantled from the 1930’s with the final trains run in 1959.
He showed on a map both the current absence of rail or linked rail services in a huge triangle from Derry/Londonderry to Dublin, Sligo, Derry.
"This contrasted very unfavourably with rail and road services throughout the rest of Ireland and was no longer acceptable,” the Canon said.
He added: “We pay our taxes as well as all the other counties and are entitled to the same infrastructure."
Brendan Flanagan, Honorary Secretary of WURI pointed out that the shortest routes south from Donegal all lie within another jurisdiction where groups opposed their upgrading because, in their view, it did not best serve their interests and these views must be respected under the Good Friday Agreement in whatever Ireland may emerge in the future.
This was the result of the original plan for a three north eastern county Northern Ireland being expanded to six by PM. Bonar Law resulting in Donegal, becoming an island.
Prof. John Bradley's recent rail review is now accessible online at http://www.westontrack.com/ bradley-report-1-214.pdf
This was the reality within which Donegal must plan its land connectivity to the south to link with the developing Atlantic Economic Corridor.
Donegal must work, with what was is possible within the Republic’s jurisdiction which is south through the area around Ballyshannon rather than waiting for goodwill in another jurisdiction to solve the county’s infrastructure problems.
He pointed out that Donegal’s sole reliance on road transport made it uniquely vulnerable. The county needed the alternative choice of rail which has zero emissions and very low land requirement and therefore the most environmentally friendly public and freight transport.
The meeting agreed that all public representatives in Donegal be asked to require planners to preserve whatever remained of all trunk rail networks.
The representative from Derry pointed out that “greenways and cycleways , wonderful new developments though they are, are not the answer to Donegal’s transport problems”.
The meeting agreed that WURI act as coordinator of relevant submissions from the various rail interests and campaigners in the county who should contact WURI at [email protected] or [email protected] as soon as possible as ARUP, who are commissioned to conduct the review, may invite submissions soon.