West on Track for Tuam link

The West on Track campaign has called on the Government to commit funding to proceed with the second phase of the Western Rail Corridor before the general election. The call came after Minister for Social Protection, Eamon Ó Cuív, said he hoped to see planning and design of Phase 2 of the WRC completed in 2011.

“It is now nearly four months since funding was announced for the planning and design of the Athenry-Tuam phase of the project and we are aware that this work has been underway for some time,” said a spokesman for West on Track.
“However, there is no logical reason why this should take a year, given that the railway in question is acknowledged by Iarnród Éireann to be a straightforward engineering project.”
“We welcome the statement of support for the project from Minister Éamon Ó Cuív but it is now essential for the Government to back this up with the necessary funding in order to have work underway before the general election to avoid the danger of the project becoming a political football and to convince people that the project is, in fact, being taken seriously.”
Minister Ó Cuív said he was pleased with progress to date.
“This year was a very important year, with the largest reopening of any railway line in Ireland taking place, the opening of the rail line from Ennis to Athenry, allowing direct services from Galway to Limerick,” he said.
According to the minister, the number of services on the route are likely to increase in the new year.
“This reopened service has been very successful and I have been informed by Iarnród Éireann that it is intended to add extra services and that, in particular, it is intended to add an extra evening commuter service leaving Galway after 6pm to facilitate growth in commuter traffic along the route. The next phase of the project is the reopening of the line from Athenry to Tuam.  With the large population in Tuam, this part of the Western Rail Corridor should be an instant success when it opens. As I announced some time ago, planning and design work are ongoing on Phase 2 of the Western Rail Corridor and I would hope that this would be completed in 2011,” Minister Ó Cuív outlined.
“The fact that this work is continuing is a clear signal of the Government’s intention to proceed with the Western Rail Corridor.  I will continue to work with my colleagues in Government to ensure that this is progressed as speedily as possible and to ensure that the West of Ireland receives its fair allocation of funding for transport projects,” he concluded.