Council makes case for Derry to Letterkenny rail link

Derry City and Strabane District Council has called for rail connections from Derry to Letterkenny and onwards to Sligo and the Galway Atlantic Corridor.
The call has been made in the council’s response to the All Island Strategic Rail Review.

Members of Derry City and Strabane District Council's Governance and Strategic Planning Committee have endorsed the council’s response to the review.
In its corporate response, the council calls for the review to recommend increased speed and frequency of rail services to and from Derry-Londonderry to Belfast, along with seamless onward connections to and from Dublin on the existing line, as well as a future direct connection to Dublin via Strabane and Omagh.

It calls for rail connections from Derry to Letterkenny and onwards to Sligo and the Galway Atlantic Corridor and for a suburban rail service serving Derry and the wider North West City Region to Letterkenny, Strabane, Coleraine etc, with halts at Eglinton and at the City of Derry Airport.

The council in its response to the consultation highlighted the need for the provision of freight services to and from the city and Foyle Port and the other ports and cities on the island, and called for the installation of direct connections to halts/stations at both Belfast International Airport and Dublin Airport for any existing or future planned routes.

In its detailed response, the council outlined the need for a commitment of funding and the implementation of a feasibility study into all of the investment proposal to address the infrastructural and connectivity deficit to Derry and the wider north-west.
It stated that the review needs to consider the future potential of the city and region to sustainably accommodate projected population growth, while in parallel delivering on its obligations to provide balanced regional development and climate change obligations.

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Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Alderman Graham Warke said the review of rail is timely and the council's feedback to the consultation is significantly important and reflective of the ongoing lobbying role the council has along with its neighbouring council partners in calling for improved and sustainable connectivity between the major cities on the island. He said a key element of the Council's response is to ensure that the review addresses decarbonisation in the transport sector through a low carbon society that focuses on improved connectivity to the North West region.

"The rail issue is a hugely important one and something that we all have been campaigning for. We recognise the importance of rail connectivity and the need to enhance regional accessibility if we are to achieve our targets and ambitions set out in our City Deal and Strategic Growth Plan for a better future across our city region,” he said.