An all-island rail review represents a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to restore the rail infrastructure in Northern Ireland, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has said.
Among the recommendations of the 25-year plan published by the Department of Transport and the North's Department for Infrastructure are decarbonisation of the rail network across the island, new and enhanced routes, greater regional balance and improved speeds and frequency.
The plan proposes enchancing the intercity railway network between Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford to top speeds of 200km/h, ensuring that train journeys are faster than the car.
It also recommends extending the railway from Portadown to Dungannon, Omagh, Strabane, Derry, and on to Donegal.
The plan also recommends connecting Belfast International Airport to the rail network.
The review was first established in 2021 by Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan and former SDLP Stormont Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon.
However, with the powersharing institutions at Stormont currently not operating, there are no ministers in Northern Ireland to sign off on any recommendations.
Mr Eastwood said the rail review was one of the significant achievements of his party from the last term of devolved government.
He said: “Commissioning the review in co-operation with the Irish Government, we understood the immense practical benefits that investing in rail will have for people in the north and across our island.
“We now have a £30 billion rail restoration plan that will help decarbonise transport across Ireland, connect people and opportunities in communities that have been severed from economic investment for far too long and bring people across our island closer together.”
Mr Eastwood added: “I am particularly glad that the restoration of rail from Letterkenny to Derry and on to Portadown is a key recommendation of the review.
“The withdrawal of rail services in the west has left substantial scars on communities here that have never healed because the promised investment in roads infrastructure was abandoned for decades.
“This plan is a rededication to people in the west.”
Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts said the report showed the need for “long overdue investment” in the rail network.
He added: “A high-speed rail service connecting Belfast, Dublin, Cork and other cities on the island would be a significant game changer for our transport infrastructure and economy.
“Extending rail networks to towns like Dungannon, Omagh and Strabane will be a much-needed boost to their local retail sectors by providing consumers with other transport options other than the car or bus.”
The Into the West lobby group welcomed the proposals, but said it had concerns over whether Stormont politicians would prioritise the plan.
Campaigner Steve Bradley told the BBC: “It is unacceptable that in 2023 there is such a large gap on the island’s rail network, especially involving such a significant regional city like Derry.
“If we are serious about the climate crisis, regional development and social justice – both north and south – then we really need to look at providing mass transport alternatives to the car.
“It will all come down to whether our elected politicians and the civil servants in Stormont feel strongly enough about rail – and that’s where we would have concerns.”
