The Western Rail Trail campaign has submitted a petition with over 26,000 signatures to the Oireachtas Petitions Committee asking for a greenway from Athenry to Sligo until such time as the railway might be re-opened.
Brendan Quinn, spokesperson for the campaign, said that they felt the time was right to submit the petition to the Oireachtas for full consideration by Dáil members.
Of the 26,000 people who have signed the petition, the majority live in the West of Ireland, and Quinn said there is simply ‘huge support for this idea’ which needs to be listened to.
The government has now published intentions to potentially re-open the closed railway from Athenry to Claremorris in the strategic railway review.
Mr Quinn said that this is welcome news, but there is no timeframe on when this might happen in the review.
He said that in fact, the railway is unlikely to be re-opened for many years to come, as the the old rusting tracks are meaningless they will have to be ripped up and replaced.
“Until such time as the railway happens let’s use this route as a greenway to protect the alignment and when and if the railway is re-opened a parallel greenway could be built alongside it,” he said.
Quinn said that one good thing the rail review has done is to clarify that the closed railway north of Claremorris through Mayo and Sligo as far as Collooney is no longer planned to be a railway again at any time in the future.
“Now is the time to fully protect this route in public ownership with the East Mayo Greenway from Claremorris to Charlestown in county Mayo and the Sligo Greenway from Charlestown to Collooney in County Sligo.
“There are now no excuses left not to utilise this part of the route as Greenway now the strategic rail review has made it clear there are no plans to re-open this part of the railway.”
