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NEW REPORT SHOWS RESTORED SLIGO-GALWAY RAIL LINK VITAL TO REGION'S FUTURE

A new report has found that there is a strong case for completing the final leg of the Western Rail Corridor project reconnecting Mayo to Sligo, once the planned Galway-Mayo section of the railway has been completed.

See report here:

The Atlantic Railway Corridor / The Galway-Mayo Rail Link: An Appraisal by economist Dr. John Bradley, 2024

Edited by former ESRI Research Professor, Dr John Bradley, the report examines the current structure and performance of the economy of the N&W region, the reasons why it is 'lagging', and how it can be revitalised and re-integrated into the currently more buoyant national economic performance.

The 216 page report, entitled The Atlantic Railway Corridor - The Mayo-Sligo Rail Link: An Appraisal, includes a detailed survey and analysis of the dormant Claremorris-Collooney rail line and provides preliminary cost estimates for its restoration based on information provided by railway engineers and the previous restoration of the Ennis-Athenry line, suitably indexed for inflation and modern safety requirements.

• The total Cost of Works required for the re-opening of the line is estimated as Euro 411.72m, which includes a contingency of 20%. This amounts to Euro 5.5m per kilometre of restored track.
• A journey time from Claremorris to Sligo of c.70 minutes is estimated on the restored line (allowing for a 120 km/hr line speed and one minute stops at all intermediate stations). This would give a journey time of approximately 2 hours 10 minutes from Sligo to Galway.
• The Report envisages that the towns of Kiltimagh, Swinford, Charlestown (to serve Ireland West Airport), Tubbercurry and Collooney will be served by modern station infrastructure, car parking facilities etc.
• It also envisages that a large number of the current railway crossings, many now defunct, will be closed or removed.

About the Author:

John Bradley was Research Professor at the ESRI and has worked and published extensively on the island economy of Ireland, EU cohesion policy, industrial strategy and economic modelling. He previously worked at UCD, the IIRS and the Central Bank of Ireland. He has acted as a consultant to the European Commission, the European Parliament, the OECD, the World Bank, many EU member state governments and has carried out research and training projects in the EU, the Western Balkans and Africa.

From the same Author:

The Atlantic Railway Corridor - The Galway-Mayo Rail Link: An Appraisal by economist Dr. John Bradley