Proposal to reinstate the railway line between Derry and Strabane to be discussed by local council today
Councillor wants to see transport department consider the idea
The Belfast line is the only railway lined currently operating from Derry.
Reporter: );
);
A proposal to reinstate the train line between Derry and Strabane will be discussed at a council meeting today.
SDLP councillor Steven Edwards will put forward a motion on the proposal at the monthly meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council.
The Great Northern Railway line from Derry to Strabane and beyond to Dublin closed many years ago.
Ambitious plans to restore Derry to Strabane rail line are now on track
Local council supports motion to look at feasibility of reinstating the transport connection
Some of the tracks of the Great Northern Line remain at Foyle Road in Derry.
Reporter: );
Derry City and Strabane District Council has given its support to the proposal.
At the council s monthly meeting tonight, SDLP councillor Steven Edwards put forward a motion on the issue.
He asked that the council recognise the strategic, social and economic benefit of restoring the former Great Northern Railway line between Strabane and Derry.
The Great Northern Line ran from what is now the Foyle Valley Railway Museum at Foyle Road in Derry.
The idea of a Boris Bridge , or Boris Burrow , linking Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK has left people dreaming of a quick drive to Scotland for a shopping trip - but getting a train to Enniskillen hasn t been an option since 1957.
Northern Ireland s transport infrastructure has always been found wanting. The M1 motorway ends at Dungannon, a motorway doesn t exist between our two main cities, Belfast and Londonderry, and we can t drive directly to Dublin from Belfast.
Then there is the issue of our railway links. If you are lucky enough to live in a town with a train station, you have the hit the jackpot. If you live west of the River Bann, then you are in trouble.
STORMONT’s Infrastructure Minister has said that the possibility of extending rail services to the west will be considered again in a Regional Strategic Transport Network Plan (RSTNTP) currently being developed.
There have been no railways in Tyrone since the Great Northern route closed in 1965. Much of the former track has now been re-integrated into farmland or built upon.
Efforts to highlight the need for a rail service in the county have been highlighted periodically during the past 50 years, but the prospect of new track being built has always seemed remote.
Advertisement
The Infrastructure Department has previously outlined plans for extending the railway to Dungannon from Portadown.