Minister for Transport Martin Cullen has defended the timetable for developing the western rail corridor and said that the Government is "moving it as quickly as we can".
However, funding for the second phase - between Athenry and Tuam, Co Galway - will be subject to a "fuller appraisal" by Iarnród Éireann, the Minister confirmed in Athenry yesterday when he announced that he had approved first phase financing through Irish Rail. The partial first phase will take two years to link Ennis, Co Clare, and Athenry.
It will involve renewing 58 kilometres of track, installing points and crossings, and providing single 90-metre platforms at Gort, Ardrahan and Craughwell.
The second phase between Athenry and Tuam will be completed by 2011 under the Government's Transport 21 plan, but it will be 2014 before a live link is established with Mayo at Claremorris.
Under phase one some seven services will run daily each way between Limerick and Galway, with five stations at Gort, Ardrahan, Craughwell, Sixmilebridge (on the Ennis-Limerick line) and Oranmore (on the Athenry-Galway line).
The Minister said that phased implementation of the corridor was based on recommendations made by the expert working group chaired by Pat McCann.
"The heaviest demand for services is currently on the Ennis-Athenry-Tuam sections of the corridor, so these sections will be developed first," Mr Cullen said.
"In the meantime, it is expected that Galway and Mayo county councils will develop their land-use strategies, in order to develop the critical mass necessary to support completion within the Transport 21 timeframe," he said.
"This is a Government that believes in public transport," Mr Cullen said.
"We're investing all over the country, many other areas that we'd like to be doing more in and we'll have to look at that beyond Transport 21," he said.
Fine Gael councillor Madeleine Taylor-Quinn said she welcomed funding approval for the first phase, but called on the Minister to expedite the feasibility study for the spur line to Shannon.
"This would allow the region to "maximise on the benefits of the international airport" at Shannon, she said.
The West on Track campaign's spokesman, Colman Ó Raghallaigh, said that the campaign was delighted that the "first piece of phase one" has been announced, and it looked forward to the rest of this phase being implemented sequentially.
Western Development Commission chief executive Gillian Buckley also welcomed yesterday's announcement.
