CIE/Iarnrod Eireann has claimed in the High Court that if forced to remove a new railway signal box and railing located near Renmore, Galway rail services would have to stop.
In court yesterday, Mr James Macken SC, for the companies, said Galway City Council had issued an enforcement notice in relation to what the council claimed was "an unauthorised structure" along the railway lines near Hawthorn Drive, Renmore.
The enforcement notice followed a complaint by a person in the Hawthorn Drive area that the new structure was an unauthorised development. The council claimed the structure was located in an area where the view was protected.
Mr Macken said his clients believed this "small and insignificant structure" was incapable of interfering with the view. If the railway signalling system was not allowed to function, it would mean the train services would have to be halted, he said.
Mr Justice McKechnie granted both companies leave to seek, by way of judicial review, an order quashing the enforcement notice and an order restraining the council taking any further steps regarding it.
In an affidavit, Mr Michael Carroll, solicitor, for CIE/Iarnrod Eireann, said the complaint related to a signalling apparatus of extremely modest dimensions but which was an essential piece of apparatus for control of train movements. It formed part of the renewed signalling system between Ballinasloe and Galway.
His side wrote to Galway council explaining the apparatus being replaced was "life expired" and that critical safety considerations arose.