Sir, – Sadhbh O’Neill is well-meaning about opening all the old railways (“Investment in railways has potential”, October 26th). We would all love to have trains from every village to a town nearby, but it will not answer our emission issues unless we all change our lifestyles, which is highly unlikely.
The article once again raises the myth of the Western Rail Corridor, a twisting route built on a 19th century alignment that if reopened will at best deliver an intermittent and very slow train service.
A petition signed by more than 26,000 people mainly from the west of Ireland is under consideration by a Dáil committee to utilise the closed western rail corridor as a greenway until such time as a railway might be possible.
Opening old railways might not be the climate panacea Ms O’Neill hopes for, but there are alternative uses of these closed rail routes that keep them in public ownership for potential future rail use and that help reduce emissions by creating cycling routes that locals will use. There are emission-saving alternatives for closed railways that might just help the planet more than an intermittent train service from Sligo to Claremorris.
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BRENDAN QUINN,
Enniscrone,
Co Sligo.