Sir, – The news that the European Commission is proposing that the contract to run rail services should be put out to tender in 2019 will certainly have serious ramifications for Irish Rail (“State under pressure to put rail services out to tender”, July 30th).
It should focus attention on those parts of the network which cost the most to subvent per passenger journey and are clearly a drain on scarce resources; for example the section of the Western Rail Corridor between Ennis and Athenry, carrying a fraction of the passengers it was supposed to when opened with great fanfare in 2010, is now a costly millstone around the neck of Irish Rail. What rail operator in their right mind would want to take this on?
It should mean the end to any more fantasy proposals, such as reopening any further sections of the Western Rail Corridor north of Athenry. This closed railway route in public ownership could easily be transformed into a greenway from Athenry to Sligo and be connected to the Dublin to Galway coast-to-coast greenway near Athenry and with the highly successful Mayo Great Western Greenway near Castlebar. Imagine what this would do for tourism in the west of Ireland?
Unfortunately the simple logic of this idea is being blocked by Galway and Mayo county councillors who still believe a fairy godmother will one day wave a wand to fund the fairytale project of a railway from Athenry to Claremorris, a project which nobody needs and the public is not clamouring for.
The problem now is not only is there is no money to build the railway, in all likelihood there will be no rail company prepared to run trains for one man and his dog to travel on this line. There is simply no economic nor even regional development argument for the Western Rail Corridor to be still on the agenda, despite the entrenched views of some.
No doubt we will do what we do best when faced with such a choice – nothing – because doing nothing means no one gets the blame. – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN QUINN,
Enniscrone,
Co Sligo.