A rail link between Athenry and Tuam should be given “serious consideration” according to a new report and a recently formed campaign group based in the Tuam area.
A report on the future of rail transport in Ireland by AECOM was published in Dublin recently and among its recommendations the report said “serious consideration” should be give to reopening the Athenry-Tuam rail link as a Galway commuter link to tie in with the existing Athenry-Galway service.
The report’s findings have been welcomed by the Athenry-Tuam Rail Action Group which has been launched to call for such a rail service. The group consists of local county and urban councillors, Athenry and Tuam Chambers of Commerce, Ballyglunin Development
Group members, and other community representatives.
At a meeting of the group, the ATRAG called for the reopening of the Athenry-Tuam link and said that after the report the matter is “now firmly back on the agenda”.
“Many people, including many in Iarnród Éireann always believed that the Tuam Athenry section of the Western Rail Corridor should have been opened first,” said a spokesperson for the group. “We now intend to follow up on this at all levels to ensure that the next phase of the railway is delivered without delay.”
