Just €13m would make Killucan railway station fully functional

Trains stop at Killucan railway station - but passengers aren’t allowed embark or disembark, local Dáil deputy, Willie Penrose has claimed.

Calling at Dáil Éireann level for action on the issue, Deputy Penrose said that it would cost just €1.3m to make the station “fully functional” once more.
The Labour man was asking the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, if he had plans to discuss the reopening of Killucan station with Iarnród Éireann.

He told Minister Donohoe that the project would qualify for funding under the new capital plan for transport, the new rural investment plan and Border, midland and western region funding, given that trains that travel from Sligo to Dublin already stop at this station but do not allow persons to embark or disembark there.

Responding, Minister Donohoe said that matters relating to the re-opening of railway stations, such as at Killucan, are a matter for Iarnród Eireann.
“As the Deputy will be aware, Iarnród Éireann remains in a challenging position financially and it has no resources of its own available to fund new projects,” he stated, adding that the company has not made any proposal to his department to re-open Killucan station.
Minister Donohoe went on to point out that the reopening of Killucan Station had not been included in the new capital plan, and he stated that in view of the constraints on availability of funding, the priority for the heavy rail network under the new Plan is to improve efficiency and maintain safety standards, rather than expanding the network or re-opening new stations.  
“If additional funds become available during the lifetime of the new Capital Plan, and this is not certain, there will be many competing demands between the opening of new lines, the improvement of existing lines, rolling stock and station upgrades, as well as the opening of new stations across the country,” the minister continued.

“All of these competing demands will be subject to robust analysis and will require strong business cases justifying their value and demonstrating how they would significantly increase patronage on the rail network.
“When opening a new station on an existing line, consideration must also be given to both the benefits of gaining new passengers and also the downsides of the cost of constructing and running the new station, as well as the risk of losing other passengers due to increased journey times.”