Obstacles on the line at Killucan station

The re-opening of Killucan train station has reached an impasse as Irish Rail ask that Westmeath County Council prepare a “business case” for it and the council, who are fully behind the plan, contend that Irish Rail should do it.

Following a lengthy debate at a meeting of the Westmeath Strategic Policy Transport Committee in December, it was agreed that a letter should issue to Irish Rail seeking a high level meeting to determine who is responsible for what.

Barry Kehoe, director of services, said it required commitment from Irish Rail. He said the council could spend the next two or 10 years preparing documents and putting significant money into preparing such a business case, and “I guarantee you, based on my experience, we’d be no closer to having that railway station re-opened”.

“If it is to re-open, Iarnród Éireann needs to come into it, the National Transport Agency needs to come into it and the government needs to come into it, or it won’t happen.”

Cllr Denis Leonard suggested that while the council used to pour cold water on the plan, the water was now freezing. He said he had been pushing for this for 20 years and he expected to continue for a few more.

He said that Jim Meade, chief executive of Irish Rail, at a meeting, had been adamant it could re-open as he had seen such projects happen in other area. He said Mr Meade had asked to meet the chief executive of the council, Pat Gallagher, but that didn’t happen and instead, a director who was not in charge of transport was sent to the meeting.

We have 90,000 people and two railway stations in Westmeath, Cllr Leonard said. He pointed out that in the National Development Plan, there is a commitment to spend twice as much on public transport as on roads. Westmeath County Council is spending €13m on roads, so where is the €26m for public transport, “or even the colour of it?” he asked.

He claimed that the cost of re-opening this station is now €2m to €3m, down from €6m originally estimated.

Cllr Leonard called for the appointment of a liaison officer to work with the local group and Irish Rail on the project, considering they had appointed two people to work on the fleadh (which he welcomed).

He said he had 30 or 40 letters going back to 2003 in which responsibility for the project had been passed between Irish Rail, the council and the minister for transport and “this Bermuda triangle has continued to operate”.

As a result, he recently wrote to the current minister, Eamon Ryan, TD, seeking clarification. He read the minister’s reply, which stated that the operation, maintenance and renewal of the rail network and stations including Killucan is a matter for Iarnród Éireann in the first instance.

The minister said the council are the authority with responsibility for the land use and transport planning for the area; and Iarnród Éireann would support them in preparation of a business case, with access to information and technical expertise in planning, design and operation of the station.

“In other words, we aren’t going this alone,” said Cllr Leonard, adding that it was within the realms of the council and Irish Rail and the minister’s office to look at how a station, only closed for a third of its life, could be re-opened when trains stop there eight or nine times a day as it is.

“We are meant to be engaged in a rapid zero emissions policy for 2050 and cuts in emissions by 2030,” Cllr Leonard said, adding that large numbers of people in east Westmeath, in Kinnegad, Killucan, Rochfortbridge, are commuters to Dublin.

“Do we want to push them to the motorway for the next 10 years?” he asked, adding that with the new move towards better bus links, “we could bring people from Rochfortbridge, Milltownpass, wherever, to Killucan to catch trains rather than take cars”.

Cllr Leonard claimed that for 20 years nobody has taken responsibility on this. “Local commuters in the area, the third most populous area in our county, have been neglected by all three bodies, by a succession of ministers, by a succession of CEs of Irish Rail and by a succession of Westmeath county council officials, with the exception of Danny McLoughlin, who was active in pushing this with Irish Rail and was making progress, but he moved on”.

“To neglect that many citizens in Westmeath county council is criminal neglect,” he declared.

Committee chairperson, Cllr Hazel Smyth, said the country has to reduce carbon emissions and tackle the housing crisis. She spoke of the number of people from that area working and attending colleges in Dublin and Maynooth and “really struggling to find accommodation”.

“If there was a useful railway line they could rely on, they would take that option, but now, that option doesn’t exist,” she said. She spoke of the tourism and recreational potential of re-opening the station. “What a boost it would be to promoting our greenway and surrounding areas” and to the local economy, she said.

Her understanding of the situation was that Irish Rail said the council need to prepare a business case, but they have not said what it should contain. She suggested the council send Irish Rail details of the policy decisions they made, statistical information the council have and accompanying information on decisions that have been made over the years regarding the re-opening of this station.

Irish Rail are in support of this, the minister is in support of it and “reticence only seems to be emanating from Westmeath County Council, which is very disappointing”, Cllr Smyth said.

She felt there was “a real reluctance to provide the bare minimum from Westmeath county council when really, all we’re asking for at this point is for Westmeath county council to provide Irish Rail with the information we have, and then for Irish Rail to determine what is required”.

Mr Kehoe intervened at that point, arguing that Irish Rail and the minister had said quite clearly that it was up to the council to provide the business case.

Cllr Leonard re-read the relevant section of the minister’s letter, which stated that Irish Rail would support the council in preparation of a business case with access to any relevant information they have and technical expertise in the planning, design and operation of the station.

Mr Kehoe said the council are happy to provide Irish Rail with all the planning information they have, with all of the statistics that they have on population and population growth anywhere in the county and then for Irish Rail to produce the business case, but what Irish Rail and the minister are saying is that it a matter for the council to produce the business case for rail infrastructure, he argued.

Referring again to the minister’s letter, Cllr Leonard said Minister Ryan stated that if the council wanted to establish the potential for the re-opening of the station, they would have to arrange for the production of the required business case as they are the authority with responsibility for land use and transport planning in the area. Irish Rail would support the council in the preparation of a business case.

Cllr Smyth asked that an official letter be sent on behalf of the council in consultation with the local group, outlining that under the county development plan, the council is in agreement that this should go ahead. She suggested that they should ask Irish Rail what further information they might require to complete the business case requested.

Mr Kehoe stressed that the council was fully supportive of the re-opening of Killucan railway station, but it was up to Irish Rail and the government to provide public transport. He pointed out that the council had invested heavily in roads in that part of the county and elsewhere in the county over the years and those roads provide public transport in terms of the bus service.

The government has said that investment in public transport is a priority and it is government policy to make the most of the transport assets that are there, “so I can’t understand why this is not progressing at national level without Westmeath County Council getting involved in things that are not the business of Westmeath County Council. We have covered our remit in terms of land use and planning and I can’t understand why this is not progressing at national level,” Mr Kehoe said.

Cllr Smyth insisted that the council “put the ball back into their (Irish Rail’s) court” by sending them the information the council has and asking what further information they want for this to happen.

Alison Hough, environmentalist, remarked that everyone seemed to agree that this project should go ahead. She said it was “a no-brainer” to invest in large scale public transport.

Cllr Aoife Davitt, mayor of Mullingar, said the frustration levels of people in the area were rising. This needs to be moved forward as quickly as possible, she urged.

Cllr Leonard insisted that this needs a liaison person who believes in the project and can help push it forward. He also asked that the council chief executive, Pat Gallagher, meet Jim Meade of Irish Rail. “That is the level this needs to happen at so everyone is clear what the responsibilities are,” he said.

Mr Kehoe said he would need to “understand a lot more about this liaison person before I could say yes to it”. He suggested more engagement about how the council can support the local group. In terms of a meeting with Mr Meade, Mr Kehoe said Martin Murray as director of services had attended a meeting with Mr Meade and his understanding was that the council was to write to Irish Rail asking them to prepare a Strategic Assessment Report – which they did. However, he assured the members that if there was a need for engagement with Irish Rail at senior level and if that would progress the matter, there wouldn’t be an issue with that.

Cllr Smyth asked that the letter to Irish Rail be sent with the support of Mr Gallagher. Mr Kehoe said he would refer the request to Mr Gallagher. The letter is to issue in the new year.