‘Metrolink will leave no funds for other travel projects’

A Westmeath councillor fears the planned Dublin Metrolink will consume all exchequer’s transport spending “for the next 10 years”. “It’s going to cost between €9.5bn and €23.5bn – 10 times what it cost to do the same in Spain,” Cllr Denis Leonard told colleagues at the May meeting of Westmeath County Council.

His worry was that level of expenditure would hit projects elsewhere in the country – including the reopening of Killucan railway station.

“€200m has been spent on it already – and not a block in the ground or a shovel. That would build Killucan station 20 times over!” he said. “And,” he continued, “yet they can’t give us a meeting!”

Cllr Leonard said that Westmeath County Council need to press for a meeting with the National Transport Authority “as a matter of urgency”, adding that he had received a letter recently from the authority.

In it, they said they had “no immediate plans” for a Mullingar, Killucan, Kinnegad bus; “no immediate plans” for Killucan station; “no immediate plans” for an early morning bus service for Kinnegad; and “no timetable” for anything in the All-Ireland Rail Review – which includes reopening of the Mullingar to Athlone line and the double-tracking of the rail line to Dublin. “So in other words, there’s no timetable for any of these projects – and yet we have a timetable for a metro, which is going to take up all the exchequer spending on transport for probably the next 10 years if it goes to that €23.5bn figure.”

Cllr Leonard said Westmeath County Council need a timeline from the NTA on major projects, and need to get smaller projects delivered.

“Even though there’s been a Mullingar bus service and a few local things over the last 10 years, there’s been little increase in services. In fact, a lot of bus routes have been cut by Bus Éireann in that time,” he said.