I welcome the publication of the All-Ireland Rail Review by the Irish Government and The Executive in Northern Ireland.

The review sets out the strategy by which rail transport on the Island of Ireland will be developed over the coming time.

“I am particularly pleased that the review calls for the reinstatement of Western Rail Corridor between Athenry and Claremorris. It is now an accepted fact that the reopening of this line is viable and will have a major impact on the western region.

The Rail line will link Ballina, Westport, Castlebar, Claremorris, Tuam, Athenry, Ennis and Limerick to the ports in Foynes, Galway, Cork, and Waterford. It will be of huge benefit to industry who are now demanding to have the option to use rail freight to reduce the carbon footprint of their products.

Similarly, the success of Phase one of the Western Rail Corridor between Ennis and Athenry in terms of the massive growth in passenger numbers also demonstrates the need to restore the remainder of the line to meet the demand for intercity rail services.

In addition, the positive economic of the re-opening on Tuam will be enormous and will pave the way to develop the existing station to compliment the health campus on the opposite side of the road.

The decision by Government to include the Western Rail Corridor as a TEN-T project in their submission to the European Union qualifies the reinstatement of the line for European funding which is available for projects like the Western Rail Corridor and Galway Port.

I am now calling on the Government to make the necessary funding available to replace the rail tracks and modernise the stations to cope with the demand for this service.

This project is one of many that need to be developed to achieve balance development in this country”.