Budget: £175m-£274m
Expected completion date: 2030
Official project documentation: None at present, see below
For years, local campaigners have worked towards having the railway from Portadown to Armagh relayed. Most of the right-of-way is still intact. Their campaigning paid off, with a positive feasibility study already prepared (see below). In addition to this positive study, additional funding (£800k) has been given to Translink for a feasibility study. The line was also identified as an important link for North-South connectivity going towards Mullingar via Monaghan, Clones and Cavan in the All-Island Strategic Rail Review.
Follow the links below to read the feasibility study, released to the public thanks to a freedom-of-information request by Jon Medlow:
- Feasibility Study (incl. Appendix C)
- Appendix A Highways Feasibility Review
- Appendix B Track Alignment
- Appendix E Stakeholder List
- Appendix F Stakeholder Responses
Note that Appendix D (Land Ownership) contains personal information and is not released for this reason. Cost estimates are given in Chapter 7, however Appendix G, which contains more detailed information, has not been released in order to protect the council’s commercial interest (the argument being that it could endanger the value for money for the taxpayer when it comes to contracting later). For more information on what has not been released and why see the council’s response.