Budget: Unknown
Expected completion date: Unplanned
Official project documentation: None at present, see below
This railway line has not been closed as such but carries no revenue service. It has been dormant since 2003 but is still used for driver training. A charter service was run on the line in 2018 by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland. Although in that sense service over the line could be resumed tomorrow, there are a number of practical barriers:
- The stations (halts) are in a very poor state of repair
- Passing loops have been removed1
There are strong arguments for reopening the line in its original form after resolving the above two issues:
- With rail usage having increased massively since new trains were introduced, it would be expected that usage would be higher than in 2003
- The line could allow for additional services towards the north coast and Derry-Londonderry (that line being single track)
However, economic viability is even more likely if a station at the International Airport, which sits beside the line, were to be added. This could be done using a shuttle bus, some sort of people-mover fixed link or (most likely and most preferably) a branch off the railway line. Translink was recently given £700k to perform a feasibility study, so it is looking increasingly likely that the line will be opened in some form soon.
We hope to add station-by-station profiles including the current state of stations, options for modernisation (e.g. pedestrian and cycle accessibility and room for Park-and-Ride) to this page soon.
(1) https://web.archive.org/web/20151003093336/http://www.irrs.ie/Journal%20186/186NewsNIR.htm