The viability of the Sligo-Dublin railway line is in "serious doubt", according to the president of Sligo's Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mr Pat Heelan said that while Iarnrod Eireann was investing £12.5 million on the line from Dublin to Mullingar, it would cost a further £30 million to upgrade the 80 miles of track between Mullingar and Sligo. He claimed just £700,000 had been set aside for the maintenance of that part of the line this year.
The EU had completed a cost-benefit analysis of the entire line and decided it would not invest in the Mullingar-Sligo section. According to Mr Heelan, the Minister for Public Enterprise, Mrs O'Rourke, told a Sligo Chamber of Commerce deputation last week that her Department had no money to invest in that section either.
"At this rate of maintenance, it would take over 30 years for the line to receive the level of funding that it needs today," Mr Heelan said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Public Enterprise last night said that there was "no way the Sligo-Dublin line is under threat". The investment in the section of the line between Dublin and Mullingar would benefit the people of Sligo and the Mullingar-Sligo section of the line was also benefiting from continuing investment. He disputed a suggestion from the Chamber of Commerce that Mrs O'Rourke had threatened to cap the number of passengers travelling on the line if over crowding worsened. Instead, she had expressed concern at the fact that passengers often had to stand on the train and said it would have to be looked at, especially with regard to safety.
The chamber has called on trade unions, county councils and other organisations in the region to "unite in demanding EU and Exchequer funding".
