Upgrade railway at night - MLA

NO trains will operate between Londonderry and Coleraine between July and April of next year to allow for an upgrade. Instead a bus substitution service will operate.

East Londonderry SDLP MLA John Dallat, who has been a long-time campaigner for improvements to the railway, has expressed concern that the break in service could mean that passengers are lost and will not return.

He told officials from the Department at a meeting of the Regional Development Committee at Stormont that they should do everything possible to shorten the length of the closure and suggested night time working on the line.

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He said: “I reminded officials that the Belfast-Derry railway had already been closed between Ballymoney and Ballymena a couple of years ago and a second disruption was doing nothing to sustain the long-term objective of winning passengers from road to rail.

“I have asked that consideration be given to carrying out work on an extended basis including night time. This would minimise the disruption and allow for the service to be resumed in better time for Derry’s City of Culture festivities in 2013.

“I welcome the fact that when the line reopens it will be possible to operate eight trains daily in each direction.

“‘The campaign to bring about a fully-functional intercity service between Derry and Belfast and onward to Dublin and Cork is essential if we are to create a rail infrastructure which is fit for purpose and appropriate to the needs of a modern Ireland competing with other countries in the enlarged European Union.

“Sadly that fact has been largely missed but hopefully there is a growing realisation in Brussels that they have a large part to play in funding this massive capital investment.”