Station closed in 1984 but commuters seek greener option of public transport
Ever since it was closed by Iarnród Éireann in 1984 there have been calls for Dunleer Railway station to be reopened.
In the last decade these calls have become more and more urgent with commuters seeking to move away from the gridlock on the roads in favour of the greener option of public transport.
Sadly, these appeals to successive governments have fallen on deaf ears and commuters from the Dunleer and mid Louth area have no option but to stick with their cars.
Now Louth Labour TD Ged Nash has pushed the Minister for Transport to look at reopening the disused train station.
Raising the issue in the Dáil, Deputy Nash brought the attention of the Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan to the long-held desire of the local community to see the station re-opened.
Deputy Nash asked the Minister if his department had made the case for the station’s reopening in the current strategic review of the country’s rail network. He also pressed the Minister to state when that review would be published.
In response, Minister Ryan acknowledged that submissions had been received calling for the re-opening of the station and revealed that the review is looking at the Northern Line from Connolly Station to Belfast, along which the Dunleer station is sited.
However, the Minister made no commitment to reopening the station and did not commit to a date for the review’s publication.
Deputy Nash said: “Reopening Dunleer Train Station just makes sense. With a growing population and the town choked with traffic, sensible public transport options must be explored.
“With the promised extended Dart service to Drogheda due in 2024, the case for reopening the station in Dunleer is stronger than ever.”
The Labour TD recently attended a presentation by local environmental organisation, Dunleer SEC (Sustainable Energy Company) and one of the company’s goals is to reduce car use in the area.
Deputy Nash said: “It’s been a long-held desire of the local community to see the train station re-open and now there is an environmental imperative for that to happen.
“The strategic review of the country’s rail network is looking at ways of improving the Dublin to Belfast rail line and a plan to reopen Dunleer station should be part of that review.”
Re-opening the station is a stated objective of the Louth County Development Plan 2021-2027 and Deputy Nash believes a realisation of that objective could transform Mid-Louth and take thousands of the county’s commuters off the roads.
He concluded: “I urge the Minister for Transport and his Department to listen to the commuters of Mid-Louth and commit to re-opening the train station at Dunleer as soon as possible.”
Pictures courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/stopatdunleer/
