Page "Transport in Ireland" Paragraph 13

Many lines in the west were decommissioned in the 1930s under Éamon de Valera, with a further large cull in services by both CIÉ and the Ulster Transport Authority ( UTA ) during the 1960s, leaving few working lines in the northern third of the island.

There is a campaign to bring some closed lines back into service, in particular the Limerick-Sligo line ( the Western Railway Corridor ), to facilitate economic regeneration in the west, which has lagged behind the rest of the country.

There is also a move to restore service on the Dublin to Navan line, and smaller campaigns to re-establish the rail links between Sligo and Enniskillen / Omagh / Derry and Mullingar and Athlone / Galway.

Under the Irish government's Transport 21 plan, the Cork to Midleton rail link was reopened in 2009.

The re-opening of the Navan-Clonsilla rail link and the Western Rail Corridor are amongst future projects as part of the same plan.