Sligo Mayo Greenway Is it possible

westtip

A new greenway (dedicated walking and cycling track) has opened on the old Newport to Mulranny railway line - its 17.k long and is already proving a great success at bringing more visitors to the Westport/Newport area - there are plans to extend it from Newport to Westport and from Mulranny to Achill island - it follows the route of the very old Westport Achill railway line.

The Claremorris/Collooney railway line is lying redundant and unused and is in the foreseeable future unlikely to see a train run on it for many years despite a vigorous campaign to re-open it. This is known as the northern section of the ~Western Rail Corridor (WRC) from Sligo to Limerick. The Government has only committed to re-opening the WRC from Athenry to Claremorris and that may not actually happen in current economic times.

Eamon O'Cuiv at a conference in claremorris in May 09 about the WRC suggested the Claremorris/Collooney line should for the time being at least be converted to a greenway.

Note a similar thread has been set up in the Mayo forum but people may not visit both sligo and mayo forums.


What do folks in Sligo think of this idea. A website has been set up to debate this issue www.sligomayogreenway.com if you want to know more click on that website and post views here and email the website.

Apanachi

I think it's a great idea, I know loads of people over here in Germany who would love to cycle around Ireland, but they are scared to do so due to narrow bendy roads with now cycling path, there shoul be so much more of these in Ireland

Over here cycling anywhere not such a big deal because of the vast amount of such greenways.

magnumlady

I think it's a really good idea too. Not sure about the roads that have been built over the railway though and how that will affect it.

westtip

The Roads built over the railway and general encroachment on the whole line - will be a nightmare to sort out if they ever re-open the railway - which BTW I don't think of any of us really expect to ever happen - the greenway would however protect the alignment and ownership of the right of way please visit www.sligomayogreenway.com if you want to check out the idea further.

The Greenway would really open up cycling tourism in both Sligo and Mayo - and we need all the help we can get to attract tourists these days.

magnumlady

I don't think the railway will ever re-open either, but I'd like to see something happen with the track. It would make a lovely walk/cycle.....but would the amount of money needed to get it up and running be available?....and you would need an awful lot of tourists to substantiate it.
I also think it could be used by schools etc. A nice safe place to walk/cycle (in the parts where there isn't a road).

westtip

magnumlady wrote: »

I don't think the railway will ever re-open either, but I'd like to see something happen with the track. It would make a lovely walk/cycle.....but would the amount of money needed to get it up and running be available?....and you would need an awful lot of tourists to substantiate it.
I also think it could be used by schools etc. A nice safe place to walk/cycle (in the parts where there isn't a road).

magnumlady. the mulranny newport greenway cost about 100k per km, on a pro-rata basis the line from Colooney - Claremorris would cost about 7 million- yes times are tough but Failte Ireland are seeking to develop an entire infrastructure of cycle ways in ireland- we have lost so many cycling and walking tourists and the DOT has a cycling policy to develop a cycle network. As for the railway the cost could be as much as 6 million per mile - and the money needed to subvent the line as it would be so lightly used would be an ongoing drain on resources - anyway it won't happen, the dogs on the street know that much. The economics of greenways have been well documented they do attract tourists and they are heavily used by locals - not an insignificant fact - kids can't cycle on our country roads now - so just think of the local linkages this greenway could bring for teenagers on bikes etc. Not to mention the potential for cycling to work and school. The idea behind the sligo mayo greenway is also to connect to other greenways so we have a network around the west of ireland - just think what that woudl do for tourism.

To answer your questions - I reckon the payback on tourism in the area for 7 million would be less than 3 years, in terms of health payback - with people using the route and getting out because they have a safe route - you just can't measure that - but you can measure the potential savings in pedestrian safety, there are figures available - not got them to hand - on the cost of say a pedestrian or cyclist death or injury - in terms of cost of healthcare loss of earnings and future cost in benefits to an injured person can actually be quantified. There must be stats of pedestrian and cycling related accidents on for example the N17, this greenway would effectively take cyclists and pedestrians off the N17 - and their safety can actually be quantified.

Here is some information from Garda S. http://www.irishdigest.com/?p=6006&cpage=1#comment-3044

To date in 2010, one-third of those who lost their lives on Irish roads have been pedestrians (18 in total). Several of these deaths have occurred during the hours of darkness and on rural roads. An Garda Síochána is urging pedestrians to ensure that they are visible to motorists, in particular when walking at night or on roads in rural areas.).

magnumlady

Thanks for all the information, I do think it's a good idea in principal but not sure about funding. Also good idea about cycling/walking to work, school....but would people actually do it? It's all to easy to get in a car.

6 million a mile for the railway?? That extortinate.

westtip

magnumlady wrote: »

Thanks for all the information, I do think it's a good idea in principal but not sure about funding. Also good idea about cycling/walking to work, school....but would people actually do it? It's all to easy to get in a car.

6 million a mile for the railway?? That extortinate.

The Ennis - Athenry section was about 3 million a mile, the reason this northern section is so expensive can be explained by the findings of the McCann Report of 2005 which investigated this whole Western Rail Corridor potential.

http://www.transport.ie/upload/general/6645-0.pdf

An extract of that report explains the situation:

there are two main reasons why the cost of the Claremorris-Collooney section is very high. Firstly, when it was built in 1891-1892 the section was constructed as a light railway. If it were to be brought into the IE network the formation would have to be rebuilt to the national heavy rail standard. The second relates to the cost of necessary alterations to level crossings, of which there are a total of 290 along the section, two of which alone would cost €24m to create grade separations.

This of course will be the MAJOR STUMBLING BLOCK to any plans to open the line. The 7 million spend on a greenway will open up areas for activity tourism that quite simply never get tourists passing through.

westtip

If anyone has any decent photos of the line from Claremorris - Collooney coudl they post them up please?

magnumlady

There are a few photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=75189118@N00&q=western+&m=text

westtip

magnum thanks for sight of those shots, I love tht one appraoching the bridge whereabouts on the line was that one taken? - I was out on the Newport Mulranny greenway today with the bike - Quite a few peopled using it, everyone spoke to thinks its a real hit for the area - I reckon the Sligo/mayo greenway could become a real driver for tourism in the East Sligo/mayo area so anyone interested please look at the websit e www.sligomayogreenway.com and see if you can support the idea.

magnumlady

There's two with bridges, one taken in Coolaney.
The other one with the rocks taken in Tubbercurry.
I took some more today in Kiltimagh. I will upload them when I get a chance.

westtip

I've not walked that part of the line - they really show the potential of this greenway; Do you know anyone else interested in this idea? I was thinking of organising a group to walk the sligo mayo greenway over a weekend to photograph the whole route and get some interest generated in the idea. Did you know there are 290 railway crossings on this part of the Western Rail Corridor and that a report in 2005 which looked at this whole thing identified this part of the WRC as the least likely to open - as the line which was built in the early 1890s as a light railway it would cost twice as much to re-engineer back to 21st century requirements ; and the number of railway crossings would make it double the price of the re-opening costs of say the stretch of line recently re-opened from Ennis to Athenry? - As mentioned above the whole route from Claremorris to Collooney could be made a greenway for about 7 million euro, seeing your pics makes me think just how appealing this would be as a tourirst attraction not to mention how much it would be used by locals, can you imagine families gettting out for the day to walk or cycle this greenway in peace and quiet and safely away from traffic? I look forward to seeing your stuff around Kiltimagn

westtip

I was walking this line at the weekend from Tubbercurry to Charlestown - sorry no pics I left my camera at home. Can't believe this line will ever re-open as a railway judging by the number of level of crossings, state of public finances etc - and at the Charlestown station end the garage seems to have expanded over the years and will be far too close to any rail line. Had to walk it rather than cycle it but it would have made a great bike ride. Spoke to a few people about it recently everyone seems very positive about it - so check out the website:

www.sligomayogreenway.com

westtip

Paper published byt he NRA last week shows this one might be a runner, the line is featured in a few of the maps - and it may be entering the fray for Greenway treatment - the Government decision to long finger the restoration of the railway line from Athenry to Tuam/Claremorris makes this stretch of old railline (Claremorris/Collooney) even less likely to be converted back to railway (and lets face it this woudl be way down the transport priority lists in any event) - Greenway is probably the only option for this line now - but if you are interested in this whole idea of greenways - then take a look at the .pdf at this link:

http://www.smartertravel.ie/download/1/FINAL%20NCNScopingStudyAugust2010.pdf

It was covered in the national press last week, its encouraging news.

keithcan

Is adapting the railway line (Sligo section of WRC) in the new cyclying network or not? Surely this could be verified by the Department of transport or the NRA... I'd be surprised if it is included. Why would one branch of the Department (dealing with cycling issues) propose a plan to adapt the railway line (and perhaps abandon hope of the western rail corrridor coming there) when another branch (dealing with railways) maintains the WRC as an intended development? A key point here is that you've talked about developing the cycleway for €7m. There is no hope whatsoever in the current economic climate of that happening. There are a number of disused railway lines around the country, presumably all with the potential to follow the excellent example of the Mayo greenway. If I was minister for transport, I'd be looking at the cheaper projects, where the railway is disused permanently. All of this is a pity cos the Mayo greenway is great and one for Sligo could be too, but it's unrealistic at this point. Is there no consideration of a cycleway parallel to the railway (WRC), so that it's not a case of one or the other?

il gatto

The general north west area missed a trick by not upgrading the tow path of the Shannon Erne canal when it was redeveloped not many years ago. It would've added very little costwise at the time with all the machinary and labour in place. They didn't, they now won't and many miles of greenway is denied to the north west.
Short sighted, tight fisted government is a given here. With the recession, it's even less likely to happen with the old railway.
It's a pity that success stories elsewhere never seems to provide even a spark of inspiration to these people. Maybe try and develop the world's longest, narrowest private hospital on the track. Bound to get government approval and gives the north west a shot at the Guinness Book of Records to boot.

westtip

Il Gatto thanks for that one another example of the complete incompetence and lack of joined up thinking in out national and local government planning. They haven't got a clue.

westtip

keithcan wrote: »

Is adapting the railway line (Sligo section of WRC) in the new cyclying network or not? Surely this could be verified by the Department of transport or the NRA... I'd be surprised if it is included. Why would one branch of the Department (dealing with cycling issues) propose a plan to adapt the railway line (and perhaps abandon hope of the western rail corrridor coming there) when another branch (dealing with railways) maintains the WRC as an intended development? A key point here is that you've talked about developing the cycleway for €7m. There is no hope whatsoever in the current economic climate of that happening. There are a number of disused railway lines around the country, presumably all with the potential to follow the excellent example of the Mayo greenway. If I was minister for transport, I'd be looking at the cheaper projects, where the railway is disused permanently. All of this is a pity cos the Mayo greenway is great and one for Sligo could be too, but it's unrealistic at this point. Is there no consideration of a cycleway parallel to the railway (WRC), so that it's not a case of one or the other?

Keith, the route of the northern section of the WRC is identified as a potential greenway in the scoping study issued by the DOT last month. The National Cycle Network scoping study is just that - a scoping study - nothing is yet in tablets of stone. If as you think there is no hope of developing hte walkway for 7 million- why have Mayo COCO just confirmed they have received 3.5 million to complete either end of the Mulranny - Newport Greenway, From Mulranny to Achill and from Newport to Westport. The WRC north is disused permanently - if not used since the 1970s is permanent and if you look at he state of the line and the alignment now. However because the alignment has been fenced off and is stil in ownership of IE, the job will be cheaper as there will be no buy back land issues. Its actually no unrealistic to see these kind of projects go ahead - there is a committment to the National Cycle Network and the DOT have instructed Failte Ireland and other agencies to look at routeways that are already in public ownership to limit costs. 7 million for a 47 mile greenway project - is actually possible - it is a low impact low cost infrastructure project that will create jobs in the medium term and help the local economy it is exactly the kind of project that shoudl go ahead - The cost of building a new railway on the alignmen on the other hand .......Please look at the McCann report of 2005 to see why this will never happen, go to www.sligomayogreenway.com to find out more.

westtip

Keith, Here's the information about the extra cash (even in these hard times) for the Great Western Greenway - so why not for Sligo-Mayo greenway?

http://www.transport.ie/pressRelease.aspx?Id=242

keithcan

Westtip, you've answered your own question, I'd have thought. If funding is now being provided for the Mayo Greenway, you ask why not for Sligo-Mayo greenway? As you say yourself, these are 'hard times'. If dept of Transport have managed to find the funding for the extension to the Newport-Mulranny Greenway, then I'd reckon there's just not going to be further funding to deliver for another greenway in the same general area. I'm sure it's not easy to accept that a good idea can be acted on in sth mayo and a similar idea can't be advanced for the northern section of the WRC, or any other similar situations, but that's the financial reality: the funding is simply not there. If you really wanted to dig into the funding aspect, why not ask dept of Transport what they have available for this type of action and how they're allocating it. If the answer is '€3.5m and it's going to the Mayo Greenway extension', then other proposals are going nowhere for now, certainly as far as the main state funder can deliver. A real pity but it's probably the reality.

westtip

keithcan wrote: »

Westtip, you've answered your own question, I'd have thought. If funding is now being provided for the Mayo Greenway, you ask why not for Sligo-Mayo greenway? As you say yourself, these are 'hard times'. If dept of Transport have managed to find the funding for the extension to the Newport-Mulranny Greenway, then I'd reckon there's just not going to be further funding to deliver for another greenway in the same general area. I'm sure it's not easy to accept that a good idea can be acted on in sth mayo and a similar idea can't be advanced for the northern section of the WRC, or any other similar situations, but that's the financial reality: the funding is simply not there. If you really wanted to dig into the funding aspect, why not ask dept of Transport what they have available for this type of action and how they're allocating it. If the answer is '€3.5m and it's going to the Mayo Greenway extension', then other proposals are going nowhere for now, certainly as far as the main state funder can deliver. A real pity but it's probably the reality.

Don't agree - cos the national cycle network is on the agenda - and projects like the sligo mayo greenway can be seen as part of this project. whats more it means they (Govt and all its agencies) can be seen to be doing somethign for very little cost - the cost to re-open railway will be astronomical - for this 47 mile stretch of line in excess of 200 million, and then there will be subventions to run it - It ain't going to happen. The cost of the greenway is actually affordable, will create jobs and the subvention to keep a path/cycleway open on an ongoing basis is virtually zero. so despite the current situation projects like these kind of greenways will actually be very affordable infrastructure projects - plus they are very visible projects bring immediate benefit and as they cost very little will be popular with politicians of all shades and sizes.

do have a look at this link I posted up before about the National Cycle Network - this is critical - it is an entire network that could be delivered for a very small sum of money in relative terms - the route of the potential Sligo Mayo Greenway is identified in the report

http://www.smartertravel.ie/download...August2010.pdf

Go to appendix on page 20 - Additional Maps - the route I am referring to is shown as a potential route for the national cycle network, these kind of things are still on the agenda as they will cost so little

Dunlaffin

Hi guys,

Just got back from Mularanney today to my home in Sligo. Friends had told me about this new Greenway from Mullaraney to Newport last night and I said I'll believe it when I see it. So today I went to see it. It has it's imperfection, most notable being the unceremonious abrupt end in Newport which would take a family of cyclers by surprise, finding themselves dumped out onto the road. But.... all in all, its the best bit of news I've seen coming out of this godforsaken hole in years.The guy renting the bikes behind the Mularanny Park Hotel said business was brisk with about 65 bikes rented out today. ! On a cold damp day...thats a fraking miracle. For a couple of million quid they built a priceless tourist amenity. On the way back I drove along various parts of the Sligo track to check it out. Its in good shape bar the weeds.
We need a Greenway here now now now ! Jobs, tourists and hope.

Thanks for the chance to have a say on this

westtip

Wow 65 bikes rented out in a day! and a miserable one at that! someon ought to let these gobsh*te politicians know what a success they have on their hands for such a small investment - the railway from Collooney to Claremorris will never happen - just think what the greenway could do for local tourism!

BTW my one criticsim of the mulranny track would be the same as you they need to make more of the start and finish and provide one or two access points with car parks along the route so families will use it more.

Dunlaffin

Getting the railway track installed on this section is now a pipe dream and is distracting from the very achievable goal of a Greenway track. I think most people would be convinced of this with little effort.

BTW, westtip, is this your website ?

http://www.sligomayogreenway.com/

westtip

yep - just there to open up the debate glad you found it. spread the word.

Dunlaffin

Hi westtip,

Its a great looking website, is your guestbook working , signed it a few days back but dont see the message up yet.:(
How long ago did you set it up ?

westtip

I haven't touched it for ages so I don't know it was working, but thinking of getting rid of that page anyway, its just one of those Go Daddy hosted 5 page sites. It needs a lot more work, but the the key thing is to get the message over.

Dunlaffin

Looks good to me, I have it linked to a Facebook Page I'm working on here :

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001773703036&v=wall

westtip

facebook page looks great - thanks for that I just haven't got time for all this at the moment. (I mean doing things like setting up the facebook page etd).

keithcan

Westtip, you say that “someone ought to let these gobsh*te politicians know what a success they have on their hands (with the Mayo greenway) for such a small investment”. Would these politicians that you deride be the same ones who were involved in the decision to fund the Mayo Greenway and who, if I recall correctly, cycled the track when it was opened (I think I recall Dempsey being there) ? I find your ideas good, but your lack of constructive balance is silly and unnecessary imo. I’ve suggested before that you check with D/transport how much is allocated for such developments and in reply you state that “the national cycle network is on the agenda” and that “the cost of the (Sligo) greenway is actually affordable”. My original suggestion still stands: why not ask them what is available for 2011 for the national cycle network and will converting the northern section of the WRC be part of any spend. This is a constructive suggestion to you and getting the answer, whatever it may be, would greatly inform this debate. Let’s park the issue of the railway development, let's even assume it’s unfeasible (as you have convincingly outlined) and that therefore, converting the WRC as a cycleway is not blocked by the WRC supporters. I still say that with the current disastrous national financial position, the Sligo greenway will not be do-able. D/transport may manage to get a small amount of cycle network done around the country, but Sligo will be down the list. You may disagree and, of course, we can always revist this point in a year’s time to see what transpired. But in the meantime, why oh why not just check out the budget provision for the national cycle network…???? It may be slightly more hassle than taking cheap swipes, but it'd be a damn sight more constructive and helpful to this debate.