The Foyle Valley Railway - Perchance it is not dead but sleepeth?

Del.Monte

A glimmer of hope perhaps but I wouldn't be putting the house on it at the bookies.



https://www.derryjournal.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/huge-plans-for-foyle-valley-to-be-discussed-in-derry-3289933

Isambard

Del.Monte wrote: »

A glimmer of hope perhaps but I wouldn't be putting the house on it at the bookies.



https://www.derryjournal.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/huge-plans-for-foyle-valley-to-be-discussed-in-derry-3289933

once it became a non-Railway project at heart it was doomed.

tabbey

Isambard wrote: »

once it became a non-Railway project at heart it was doomed.

Who are this group, "destined for Derry" ?.
Is it a quango, a cross border body established when UK was part of our great European nation? Or is it a chamber of commerce type of organisation?

What funding do they have?

It sounds as though any railway development there would be of the Tralee & Blennerville variety.

Deedsie

Sorry if this is too off topic I was just wondering.

Was there ever a suggestion for a Portadown - Dungannon - Omagh - Strabane - Derry railway?

I know the NI rail network travels predominantly through Unionist areas and investment West of the Bann is always an issue.

Just wondered are there any plans for new rail lines in NI?

L1011

You mean the one that existed before 1965 and was closed for sectarian rather than financial reasons?

Its been vaguely looked at in the last decade or so. There was a plan to 2035 released some years ago that had Portadown-Dungannon coming back as a start (as well as reopening the one closed but extant line and some other bits)

NIs fiscal state is worse now than when that was proposed but climate pressure may counteract the financial pressure to not do it. Don't expect anything to reach Derry (or Letterkenny as an extension as has been suggested as a way to get EU cross border money for it) before 2050.

Deedsie

L1011 wrote: »

You mean the one that existed before 1965 and was closed for sectarian rather than financial reasons?

Its been vaguely looked at in the last decade or so. There was a plan to 2035 released some years ago that had Portadown-Dungannon coming back as a start (as well as reopening the one closed but extant line and some other bits)

NIs fiscal state is worse now than when that was proposed but climate pressure may counteract the financial pressure to not do it. Don't expect anything to reach Derry (or Letterkenny as an extension as has been suggested as a way to get EU cross border money for it) before 2050.

NI is a mad place. Had unionists tried to win over the nationalist minority that was left within NI after partition the union would never have been in any danger.

They are a funny people. Still unlikely to be a unified Ireland within 50 years but i think it will eventually happen.

Anyway be great to see it even extend as far as Dungannon.

tabbey

Deedsie wrote: »

Sorry if this is too off topic I was just wondering.

Was there ever a suggestion for a Portadown - Dungannon - Omagh - Strabane - Derry railway?

I know the NI rail network travels predominantly through Unionist areas and investment West of the Bann is always an issue.

Just wondered are there any plans for new rail lines in NI?

When the Ulster transport authority closed the ex GNR route from Portadown to Derry in 1965, CIE considered buying the line as it was the main rail route to northeast Donegal. However the poor condition of the line made CIE decide against purchase, as it would have needed major expenditure to relay track etc. Consequently CIE freight to N E Donegal went by Lisburn, Antrim and Coleraine, hauled by UTA (from 1966 N I R) multi purpose diesel (mpd) railcars.
I don't know how much of the closed line is blocked by development in the past half century, but I think the Omagh inner bypass runs along the railway alignment.

It was often said, at least by people south of the border, that they closed the wrong railway to Derry. In reality, both routes are hopelessly uncompetitive versus road. The Dungannon area was soon to be connected by motorway to Belfast, while Ballymena had quite good passenger loadings. In summer especially, Portrush contributed substantial fare revenue to the railway. So if the intention was to keep one railway to Derry, the NCC route via Coleraine was probably the right one, regardless of political or denominational division.

In reality, the northern government didn't intend to keep either line open for much longer. William Craig described railways as belonging to the "horse and buggy era".

Luckily sentiments changed in the 1970s.

That said, it would be lovely to see the GNR "Derry Road" rebuilt and carrying tourists enjoying the scenery, along with regular users. I will dream on!

whisky_galore

Back on topic. The fact that it's a nebulous "multi agency", I would not place a lot of faith on anything getting done. Shades of a Tralee style cluster fcuk.

Del.Monte

It's so disappointing when it could have been a show-piece for the city. When I was involved in preservation we would have killed for a city centre location like Foyle Road.

The last time that I travelled on the line circa 1997 it was to the end of the line - a mill of some sort - and the talk was of crossing the border........There's a sad story of infighting at Derry since the Victoria Road operation with numerous big figures getting pushed out and then there's the dead hand of the City Council.