DfI Minister challenged to end 'blatant' Derry rail timetable disparity
People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin demands £1m funding boost as Derry line hits record one million passengers.
People Before Profit (PBP) Councillor Shaun Harkin has called on the Stormont Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Minister to urgently address regional inequality by funding a £1 million upgrade to equalise train timetables on the Derry rail line. The demand follows recent figures revealing that the line carried more than one million passengers over the past year.
Cllr Harkin praised Translink workers and public transport advocates, noting that record-breaking passenger growth completely validates the historic campaign that saved Derry rail station from a planned Stormont shutdown in 2004. However, he warned that further progress is being stalled by a "blatant timetable disparity" and aged track infrastructure that is no longer fit for purpose.
Translink estimates that equalising train access on the Derry line would cost £1 million - a figure Derry City and Strabane District Council previously backed via a People Before Profit motion. Cllr Harkin has now written to the DfI Minister demanding clear timelines on when this funding will be delivered.
Cllr Shaun Harkin said: “More than a million passengers on the Derry rail line over the last year is fantastic news. Well done to all Translink workers for making this happen.
“It is simply inconceivable that Stormont planned to shut down the Derry rail station altogether in 2004. Record breaking passenger growth validates the campaign led by rail workers, Eamonn McCann, public transport advocates, and environmentalists to oppose the closure.
“Into the West recently held its AGM and deserves to be commended for its relentless efforts to increase and expand rail provision for Derry and the North West and all across the island. These numbers should be a catalyst for more investment in rail provision and to address blatant Derry rail timetable disparity that's been exposed by Into the West.
“Derry City and Strabane Council backed a People Before Profit motion calling on the DFI Minister to provide funding to equalise train access on the Derry line. Translink estimate this will cost a mere £1m. This is a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds of millions announced to upgrade rail services between Belfast and Dublin.
“A Sinn Féin Minister committed to addressing regional inequality should have made this a priority, but that hasn't been the case to date.
“I have written to the minister and Department for Infrastructure asking for clarification on whether the funding to address timetable disparity will be provided and when.
“The vision of expanded rail provision is there, but we are still fighting to replace aged tracks on the Derry line that are not fit for purpose. Without a doubt, we need to keep the pressure up for more rail provision and ever better public transport.
People Before Profit also commended the lobby group Into the West following its recent AGM, praising its relentless efforts to expand cross-border and regional rail infrastructure. The party has vowed to keep public pressure on the Executive to ensure the North West receives its fair share of transport infrastructure spending.