The Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín says the process is going at a snail’s pace and there won’t be a train on the track til at least 2035.
Meath on Track cathaoirleach Peadar Tóibín has commented on the results of the first round of the public consultations on the Navan to Dublin Rail Line, saying: “It will be 2035 before a train is on the tracks.”
The Meath West TD said: “I welcome that another step has been taken in this process. The biggest remaining problem is that the process is still far too slow. Up to 60,000 cars could be taken off the road to Dublin and other motorways such as the M50 if this was built in a speedy fashion. This is not just a Meath concern; this would be of benefit to the whole Mideast region, and by extension, the country as a whole.
“The second round of public consultation will be complete by January. The Railway Order is expected to be completed by late 2028. A planning decision is expected by 2029 and under the current plan, construction is expected by 2030. This means it will be 2035 before any train rolls into Navan.
“But none of this takes into consideration a Judicial Review. This time scale is far too slow. It needs to be speeded up. The Meath On Track Campaign is demanding that we see a construction start date before 2030.
It must be said that the alterations on the initial preferred route are minimal. There are still questions as to how the rail line will intersect with the Dunsany estate. I fear that this will lead to a judicial review in the future which will slow the whole process down potentially years.
There was no change to the location to Navan North station. I am concerned that the existing road infrastructure will not have the capacity to deal with traffic coming off the M3 from Cavan and north Meath to the proposed rail station. There is a proposal that the rail line will not have a station south of Navan as it intersects with the M3 but that the development will be such as to allow the future addition of a station.
We will be holding a public meeting in Meath soon to update people.”
