Seamus Brennan
Won't stop disconnection
The Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, has said he is not going to order Iarnród Eireann to stop work on the removal of a link between the main Dublin-Galway line and the disused Limerick-Claremorris line.
Lobby groups in the West have called for the work to stop, as they claim it will end any chance of the Limerick-Claremorris line ever being re-opened.
Iarnród Eireann has been pressing ahead with its controversial decision to disconnect the two lines which intersect at Athenry.
It says this is essential to allow a new signalling system to be installed on the busy Dublin-Galway passenger and freight line.
There has been strong opposition to the move by railway lobby groups and the Galway County Development Board.
Its chairman, Cllr Michael Conway, called on the Transport Minister to stop the removal of the interconnector until the Government's own National Railway Strategy is finalised.
But a spokesman for the Minister told RTÉ News he would not halt the work as the two lines could be re-connected, relatively inexpensively, if the unused Limerick-Claremorris line was to be re-opened.
He pointed out that this was a project which would cost between €80m and €100m.
