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Rail Disaster for Derry

Thursday 18th July 2005

The Socialist Environmental Alliance has described proposals to limit the speed of trains from Derry-Ballymena to 50 miles an hour as "a rail disaster for Derry".

Spokesperson, Davy McAuley says "last year, Into The West managed to do a great job of alerting public and politicians to the need for an upgrade of the Derry-Ballymena stretch of the line to Belfast.

"As a result of campaigning by Into the West and all the political parties in the North West, the Department of Regional Development agreed a £23.6 million plan for the refurbishment the Derry-Ballymena and Larne-Whitehead lines.

But, says the SEA's McAuley, "This £23.6 million isn't enough to lay a continuous welded track, on par with Ballymena-Belfast or Belfast-Dublin. But at least it meant the existing track would be repaired to take advantage of the new Spanish trains. We all looked forward to a more comfortable, more popular and faster service.

"Instead of getting better, things have got worse. Anyone who has travelled on the new trains will know that the service is LESS comfortable. This is because the promised maintenance programme has not been put in place and the new trains, designed and built to glide along modern track, run even less smoothly than the old stock.

The SEA spokesperson says that the possibility now of a further restriction to 50 mph being imposed in October is 'a disaster'.

"With road works at Toome and Dungiven, the bus or car journey time to Belfast is over two and a half hours at peak times. It is beyond belief that in 2005, it now takes longer to get between the two main cities than ever before.

"This is to say nothing of the impact on the environment", says Mr. McAuley. "Global warming is already here and we urgently need to cut down drastically on the number of cars on the road. Cars are responsible for much of the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming. But people in Derry who work in Belfast ­ and there are many of them ­ have no choice but to use the already over-crowded roads.

"There is much talk of possible road improvements over the next five to ten years. But the railway could be upgraded in just two to three years for a fifth of the cost of the roadbuilding programme. An upgraded line could give a journey time of an hour and a quarter to Belfast, with no need to worry about traffic jams or damage to the environment.

"We need urgent action now from the DRD to use the money set aside for maintaining the track and to seek more money to start its upgrading. The North West is being discriminated against. That much is clear. It's time for the discrimination to end."





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