I am calling for the Navan-Drogheda railway line to be reinstated.
This is an issue that I have been lobbying on for a period of time now and one which I feel has huge merit. I have asked the Minister for Transport and his Department to look at the viability of extending services to include passenger services along the existing Navan-Drogheda rail line as a possible option to improve public transport options for all those living in Navan and towns on the route such as Duleek, providing a rail link to Dublin from Navan in a relatively inexpensive and fast manner.
We have the DART+ Programme which will provide an extension of the existing electrified rail network from Malahide to Drogheda MacBride Station and will facilitate an increase to the rail capacity on the Northern Line between Dublin City Centre and Drogheda. Reinstating the connection between Navan and Drogheda would create an enhanced service for all rail commuters between Navan, Duleek, Drogheda, Dublin and Belfast.
With the new Meath County Development Plan being worked on, I have asked that this issue be closely looked at as an option to promote within the County. Drogheda and Navan are important population centres in the North East and reinstating the rail line would reduce car dependency on the part of many workers and students in the Greater Drogheda and Navan catchment areas and would give an extra travel option. While Louth and Meath benefit from the important North-South Dublin-Belfast Economic Corridor, there is no passenger rail service running East-West between the two counties. Reinstating the Navan-Drogheda line would go some way to addressing that deficit.