Downpatrick railway is hopeful of progress

Downpatrick railway is hopeful of progress

13 September 2017

DOWNPATRICK and Co Down Railway officials are confident their plans to extend their main line  to Ballydugan Mill remain firmly on track.

Last month, there were concerns that the scheme which features in the Downpatrick Masterplan blueprint for the county town would not proceed after a large number of proposed projects were shelved by Newry, Mourne and Down Council. However, railway officials say they have been assured work will continue to get the proposed extension over the line.

Over the past seven years, railway officials have invested around £120,000 in the extension project and have 3,000 concrete sleepers and 250 rails waiting to be put in place which are currently stockpiled.

To extend the line to Ballydugan the railway requires a section of land and officials are working alongside Newry, Mourne and Down Council in a bid to secure it.

Railway chairman, Robert Gardiner, said the former Down Council was fully supportive of extending the line to Ballydugan Mill and laying a short section of track to link the main station with the nearby St Patrick Visitor Centre, with the project included in the masterplan.

“We have enough rail and sleepers to extend the line and have already invested quite a bit of our own money into the project,” he explained. “A lot of preparatory work has also been completed and what we are talking is about is not a new project, but one that is a stone’s throw away from being completed. We just need the local council to help us get it over the line,” he explained.

Two weeks ago, railway officials met with South Down MP Chris Hazzard and during his visit he was appraised of the proposal to extend the line to Ballydugan Mill. Almost one mile of the track extension has already been laid.

Mr Gardiner has welcomed assurances from senior council officials that the railway line extension has not been removed from the Masterplan and that they are working actively on the project.

He confirmed railway representatives continue to work alongside council officials as part of a partnership approach to extend the line to Ballydugan Mill.

“Council officials have indicated the scheme is still very much on track and we are working alongside its officials to deliver this,” said Mr Gardiner. “The project is still very much a goer as far as we are concerned.

“Money is not an issue, the focus is on acquiring the land we need which is historically part of the former railway Belfast and Co Down Railway’s line. We are working with council officials to secure the land we need and welcome the assurances we have been given that the local authority is still very much committed to the project and working with ourselves to deliver it.”

Mr Gardiner said he hopes negotiations to secure the various permissions required will reach a successful conclusion and that the extended line will become a reality.

He added: “There is a willingness at council level to deliver the project and we hope the line can be extended.”