The campaign for the opening of the disused Iarnrod Eireann railway station at Monasterevin has intensified with a launch of the results of a survey in the town.
Commissioned by development organisation Action South Kildare, the survey shows a high level of support for re-opening the station.
The survey, conducted last year, says that more than a third of the 270 commuters travelling to Dublin would take the train.
The town, which is 38 miles from Dublin, is the next to be bypassed by the Dublin to Cork road. Its population is about 2,500. Monasterevin Railway Action Committee spokesman, Mr Pat Whelan, believes the station would encourage development in the town. "A lot of land is being bought and developed. The water system is being upgraded and this will be followed by improvements to the sewerage system. The railway station would improve the economy of the area," he said.
"We feel a rail service would ease congestion by taking traffic off the road and make it easier for the entire community to travel," Mr Whelan added.
Local people fear that when the town is eventually bypassed it will become isolated without the railway station. The station was closed in 1976 because it was not viable. The estimated cost of reopening the station to commuter trains is £500,000, rising to £750,000 for inter-city rail traffic.