Reopening of Dublin to Navan line urged

Navan Chamber of Commerce has claimed that failure by the Minister for Transport to approve the reopening of the Dublin to Navan…

Navan Chamber of Commerce has claimed that failure by the Minister for Transport to approve the reopening of the Dublin to Navan railway line would turn Co Meath into a dormitory of Dublin.

Reacting with alarm to recent remarks by Mr Brennan, local interest groups fear that all the hopes raised by Navan's designation as a development centre in the Strategic Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area "will go out the window".

Navan Chamber of Commerce is just one of a number of organisations concerned about the implications for the town and the southern part of the county if the line, which runs via Dunboyne and Dunshaughlin from Clonsilla to Navan, is not given priority for funding in the Strategic Rail Review due to be published later this month.

In the Dáil last week, the Minister said it was no secret the review would indicate there were greater priorities such as inter-city lines between Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick and "the jury is out" on the Dublin-Navan line.

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Former Taoiseach Mr John Bruton said: "Meath is facing a traffic crisis, people are losing huge quantities of valuable time out of their lives because of traffic jams and it has to be tackled. In this context, the Minister's remarks are both alarming and disappointing."

Navan has been identified in the Strategic Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area development centre and as such its population is expected to increase to 40,000 from 27,000.

The provision of a rail link to Dublin is regarded as "the lifeblood of survival".