No rail to Navan for at least four years

There will be no rail link to Navan for at least another four years, following the news last week that the project has been axed from the government's current four-year capital spending plan. The failure to include the project in the capital programme caused fierce anger in Navan and Meath, with grim warnings that it would be a devastating blow to local business. Deputy Peadar Tóibín said the welfare of the people of Meath and the county's future competitiveness had been threatened by the decision. "Infrastructural projects in Meath are being mothballed and the economy is being physically weakened, all because this government has decided to pay off unsecured, unguaranteed bondholders. This will result in higher costs to our citizens. It will also make it harder for local business to survive and it will make Meath less attractive to foreign direct investment," he said. Cllr Shane Cassells said it was hugely disappointing that the Navan railway project has not made it into the government's set of priorities, "despite them having promised it last February". He expressed particular concern that the railway order, or planning permission, had not even been sought. "We are currently preparing our new County Development Plan for Meath and there is no way we can protect the envisaged route of this railway in the plan, because it does not figure in any government plans and has no statutory recognition," said Cllr Cassells. "If the government were serious about jobs in this county, then massive infrastructural projects like the railway line and regional hospital, which would have multiplier effects, would be top of their list. Instead, we find we are not even on the list," he said. Cllr Joe Reilly said the Navan Development Plan was adopted on the assumption that the rail line from Pace to Navan would be completed by 2016. "The development of the triangular land bank bordered by the Carriage Road, Dan Shaw Road and the Trim Road was to be the business/retail engine of Navan. The provision of a modern sustainable transport rail system connected to the capital city was to be the driving force for the new town. The decision by the government to cancel the rail extension endangers the future of Navan as a modern sustainable urban centre," he claimed. Cllr Tommy Reilly said the shelving of the line was a death knell for the town and for business in Navan. "I am bitterly disappointed. The railway line was included in the IMF deal and there was no reason why out local TDs couldn't have ensured it went ahead," he said. A spokesperson for Meath County Council said it was obviously disappointed that the Navan rail project has been deferred, but welcomed the fact that it is not cancelled. "The council believes that it is very important that the planning process is completed and that a rail order is made so that this project is ready to commence without delay when funding becomes available," a spokesperson said. Fine Gael TD Damien English said the suspension of the plan was very bad news for Meath as the railway was something he had hoped would happen. However, he pointed out that it wasn't stopped, merely suspended for a couple of years and would be reviewed in 2015. "The money isn't there. Over the last 11 years, €70 billion was spent on capital projects and there was no reason it couldn't have been completed then," he said.