Councillors’ anger that Dunshaughlin rail line route could run through new fire station site

The long campaigned for new fire station for Dunshaughlin and the western bypass of the town are both under threat from Iarnrod Eireann's proposals for the Navan rail link.

Councillors have expressed anger at the current ‘emerging preferred route,’ which could see the rail tracks driven through the fire station site and a car park on the route of the bypass, which is planned to link the roundabout at Readsland, Drumree, with the Dublin Road near The Willows estate.

Both long awaited projects will be affected by a proposed new route for the railway, which veers from what had been originally earmarked in the Meath County Development Plan for the last 15 years.

Gerry O'Connor raised the issue at last week's meeting of Ratoath Municipal Council, where he said the rail company had changed their proposals from the route that had been ‘sterilized’ (no development could be planned for it) for 15 years.

“The route of the western bypass of Dunshaughlin has been clearly marked in the last three development plans and is a very important project for the town. Now Irish Rail want to change the route and put a car park in it. They say it would bring the railway 500 metres closer to the town. If this happens, if someone in the Willows wants to take the train they would have to drive down the main street, then join the distributor road to get into this car park. The 400 parking spaces they are planning won't be enough.

“We have been looking for a site for the new fire station to take it out of the centre of the town for years. The council did a deal for an acre of land beside Applegreen. Now we believe they want to put the tracks through the site for the new fire station, which is badly needed.

“We have the capital money for the new fire station - a proper fire station for the safety of our citizens, but Irish Rail just come along and ignore the National Planning Framework and ignore the County Development Plan. Traffic is so busy on the main street that we needed a station with fire engines can pull in and pull out quickly.

“Applegreen is one of the most successful service stations in the country. They want to add on more capacity, more car parking spaces and become more eco-friendly by putting in solar panels. Now Irish Rail want to CPO some of their lands.”

Cllr O'Connor said Iarnrod Eireann don't want to engage with councillors. “It is disgraceful. They did the public consultation, but they didn't listen.”

Cllr Brian Fitzgerald said he didn't know why the railway couldn't have been built alongside the motorway, something that is done in other countries.

Cllr O'Connor said this could still be done. “They are going to put in a bridge over the motorway and then another bridge back over the motorway and distributor road and it will cost around €150million. Why don't they just build a bridge from the M3 Parkway across the motorway and run the track up to Kells. It would be the same cost. The government owns the land both sides of the M3. They could easily do it. They need to think outside the box. What they are doing here is a disgraceful waste of taxpayers money. Building in a bridge to carry the train for 2km at a cost of €150 million means it will be the dearestpiece of rail infrastructure ever in the state and it is not needed.

Cllr Fionnan Blake said the western bypass was the most important piece of infrastructure for Dunshaughlin for the next few years. How can we take another 1,000 houses and no bypass?”

He also said the new fire station was essential to allow engines get out quickly in emergencies. Director of Services, Fiona Fallon said we would not know the preferred route until early next year. “What we have at the moment is an indicative route. There is engagement between transportation and Irish Rail in relation to it, but they are driving it,” she said.

- Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme