Call for reopening of Knockcroghery rail station

A call has been made for the reopening of Knockcrogherty rail station in south Roscommon - 60 years after it was closed.

The call was made at the March meeting of the Athlone Municipal District of Roscommon County Council yesterday (Tuesday) by Cllr Donal Kilduff, who said it would be "both appropriate and fitting" for the local authority to "explore the possibility" of reopening the rail station over half a century after it was closed.

Knockcroghery railway station opened in1860 and closed in1963.

Cllr Kilduff, who raised the issued under Any Other Business at the end of this week’s meeting, said it was “telling” that the 60th anniversary of the closure of the station coincided with the publication of an international climate report this weekwarning of “the dire consequences of climate change.”

He said reopening the rail station would “tie in with the expansion of the greenway network” and would also be of great benefit to the many people who are now successfully working from home since the pandemic. He also added that it would make "perfect sense" in the context of saving the planet.

The Independent Cllr asked his colleagues to support his call for a letter to be sent to Minister Eamonn Ryan requesting that a feasibility study be carried out on the possibility of reopening the rail line in Knockcroghery.

Cllr Kilduff received unanimous backing from his colleagues for his proposal.