Galway Bay fm newsroom – A new report initiated by campaign group West on Track has concluded that there is a strong business case for the reopening of the railway from Galway to Mayo as part of the wider Atlantic Railway Corridor at a cost of 154 million euro.

The 210 page study published by economist Dr. John Bradley contains a socio-economic profile of Tuam which examines employment and the commuting patterns associated with the county town.

It advocates for the restoration of Tuam’s rail link as part of a major transport interchange in the soon to be developed ‘Station Quarter’ and also proposes that an additional park and ride station be developed at Abbeyknockmoy to offer a commuter service.

The analysis puts forward an argument that the prospect of renewed rail services between Galway and Mayo offers the broader Tuam Local Electoral Area a rare opportunity to regain access to the national railway network with two new stations, one in Tuam Town and another at Abbeyknockmoy.

The report was prepared following the publication in January 2021 of a report prepared by the consultancy firm EY and carried out on behalf of Iarnród Éireann and the Department of Tourism, Transport and Sport.

It examined the viability of extending the Western Rail Corridor from Athenry to Claremorris and found there is no case to be made for such a service, whether for passengers or freight.

The campaign group argues that the EY report raised many questions and contained some errors so a fresh appraisal was deemed necessary.

Group spokesperson is Colmán Ó Raghallaigh – he says Dr. Bradley and his team have done a great service to our entire region and the Government should now move to include this important infrastructure in the forthcoming National Development Plan.

Galway Bay FM Newsroom – The NUI Galway led PANDEM-2 project has join forces with 9 other EU research groups to strengthen Europe’s capacity against future crises.

PANDEM-2 aims to prepare Europe for future pandemics through innovations in training and to build capacity between EU member states responding to pandemics on a cross-border basis.

The project has been awarded almost €10m in funding and is one of many in the PREPARE cluster that has recently received this support from the European Commission to work on different aspects of crisis management.

With a combined funding of €72 million, each project in PREPARE has its own distinct aims and challenges, however, they say they’re working towards their shared goal of ensuring better preparedness for the European Union.

NUIG Professor and Coordinator of PANDEM-2 Máire Connolly says the benefit of the collaboration is that a wide range of issues are being covered.

Galway Bay FM Newsroom – 11 Galway schools are to receive funding to improve their walking and cycling infrastructure.

It’s part of the government’s Safe Routes to School programme, which aims to make children’s travels safer and tackle congestion at school gates.

Four primary schools in Galway city and seven primary and post primary schools in the county are among the 170 schools nationwide which have been included in the pilot scheme.

932 schools have expressed interest in the scheme since March, and will be included over time on a rolling basis.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport and Galway West TD Hildegarde Naughton says the projects will provide enhanced infrastructure for children who want to cycle, walk or scoot to school.