Rail boundary unfair to East Meath commuters

SINN Féin TD for Louth and East Meath Imelda Munster says the boundaries between intercity and commuter areas on the Dublin/Belfast railway network urgently need to be reviewed, as the population of the coastal town are being unfairly overcharged compared to Balbriggan.

“The population of the area served by Laytown train station has almost doubled since 2002 and the majority of those people commute in and out of Dublin to work every day on trains that are packed to the hilt at rush hours,” says the Louth Deputy.

“The current boundary of 35km may have been viable sixteen years ago however with the massive movement of people from Dublin to surrounding villages, Laytown, Bettystown, Mornington and Donacarney, this now needs to be taken into account.”

She says the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) constant reiteration that the boundary must end somewhere, and that they have no intention of increasing it beyond the 35 kilometre mark, must be challenged to reflect today’s reality and the needs of hard-pressed commuters who are being charged exorbitant cost to travel to work.

“An adult monthly ticket from Laytown to Dublin Connolly costs €237 compared to €154 from Balbriggan, a mere 10km along the track,” adds Deputy Munster.

“This matter needs to be addressed. I have raised it once again with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport and the NTA and will pursue this issue until the unfair anomaly is addressed.”