Support for rail trail

AN online petition for a Western Rail Trail from Athenry to Collooney has hit over 2,000 signatures.

The Greenway - if it were created would bring tourism jobs to Sligo, Mayo and Galway. A spokesman for the Western Rail Trail Campaign – a community-based group campaigning to preserve the alignment of the closed 125k rail line from Athenry to Collooney by utilising the route for tourism and leisure as a greenway until such time as a railway may be possible, today said: “In March of this year we launched an on-line petition to try and gauge public support for the greenway. We are pleased to announce signatures now stands at over 2100.”

Brendan Quinn continues: “The response to the petition clearly shows strong local support for the greenway proposal. The campaign will continue to lobby council management, elected councillors and TDs throughout Sligo, Mayo and Galway to support the Western Rail Trail.”

The campaign hopes the petition will also raise awareness of the Greenway initiative from the Department of Transport.

The department has asked for public submissions on Greenway strategy to be submitted by July 14 th. Brendan said:“We urge people to make submissions in favour of this tourism initiative as part of the national greenway strategy.”

The greenway petition can be found at www.change.org