Council dispute keeps Downpatrick railway closed

THE Downpatrick & County Down Railway, Ireland’s only 5ft 3in gauge heritage railway, has not reopened for the 2022 season because of a dispute with the council which is preventing the railway allowing members of the public to access its site.

The railway relies on Newry Mourne and Down District Council for maintenance and insurance of its station building and main locomotive shed at Downpatrick as part of a long-standing agreement originally signed with the NM&DC’s predecessor, Down District Council, in the 1990s.

DCDR vice chairman Mike Beckett said: “Under the agreement, the council owns the buildings and carries out electrical and fire safety work on them to ensure they’re safe for the public. It also carries out maintenance.

“This agreement was overturned by the council without consultation, so we haven’t been able to allow the public into the buildings as they are not safety-inspected, and the insurance situation is not clear.”

The council seems to want to transfer responsibility for the buildings on to the DCDR, leading to heavy expenditure for the railway which is reeling from the effects of the Covid-19 shutdown. “We are in discussion with the council and have had a robust exchange of views to try to resolve this very serious matter,” said Mike. “We have suggested a possible interim solution covering inspections for this year so we can open in July. We can’t confirm that, of course, at this stage, as matters are entirely outside our control, but we’re very keen to reopen then, probably with a diesel service initially, with one of our Northern Ireland Railway diesel railcar sets and possibly our Class 450 unit that starred in Derry Girls (issue 293) to capitalise on the publicity gained.”

A council statement said: “At the

March 2022 meeting of NM&DC’s Strategy and Resources Committee, an agenda item was considered in relation to the Downpatrick & County Down Railway that related to matters in connection with the issues raised.

“This committee item was deemed to be restricted by virtue of the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

“The council is unable to make further comment at this time.”

Mike said the impasse is affecting the railway’s finances, which is facing a maintenance backlog, while tourism is suffering from the lack of a railway which is regarded as one of County Down’s premier attractions.