A report in to the viability of the Western Rail Corridor (WRC) has found "a strong case" can be made for the restoration of the line.
There has been agitation in the West for the reopening of the 114-mile rail line between Ennis and Sligo for some years.
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen told a conference on the issue today that he would give full consideration to the report when drawing up spending plans that he will soon be bringing to Cabinet.
He said the Taoiseach and a number of his Government colleagues believe the WRC "has serious merit and offers serious benefit".
Although he did not make a commitment to supporting the re-opening of the WRC, he closed his speech today saying he looked forward to "positive days ahead for the Western Rail Corridor".
The Department commissioned an expert working group to carry out the study, which found restoration of the line "could have significant impact on economic activity in the West".
The report said that reopening the two sections of track from Ennis to Tuam via Athenry would provide a rail link between the four largest cities outside Dublin and link to the Dublin-Galway InterCity line.
The 49.5 miles of track would cost €109.4 million to restore and would meet a major objective of the National Spatial Strategy.
At €58.9 million, the 17 miles of track from Tuam, Co Galway, to Claremorris, Co Mayo, would cost more per mile but the report noted the benefits of linking WRC with the Castlebar/Westport and Ballina lines thereby linking a number of towns with Galway and the cities in Munster.
It noted that if the WRC was re-opened from Ennis to Claremorris, rail freight from the Connacht region could be sent to Waterford - the only port with direct rail access on its quays. This facility reduces some of the extra handling costs usually associated with rail freight in Ireland, the report said.
"Connecting major towns in the West by rail to the cities of Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Cork and Waterford could have significant impact on economic activity in the West. At the very least, having the five largest cities outside Dublin connected to each other by rail has to bring economic and social benefits to the entire western seaboard," the report said.
It questioned the case for linking the 46.25 miles from Claremorris to Collooney, Co Sligo, the cost of which would be the most expensive at €197.4 million. "Expenditure of this order would be very difficult to justify and I have to say that the case for its restoration, as things stand, is weak except on the grounds of balanced regional development, the expert group chairman Pat McCann said.
It acknowledged the benefit of connecting to the Sligo line but noted "this section is characterised by low population densities with few towns of reasonable size".
Today's report was welcomed by the Western Development Commission (WDC) which urged for it to be acted on immediately.
Chief executive Lisa McAllister said implementation would be "a significant step towards the national goal of balanced regional development".
She noted the property and the infrastructure of the WRC are already in State ownership with the cost limited to track and signalling renewal and the provision of rolling stock.
"Unlike many major capital investment programmes, the Western Rail Corridor is ready to go. . . . The investment required to reinstate services on the Western Rail Corridor represents value for money which far outweighs that from any other comparable investment in new transport infrastructure," she said.