Galway – where the car is still king

Rail is key to solution

Sir, – Niall Heffernan (Letters, August 22nd) is completely correct in his withering assessment of Galway city’s inept transport policy. Investment in rail transport has been minuscule compared to roads over the last 40 years. Galway’s thoroughfares are narrow and are prone to daily gridlock.

One sensible proposal would be the reopening of the railway South to Galway from Sligo and Mayo through Tuam. This would help remove some of the tailbacks seen daily on the N83, N84 and M17 roads. Indeed one full five-carriage intercity train alone would remove 276 cars off the road, these same cars requiring 1.5km of on-street bumper to bumper parking or more than one acre of off-street parking, not to mention the savings in carbon emissions. This all can be done for 1.5 per cent of the National Development Plan’s transport budget. – Yours, etc,

ULTAN KEADY,

Caherlistrane,

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Co Galway.