The final version of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, which was published today (Wednesday, July 31) has confirmed a range of recommendations for improving rail connectivity in rural areas.

The final version comes after the completion of a public consultation on the original draft review, which was published last year.

The new version contains the same list of recommendations for rural and regional connectivity, including the reopening of the western rail corridor between Claremorris and Athenry.

The review - which was jointly developed by the Department of Transport and Northern Ireland's Department of Infrastructure - considered options to connect as many towns with populations over 10,000 to the rail network as possible.

The review also aims to improve intraregional connectivity by providing rail services to cover "missing links" or gaps, for example in the western rail corridor, Ballina to Sligo, Cork to Waterford, Waterford to Wexford, and Athlone to Mullingar.

The review said that some options were not pursued for a number of reasons, for example if they would not attract enough demand.

The review said: "The island of Ireland's railway network is approximately half of its size at its peak. The decommissioning of railways around the mid part of the 20^th century cut some rural communities off from the rail network. Additionally, interregional connectivity is poor in many places, especially in border areas.

"Public policy in both jurisdictions is increasingly recognising the need to rebalance the economy away from Dublin and Belfast to enable all parts of the island to prosper," the review said.

The review makes nine recommendations for rural and regional areas:

Provide more direct services between Ireland's west and south coasts, for example between Galway, Limerick and Cork;
Ensure regional and rural lines have at least one train every two hours, and hourly services between Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford;
Increase line speeds to at least 120kph;
Upgrade Limerick Junction and the Limerick Junction-Waterford line, to support freight services between the south coast ports, Foynes, and the north west;
Reinstate the western rail corridor railway between Claremorris and Athenry, to support regional connectivity objectives in the west of Ireland;
Extend the railway into Tyrone, Derry, and Donegal;
Reinstate the South Wexford Railway to boost connectivity in the south east;
Develop the railway to boost connectivity in the north midlands, including by reinstating the railway between Portadown, Cavan, Mullingar and Athlone, as well as building a new link between Maynooth and Adamstown and dualling the railway to Mullingar;
Integrate bus service and rail service timetables to connect communities where direct rail access is unviable.