Irish Rail is to be asked to consider developing a light rail system that would link Athlone to Mullingar.
Councillor Tom Farrell believes that with Athlone’s designation as a centre of regional development, as well as an expected increase in students at AIT and increased economic growth in the Shannonside region and a link between two of Westmeath’s biggest towns would make sense
He has proposed that a light rail system would run on the currently disused track, which in recent years has seen thousands of tourists walks its paths as part of a greenway.
Councillor Farrell believes that a similar system works well in Europe, where a fence is erected between the greenways and the rail line to improve safety.
He told Shannonside FM that the benefits of the train line would be huge for the area :
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