Rosslare Labour candidate Damien Corish says that Killinick Railway Station should be redeveloped to facilitate an inter modal road freight terminal to serve Co Wexford…
Killinick Railway station is located beside the N25 and is on the railway from Rosslare Strand to Waterford. It has been closed for over 40 years.
Wexford local election candidate, Damien Corish said that the recent report of the All Island Rail Strategy Review recommends that this rail line be reopened by 2030. It is one of just 3 railways in the country which have been given such immediate priority. Its restoration is linked with the development of Rosslare Europort.
“However Government targets for reducing greenhouse emissions by 2030 require a more significant shift in how freight is delivered than at present. We have too many trucks on our roads, it is hard to get drivers who are prepared for the long hours that this work requires. In addition the motor industry has not delivered electric trucks to the extent that we have electric cars,” he said.
Mr Corish said that what he is proposing is to develop the site where the N25 and the railway meet at Killinick as a yard from where freight containers moved nationally or internationally to Co Wexford can be collected by trucks for delivery within Co Wexford.
“Irish Rail still has a significant land holding at the site still. Coca Cola uses trains to move their product from their factory in Ballina to Waterford Port where there is a crane to lift containers onto ships. However syrups made by Coca Cola in Drinagh must go by road to Ballina because we don’t have a facility in Co Wexford where they can be loaded onto a freight train.”
Mr Corish said that from an environmental, economic, logistical point of view this proposal makes perfect sense if Irish Rail was prepared to seek funding from the government for it. For truck drivers it would mean less long journeys and better working day delivering rather than long drives as well as contributing to jobs in logistics in my area.
“If elected I will campaign for a rail-road intermodal hub at Killinick. This can be the model for other large counties. Let all of Wexford’s freight come to one central yard and let it be collected and delivered by trucks around the county,” he concluded.
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