For me the case for reopening rail links between Derry, Omagh, Belfast and Dublin is first and foremost about rail travel itself, what it uniquely provides, and why no other mode of transport has ever replaced it for disabled people.
I’ve said it many times: when buses and taxis fail, rail delivers. That’s because rail is not improvised transport. It is built, engineered and timetabled in a way that creates certainty and certainty is the difference between freedom and isolation for disabled people.
Rail travel works because accessibility can be designed into the system from the ground up. Step-free platforms. Level boarding. Dedicated wheelchair spaces. Accessible toilets. Staffed stations. Predictable departure and arrival times. These are permanent features. Once they exist, they work every day.
Buses and taxis don’t offer that certainty. Accessible taxis are rare, expensive, and often unavailable when you need them. Buses can be inaccessible due to broken ramps, poor training, or last-minute service changes. Even when the vehicle is technically accessible, the journey often isn’t. Rail removes much of that risk. You know the platform. You know the train. You know the time. You can plan your life.
That’s why reopening rail through Omagh matters so much. The removal of rail from the West didn’t just take away a transport option — it removed the only mode of long-distance travel that can be consistently accessible when done properly. It forced disabled people into dependence on systems that routinely let us down.
A rail corridor linking Derry, Omagh, Belfast and Dublin would restore more than tracks. It would restore connectivity. It would allow disabled people to travel independently between cities, across borders, and into opportunities that are currently out of reach.
Rail also supports spontaneity and dignity. You don’t have to negotiate, beg, pre-book days in advance, or hope a vehicle turns up. You turn up, you board, you travel. That is what rail makes possible.
Rail is public infrastructure. Once reopened, services can grow, stations can improve, and accessibility can evolve. That simply does not happen with taxis.
But it must be done right. Disabled people must be involved from the start. Accessibility cannot be bolted on afterwards.
Reopening the rail network is not nostalgia. It is a civil rights issue. Rail travel remains the most reliable, dignified and inclusive form of long-distance public transport — and disabled people in the North West deserve nothing less.
Useful links
Into The West
Circle Line Belfast
All-Island Rail Review – Stormont
All-Island Rail Review – Dáil
All-Island Rail Review – Fermanagh and Omagh District Council
The Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee (IMTAC)