Armagh rail link campaign reaches next stage 69 years after final passenger train left the city

Campaigners working to restore a passenger railway between Armagh and Portadown are looking to the next stage of the project 69 years after the last passenger train left the city.

The Portadown Armagh Railway Society (PARS) says an outline business case will follow once appropriate funding becomes available. The proposed case comes after professional consultants completed scoping, technical and feasibility studies into reopening the line.

The development offers a fresh focus for Armagh residents who have lived without a rail connection since the evening of Monday, September 30, 1957, when the final passenger train departed the city.

What happened to Armagh’s railway

Young and old gathered to watch the last service leave Armagh, in a moment recorded in a photograph held by Armagh County Museum. The closure left the line truncated at Portadown and ended the city’s direct passenger rail connection.

PARS chairman William Hutchinson said the railway had served what was then a “thriving city”. He said the dismantling of the section of the Great Northern Railway left “10,000 citizens with the feeling of abandonment”.

Mr Hutchinson also described the replacement bus service as stopping “at every hole in the hedge” while travelling along roads that needed upgrading and replacement. He said many railway employees either lost their jobs or moved into work unrelated to their previous roles.

Almost seven decades later, the former Portadown-to-Armagh railbed remains unused. The permanent waymen who maintained the double track are gone, while the railway’s signals and halts have disappeared. Agricultural use has spread into some vacant areas, and farm sheds have benefited from the levelling work carried out when the railway was built in the 1840s.

Why campaigners want the line reopened

PARS believes Armagh’s future potential is limited if the current transport position remains unchanged. Mr Hutchinson said the city now has a residential population of 16,000 and that there is growing awareness of the need for better links with other places.

He said improved rail travel could help people commuting to Belfast and elsewhere for better-paid employment, as well as students travelling to universities in Belfast and the north-west. The campaign group believes a modern rail connection would be particularly significant for the 20 per cent of people who do not have access to a car or van.

Campaigners also point to Armagh’s education and tourism sectors. Mr Hutchinson said the city would welcome more visitors, arguing that some tourists currently choose not to visit because there is no rail link.

“Armagh City now has a residential population of 16,000 and there is an awareness of the need for better connectivity between the city and other places,” said Mr Hutchinson. “People are more likely to commute to Belfast or further afield for well paid employment opportunities. Young students travel to Belfast and north-western universities. A modern efficient rail link would improve the lives and prospects of many, especially the 20 per cent who don’t have access to either a car or a van.”

Studies completed, business case next

The reopening campaign has involved PARS, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, the Department for Infrastructure, Translink and other interested parties. Their work has led to the completion of three studies examining the proposal at scoping, technical and feasibility stages.

Mr Hutchinson said the studies had produced “promising potential outcomes”. The next formal step is an outline business case, although the source material does not give a date for its publication and says funding must become available before the work can proceed.

The wider strategic case for better rail links is also being considered. The All-Island Strategic Rail Review identified Armagh City as part of a possible route towards Monaghan, Clones, Cavan and Mullingar. If developed, that connection could reopen rail access towards the centre of Ireland.

Mr Hutchinson said the possible extension was “under active consideration”. He argued that transport is being re-evaluated in many regions and that rail is expected to have a major role in moving people and freight in the coming decades.

For now, the campaign’s long-term vision remains a train travelling from Belfast’s modern Grand Central Station to Armagh. The station has seven platforms, and PARS hopes one will eventually serve a train bound for the Cathedral City.