Last Wednesday, 17 July, the Northern Ireland Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd visited the Downpatrick and County Down Railway to view progress in reconstructing the railway after it was flooded in November 2023.

The Minister was accompanied by: Noel Darragh, Rail Safety Authority; Jackie Robinson, Director of Public Transport Policy; James Kelly, Head of Operations, Rivers Directorate; and Donna Thompson from the Minister’s Office.

During his visit, the Minister was told about how the railway aimed to preserve Ireland’s rich railway heritage and saw firsthand the reconstruction efforts and challenges facing the railway as it works towards reopening following the devastating flooding.

After a tour of the flood-affected areas, he boarded the railway’s 450 Class ‘thumper’ diesel train Antrim Castle for a journey to Inch Abbey.

Antrim Castle featured as the ‘Derry Girls Train’ in the final series of the popular Channel 4 comedy.

The Downpatrick and County Down Railway is a not-for-profit charitable society. It is run by volunteers who operate steam and diesel train services on three miles of track at Downpatrick. In line with other heritage railways, it is overseen by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) for licensing and the oversight of safety matters and other associated regulations.

Last year, Táilte Tours of Ireland donated enamel badges to the railway so they could be sold to raise funds to keep it going.

We were keen to show the Minister the most severely impacted sections of our railway, including where the tracks and buildings were submerged, to convey the extent of the devastation.

The Minister took the time to inspect these areas closely and engaged in detailed discussions with our team about the immediate and long-term challenges we face, especially regarding the River Quoile. We are pleased we will now be feeding into the flood review process.

Robert Gardiner, Downpatrick and County Down Railway chairman

The Downpatrick and County Down Railway brings to life the rich rail heritage of the area and indeed across the island. The enthusiasm, passion and pride for rail travel past and present was in abundance. It was inspiring to see and hear how the volunteers and the local community responded to the Autumn flooding events and to hear of the preparations that are being made to become operational again. A feasibility study looking to identify viable flood risk management and engineering solutions will include the railway facility.

My Department, as the Rail Safety Authority, is working with Downpatrick and County Down Railway to ensure the reopening of the facility.

John O’Dowd, Minister for Infrastructure