238. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport his plans for the Killucan railway station in County Westmeath; if he will engage with local elected representatives and campaign group on the potential reopening of the station given recent population growth in the surrounding area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48473/26]

As the Deputy may be aware, in 2024 AECOM were appointed by Iarnród Éireann (IÉ), with funding from my Department, to undertake an assessment of public transport demand in the Killucan, Kinnegad and Hill of Down areas of the counties of Westmeath and Meath. This assessment has been utilised to determine if there is a need for enhanced public transport provision in the area, which could include the provision of a new train station or other public transport measures, such as an enhanced bus service, to adequately cater for demand.

Based on the demand assessment, Financial Appraisal and consideration of other factors, the report's recommendation was the ‘Enhanced Bus Provision’ option, comprising three additional daily each-way trips between Mullingar and Kilcock utilising the existing 115C service.

The report acknowledged that there is some demand for a train station at Killucan. However, the study identified that an additional scheduled passenger stop within the area would cause a journey time penalty to existing passengers using rail services, leading to an overall lower level of identified demand compared to the ‘Enhanced Bus Provision’ option.

Subsequently, in December 2025, my Department asked IÉ to examine if there had been any significant changes which would support the viability of a station at Killucan. IÉ has confirmed that no material developments have taken place which would change the recommendations in the July 2024 report for the time being. IÉ did note, however, that the planned extension of the DART+ West project beyond Maynooth to Kilcock, subject to planning approval, will lead to better connections to and from Dublin for passengers on the 115C route who travel to Kilcock and then onwards to Dublin by rail.

In addition to the above detailed consideration of a station at Killucan, the All-Island Strategic Rail Review was published by my Department in July 2024 and sets out the long-term vision for the future of rail on the island. Among the objectives of the Review was the enhancement of regional and rural connectivity, with consideration given to new lines and stations to deliver this goal. The Review also did not recommend a rail station at Killucan. However, it is intended that the Review will be revisited and refreshed approximately once a decade, and that will allow us to reconsider a station in Killucan in light of the latest travel demand in future.