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A local MLA has expressed his desire for the Enterprise steam train to return to operating between Belfast and Dublin at a Stormont Infrastructure Committee meeting last week.
The steam train used to be an occasional feature travelling over the 18 arches at Craigmore on its way to Dublin but hasn't operated in recent years. Most recently No. 171 the Slieve Gullion has been restored and will be in operation doing Santa Specials from Dublin to Maynooth this festive season but won't be travelling north. The Slieve Gullion used to regularly travel between Belfast and Dublin.
During the committee meeting on 5 November, Justin McNulty MLA questioned Mr Graeme Banks, Head of Rail Safety Branch at the Department for Infrastructure, about the possibility of seeing the Enterprise steam train operating between Belfast and Dublin again. Since Brexit, the steam train has no longer been in operation for journeys to the North.
Mr Banks stated that despite there being no restrictions on the running of steam trains to the North, there are currently no qualified steam drivers to operate the service in the North. In response, McNulty probed whether it could be the same driver from the south driving the train over the border enabling the service to continue. Mr Banks affirmed that should the driver be licensed and qualified, this would be possible.
McNulty concluded by emphasising his and his son's passion for seeing the much missed train service return, stating that the loss of the service is "much to the disappointment of many four year olds and forty year olds... We are all steam train enthusiasts at heart."
