It’s official - rail journeys from Londonderry to Belfast are getting slower, not faster. The journey now takes 24 minutes longer than it did 50 years ago, taking us back to the steam age in terms of travel time.
Of course, it’s not the trains that are the problem; the trains used on the line are capable of 90mph.
It’s the track between Derry and Coleraine which is slowing travellers down; track that is so old and worn that speed limits restrict trains to 50mph, with certain sections even lower.
This is surely a valid reason for an upgrade on the line to be funded immediately, rather than postponed till 2016. It may be expensive, but the improvement it would provide is worth the cost.
