Work to begin on walkway from railway station to town centre

CONSTRUCTION on the pedestrian Railway Link, providing greater connectivity between Carlow Railway Station and the town centre, will begin this summer.

At a recent meeting of Carlow Municipal District, officials confirmed they expect to select a contractor from the tenders submitted in the coming weeks, with a view to a contractor being on site this summer.

The project, which will provide a walkway from the railway station through the grounds of Carlow College and into the town centre, is expected to be completed in April 2026.

Director of services Padraig O’Gorman also outlined the progress made on the main URDF scheme following a public consultation process in January.

He confirmed that nine public submissions were received, adding that the plan was broadly welcomed, with some observations in relation to issues such as parking.

Senior executive architect Conor Moriarty outlined the submissions made, which included a call for a public toilet to be included in the plan, the impact on traffic flow and parking in the town centre, the need for wheelchair parking spaces near pharmacies and GP services and a call for Dinn Rí car park to be made a “new green space”.

Cllr Fergal Browne remarked that the “obvious thing was to make from the Med Bar to Dempsey’s Hardware one-way”, adding that he accepted this would “cause controversy”.

“The answer may be to take parking off the street and make it two-way,” he added.

Cllr John Cassin asked about the submissions received for the Railway Link and the “scope to have cameras there”, while cllr Andra Dalton asked about the online portal and if members of the public could give the submissions there.

Mr O’Gorman stated that 20 tender submissions were received from contractors, which went before the evaluations board and was reduced to 11. He confirmed that the new link would include CCTV.

Mr Moriarty confirmed that the URDF submissions from the public would be available on the council website, with addresses and contact details redacted.

Mayor cllr Fintan Phelan remarked that overall, the URDF plan “has been a well-received plan” and all members welcomed the long-awaited progress made.