Minister pours cold water on Ballykelly rail halt idea

Local politicians had been lobbying for a new station to accommodate the relocation of the Department of Agriculture to Ballykelly – a move that will see an extra 800 jobs move to the Roe Valley village.

Michelle O’Neill, the Minister of Agriculture, has confirmed that the Department will move its headquarters to the site of the former Shackleton army base in 2015, and on the back of the announcement a host of local politicians had been calling for a new rail stop in the village.

The Minister in charge of Transport, UUP MLA Danny Kennedy, has now moved to dispel any hopes for a train halt in Ballykelly.

He told the Stormont Assembly that no proposal had been made by the Department of Agriculture for a train halt to accommodate their 800 Ballykelly-based workers, that his own Department had not been consulted before the move was announced and that no funding was available.

He had been asked by Sinn Féin MLA Declan McAleer, who represents the West Tyrone constituency; “given the announcement on the relocation of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development headquarters, whether the option of providing a railway halt or station at Ballykelly will be examined.”

UUP Minister Danny Kennedy replied: “My Department has not received any approaches from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) for a new rail link to its proposed new headquarters at Ballykelly.