Northern Ireland’s Infrastructure Minister, John O’Dowd, had the opportunity to experience the rich railway heritage from across the island of Ireland during a visit to Downpatrick and County Down Railway (DCDR). In his first official visit to the town since devastating flooding hit Downpatrick in November 2023, the Minister saw first-hand the reconstruction efforts and challenges facing the heritage railway as it seeks to reopen following the flooding.

During the visit, Minister O’Dowd was given a comprehensive tour of the flood-affected areas, culminating in a train journey to Inch Abbey on board the railway’s 450 Class ‘thumper’ diesel train, “Antrim Castle”, more familiar to visitors as the ‘Derry Girls Train’, having featured in the final series of the popular Channel 4 comedy.

Railway chairman, Robert Gardiner, said, “We were keen to show the Minister the most severely impacted sections of our railway, including where the tracks and buildings were submerged, to convey the extent of the devastation. The Minister took the time to inspect these areas closely and engaged in detailed discussions with our team about the immediate and long-term challenges we face, especially regarding the River Quoile. We are pleased we will now be feeding into the flood review process.”

The Downpatrick and County Down Railway is a not-for-profit charitable volunteer-run society that operates steam and diesel train services on approximately three miles of track in Downpatrick. The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) oversees heritage railways in terms of both licensing and the oversight of safety matters and other associated regulations.

Minister O’Dowd said, “The Downpatrick and County Down Railway brings to life the rich rail heritage of the area and indeed across the island. The enthusiasm, passion and pride for rail travel past and present was in abundance. It was inspiring to see and hear how the volunteers and the local community responded to the Autumn flooding events and to hear of the preparations that are being made to become operational again. A feasibility study looking to identify viable flood risk management and engineering solutions will include the railway facility.

“My Department, as the Rail Safety Authority, is working with Downpatrick and County Down Railway to ensure the reopening of the facility.”

Mr Gardiner said, “We were pleased to welcome the Minister for Infrastructure, John O’Dowd, to the town and our historic railway for the first time since the floods to see for himself the impact of the recent floods in Downpatrick and our recovery efforts. The severe weather in November 2023 brought unprecedented rainfall, leading to significant flooding across the town centre and surrounding area, affecting many in our local community.

“The backbone of the DCDR’s success is our dedicated volunteers, who invest countless hours in maintaining and operating the railway. However, the destruction caused by the floods in November seriously affected everyone’s morale. The Minister’s visit to see our reconstruction efforts is a significant endorsement of our hard work and commitment.”

He continued, “The Minister’s visit also underscores Stormont’s recognition of the immense value of volunteer-led initiatives like the Downpatrick and County Down Railway. We greatly appreciated that Minister O’Dowd expressed his concern and support for our efforts to restore the railway and get it open as soon as possible. He acknowledged the significant cultural and economic value that the reuse of legacy infrastructure for tourism projects, such as us at Downpatrick & County Down Railway, brings to their areas and the role of heritage railways in supporting the local economy and community engagement, as well as providing a contractor training base for the growing rail sector here in Northern Ireland.”

He continued, “We were also very pleased that Minister O’Dowd was receptive to our concerns and was open to exploring avenues for support and collaboration between the DfI and the DCDR, strengthening the relationship between the heritage railway and our regulator. We look forward to working closely with the Department for Infrastructure to ensure that our railway remains a treasured part of Downpatrick’s history and a vibrant attraction for visitors.”