Group set up to highlight Omagh’s railway heritage

A NEW group has been set-up to raise awareness of the rich heritage which Omagh has enjoyed with railways for over 160 years.

It is hoped that over the coming months, the Omagh Railway Heritage group will begin to organise a range of events and displays to mark the town’s association with the industry from 1860 until 1965.

Among the proposals are to hold regular talks on the trains, the development of a railway heritage trail, with signposts and markers, and ultimately the development of an Omagh/Great Northern Railway Museum.

There are also hopes to have an archaeological dig in an area where an old turntable was uncovered last year.

Local man, Paddy Hunter, said he also hoped to meet with the Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon, to encourage her to forward plans to conduct a feasibility study into the potential for once again extending a rail network to the West.

“Omagh was once a major transport hub and the railway was the focal point of the town. But much of that heritage and the key role played by the Great Northern Railway locally has now been forgotten,” he said.

“I recently spoke with a young man who had watched the video produced to mark the 70^th anniversary of the Omagh Rail Disaster in 1950 and he was surprised that Omagh even had a railway station. This got me thinking about how many people are like him, and the importance of celebrating our rich railway past.”

Last night (Wednesday), a meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s Regeneration and Community committee considered a letter from the Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon, in response to calls for the rail network to be extended to Tyrone.

In it, she said the issue of improving strategic transport networks would be considered in a Regional Strategic Network Transport Plan which is currently being prepared and would be put out for consultation later in 2021.