On 25th July 2023, the Department for Infrastructure of Northern Ireland, in conjuction with the Department for Transport of the Republic of Ireland, released a one-hundred-and-eleven-page draft detailing the latest findings by the All Island Rail Review.

This review suggests a £7Billion upgrade to Northern Ireland's railway network, including a new line from Adelaide - Newry via Banbridge, Portadown - Derry/Londonderry via Omagh, and multiple other line reopenings for our country.

Most importantly, the Antrim - Lisburn (Knockmore) Line was also included in the Rail Review's findings with a new railway station at Belfast International Airport.

The review states that the reopening of this line will likely cost in the range of £300Million - £500Million, which some of our most loyal followers may remember, FundTheNINE appraised the reopening of the Knockmore Line at a cost of around £300Million based on publically available information.

These expansions and upgrades are set to be completed by 2050, but FundTheNINE knows that if our government fully supports the findings and truly commits to them, then these suggestions brought forward by the AIRR could easily be completed by 2035/40 at the latest.


Our loyal followers may also recall, that our campaign takes heavy inspiration from Brian Guckian, who was an independant transport researcher from Dublin.

Brian's 'Northern Ireland Network Enhancement' (NINE), set out a vision to rejuvinate and rebuild the lost network of our country.

This Rail Review has almost confirmed Brian's findings 1:1.

So what's next for FundTheNINE?

FundTheNINE's goal has always been lobbying to have all six of our counties served by rail, and have every town being no more than 5km from their nearest railway station.

Now that we know the government has a framework to do just that, we need to work as a collective to ensure that these suggestions are completed as soon as possible to the highest quality standard possible.

Thank you for the continued support to our campaign, we hope to bring you more positive news again soon.

-FundTheNINE