Party leaders in Stormont are being urged to support the return of rail to Fermanagh, the only county without services under a draft all-Ireland strategy.
Campaigners want the party leaders to make a pledge to support railway lines in the county in the final All-Island Strategic Rail Review, which will envisage spending £30 billion over the next three decades.
Ministers from the two jurisdictions launched a review in 2021, with a public consultation early the following year.
Steve Bradley, chair of Into the West pressure group, said: “Leaving Fermanagh as the only county on the island without rail is absurd and unacceptable.
“The All-Island Rail Strategy is supposed to address regional imbalance and connect towns with a 10,000+ population by rail – so Enniskillen should have been an obvious inclusion.
“Plus Fermanagh’s strong tourism sector should also have been factored-in to support rail’s return to the county.”
People in the county view the draft strategy as a “real snub”, said Mr Bradley, adding it is “further evidence of their ‘forgotten county’ status”. More than 5,000 have signed a petition asking for the decision to be overturned.
“We’ve now written to the leaders of every political party at Stormont to demand they do the right thing by the people of Fermanagh, and commit their support to ensuring the county is included in the final version of the rail strategy,” Mr Bradley added.
“Even if it means a future infrastructure minister withholding their approval for the entire strategy, it’s important for Fermanagh that politicians be prepared to take that stand.”
Leaders are being asking to commit to four pledges, including confirming they are opposed to Fermanagh being left as the only county in the UK or Ireland to be without rail services and committing to blocking the strategy if it does not include lines in the county, if there is an executive and Assembly.