Sligo, Leitrim,Northern Counties, Railway (SLNCR) Greenway
SLIGO TO ENNISKILLEN GREENWAY MOVES AHEAD TO ROUTE DESIGN
FEEDBACK from local communities and stakeholders is actively being reviewed to shape the future route of the Sligo Leitrim and Northern Counties (SLNCR) greenway.
Hundreds of people submitted their views during the last public consultation (28 April – 3 June 2025) with almost 200 people attending in-person events to speak directly with the design team. This input has shaped the Preferred Corridor where the final greenway will go and will inform the project team of possible options for the final route.
The Preferred Corridor is now available on the project website along with the following two new reports:-
- The Options Selection Report (OSR): this sets out the approach taken to identify the Preferred Corridor https://slncr-greenway.com/phase-2/
- The Public Consultation Report: this set outs views shared by statutory stakeholders, community groups, landowners and members of the public Public Consultation No. 3 – Sligo, Leitrim, Northern Counties Railway (SLNCR) Greenway
The 75km greenway from Enniskillen to Sligo will honour the old railway line as a safe space for local walkers and cyclists. It will be a strategic and scenic route for people to come, stay, visit and explore the region passing through Carraroe, Ballysadare, Collooney, Ballintogher, Dromahair, Manorhamilton, Glenfarne, Blacklion, Belcoo and Letterbreen on the way to Enniskillen.
Brendan McKenna from Leitrim County Council, senior executive engineer to the project said:
‘We are delighted to reach the next milestone of the Sligo to Enniskillen SLNCR greenway by publishing the preferred corridor. We had important and engaging conversations during the public consultation where local people told us about their land and communities. We thank everyone for their input which is directly helping the design team understand how people live and work the land, how they would use the greenway to link with neighbours, wildlife and safely walk and cycle in their local area.
‘In direct response to these views, we have widened the corridor up to 200m in some areas. This step will enable us to develop options for the final route which will be no more than 10 metres wide and is set to be published next year.
‘Other factors we need to consider are ecology and environmental elements, gradient, water courses and flood risk, impact on farmland, traffic and road crossings. We continue to work with all stakeholders to produce a route option as we work towards planning submissions.’
Next steps
Phase 3, the design and environmental evaluation stage has begun with support from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). All landowners who fall within the Preferred Corridor will receive a letter in coming weeks and are encouraged to contact their project liaison officer with any queries.
A team of ecologists will undertake surveys of wintering birds from now up to March 2026 to establish their presence, food sources and to assess any potential impact.
Structural engineers will begin non-intrusive assessments of existing historic features such as historic rail and road bridges, underpasses, culverts to confirm whether existing structures may be used or repurposed. Future work on the Preferred Corridor will include topographical surveys, drone and satellite surveys of the land and assessments of potential road crossings.