Voluntary group organises trip to commemorate old Mayo railway line

Voluntary group Táilte Tours CLG is organising a day tour by bus to visit what’s left of the old Westport to Achill railway line, which was closed by the Great Southern Railways in 1937.

Taking place on Saturday, September 26, ‘The Achill Explorer’ tour will be led by historian Jonathan Beaumont, author of the books Rails to Achill and Achillbeg – The Life of an Island. The bus tour departs Westport railway station at 11 a.m. and will also stop to pick up passengers at Newport (Grainne Uaille) at 11.20 a.m. The bus will return at 6 p.m.

Niall Kelly, marketing officer for Táilte Tours, said: “Ireland has a very rich railway heritage, not all of which survives in use today. We’re planning a series of tours around the country to explore these closed lines over the next year or so, and the Achill line is top of that list”.

Full details can be found here.

Now in its fifth year of operations, Táilte Tours CLG is a completely voluntary group that promotes Irish transport heritage and organises mainline rail tours in addition to bus outings to heritage sites. Money raised is put back into the group’s development or donated to transport heritage museums.