Frew urges Translink to consider opening Railway Halt

In a statement to the Times, Frew stated: “There is no doubt that traveling by rail has grown incredibly over the last 10 years , this is a good thing and all options should be considered to enhance that experience to encourage even more passengers.

“I am deeply disappointed with the news coming out of Translink in a letter I received at the beginning of June that there will be delays to the park & ride scheme at Cullybackey. This is a serious setback and any reviews or assessment should be treated as priority moving forward.

“However, I believe an other option that Translink should be considering at present is reopening a Halt at Glarryford. This could take the pressure off Cullybackey somewhat and cater for the needs of people, not only living north of Cullybackey and in Glarryford itself but in places like Clough, Cloughmills, Dunloy and Rasharkin where instead of traveling to Ballymena or Ballymoney to catch the train they could make their way to Glarryford along what will soon be a new road network. Everything is falling into place.

“Having spoken with Translink about this they are resistant because it would mean altering their hourly timetable to suit an additional stop but I would suggest that they should review where and when the train stops presently along the Londonderry line and adjust the timetable in their next review. It doesn’t have to stop everytime just a peak business times .

“In the past there was a station at Glarryford Infact it only closed on the 2 July 1973 having been opened on the 1 July 1856. I would suggest many more people use the train now than in 1973.”