TRANSPORT

TRAINS

Donegal once had an extensive railway, which stretched from Carndonagh to Burtonport on opposite sides of the county and from Strabane to Killybegs and Bundoran.

The first railway line, owned by the Finn Valley Railway Company, opened in 1863 and ran between Strabane and Stranorlar. The West Donegal Railway Company opened a second line in 1882, which continued the journey from Stranorlar to Donegal Town. These two small companies joined together to form the County Donegal Railway Company in 1892 and opened three more lines, Donegal to Killybegs in 1893. Stranorlar to Glenties in 1895 and Stranorlar to Letterkenny in 1909. Altogether the track ran for over 124 miles, used six types of steam engine and employed over 200 people.

A second company called the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway also ran railway lines in Donegal. This company opened its first line in 1863 from Derry City to Buncrana. In 1883 they opened another railway line to Letterkenny followed by an extension of the Buncrana line to Carndonagh in 1901 and a new line to Burtonport in 1903.

The railway was an important part of life in Donegal. It was used not only for travel by people but for transporting livestock, collecting the catch from the boats in Killybegs and bringing cheap groceries, coal and oil to Donegal. Due to the high cost of running the trains and competition from road traffic, one by one the lines were closed, with the last railway line in Donegal closing in 1959.

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