Revealed: Multi-storey car park plan for busy Galway train station
A planning application for a new multi-storey car park at Oranmore Train Station will be ready to be lodged this Autumn.
The plan is to locate the car park, with 300 spaces, on the existing car park at the station on Coast Road.
Valerie Loughnane, senior planner at Galway County Council, said the new car park is at design stage, and it is hoped it will be ready for planning approval in September or October.
Ms Loughnane said she hoped it would go through a Part 8 planning application, which requires approval of elected members.
But depending on the results of environmental assessments, it may need to be sent to An Coimisiún Pleanála, formerly An Bord Pleanála.
Ms Loughnane told county councillors at the latest Athenry/Oranmore Municipal District meeting that “we don’t have money to build it” yet, but the County Council was in talks with the National Transport Authority.
The NTA has approved a preliminary business case for the project. Once it approved the actual business case, the County Council would have it ‘shovel ready’, which would make it easier to attract funding.
“We don’t have money to build it”
She was responding to a query from Councillor Peter Feeney (FG) who said: “I presume it (business case) will stack up?”.
Ms Loughnane confirmed that part of the existing car park will be closed during construction of the multi-storey car park.
She said all going well it was hoped that the car park will be operational by September 2027.
This was part of Irish Rail’s investment in its infrastructure in Galway. Other elements of the plans, that have Department of Transport and URDF (Urban Regeneration and Development Fund) funding, was to provide a passing loop and second platform at Oranmore.
An underpass – to provide access to a proposed second platform – was completed in October of last year.
The tender for the business case for the passing loop will be finalised in the next few weeks, she said.