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Athlone to Mullingar Cycleway
Trail in Ireland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Athlone to Mullingar Cycleway (also known as Old Rail Trail)[2][3] is a long-distance cycling and walking trail in County Westmeath, which forms a section of the Dublin-Galway Greenway. It is a 42 kilometres long rail-trail over the disused Athlone-Mullingar rail line beginning in Athlone and ending in Mullingar.[4][5]
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History
The route was originally opened in 1851 as a railway line by the Midland Great Western Railway and was the first to reach Athlone from Dublin.[6] The line was closed in 1987 with trains using the former Great Southern and Western Railway line to reach Athlone.[7]
The Moate-Garrycastle section was officially opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in October 2015.[8][9][10] In September 2015 the Westmeath Independent reported that the greenway could provide a "€15m boost" to the local economy.[11]
The section was extended up to Ballymahon road (White gates) in December 2016, with plans to eventually extend into Athlone town.[12][13]
As of 2015, plans by a community development organisation in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, were underway to connect the Greenway to the Offaly Cycleways at Kilbeggan with a greenway to Tullamore, County Offaly.[14] Work was planned to begin by summer 2016.[14][15][needs update]
A new bridge to cross the River Shannon in Athlone was allocated €8.1m funding and began construction in 2021.[16][17][18] The bridge opened in August 2023.[19]
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Access points
The following is a list of the access points to the cycleway.[20]
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See also
References
External links
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