Including a greenway alongside the planned extension of Dart to Navan would provide for urban and rural transport needs including linking people to their nearest station without needing to drive, especially where there is no or only limited space for park-and-ride car parks. Irish Rail last month published a draft plan for consultation, including a 34-kilometre electrified extension of the branch line towards Navan, which currently stops at M3 Parkway, just a few kilometres north-west of Dublin 15. The line would be part of an expanded Dart network. Navan is uniquely positioned to become a top-class active travel hub. A new rail line and greenway combination would pass directly through the heart of Navan town, creating seamless connectivity to existing and planned infrastructure such as the Navan Cycle Network, the Navan Cycling Initiative has said.The group said: It would also connect directly to the Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway located just beside the proposed Navan North station, and there would also be further connections to the planned Boyne Greenway, from Navan to Drogheda.Ahead of making its own submission, the Navan Cycling Initiative called on people to include the greenway idea in their own reply to the public consultation on the railway line to the Co Meath town.The group said that such a greenway would allow passengers to safely cycle or walk to and from nearby residential areas and the planned new stations, including Navan Central, Navan North, Kilmessan, and Dunshaughlin, while reducing reliance on private cars and pressure on park-and-ride facilities.Future Dart services will likely follow the Irish Rail policy of banning bicycles on board at rush hour which is standard in most countries, even in the Netherlands the cycling campaign group said that a greenway along the route, at least off-peak, would allow passengers with bicycles to disembark and continue their onward journeys directly via a safe, segregated active travel route.The Navan Cycling Initiative said that a combined rail and greenway project perfectly mirrors the core objectives of the Climate Action Plan 2025, the National Sustainable Mobility Policy, and the National Transport Authoritys Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy. They added: We strongly recommend that the project design team treats the rail corridor not merely as a track for trains, but as an integrated Sustainable Mobility Corridor. We look forward to seeing a next phase of design for the Navan rail line, and urge on people to support the inclusion of a dedicated, segregated Greenway running parallel to the line.ALSO READ: Long-awaited Navan railway draft route revealed, but passenger group asks: Is this funded?