Tax demand could sink Swilly

摘要

A petition by the UK tax authorities could spell the end for Ireland's cross-border Lough Swilly bus company. Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs has petitioned the High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland for the winding up of the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway Company, which is a statutory company created by Act of Parliament in 1853. The Swilly - with headquarters at Springtown Industrial Estate in Deny - is believed to be the only surviving statutory railway company of that era still trading on a commercial basis, albeit no longer running trains. Most others disappeared with railway grouping and nationalisation. A hearing set for 3 April was adjourned for a further six weeks, but as we closed for press the following day, staff reported that there would be a delay in paying their wages owing to a freeze on the company's Northern Ireland bank account. They said they expected to be paid instead from a Republic of Ireland account.