| Western Rail Corridor |
Article Index for Western Rail |
Website Links For Western |
Information AboutWestern Rail Corridor |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT WESTERN RAILWAY CORRIDOR | |
| closed railways in ireland | |
| rail transport in ireland | |
|
The Western Railway Corridor (WRC) in the Republic Of Ireland is a recent term for a mostly disused single-track railway line running through the West of Ireland . The term was devised for the purposes of campaigning for the reopening of some or all of the route. Currently only a small section from Limerick to Ennis sees regular services, with other sections either closed, or only technically open. In 2005 an Expert Working Group Reported On The Prospects For Reopening all or part of the corridor. In early 2006, work began on the ground in preparation for reopening the southern section of the line, and preserving right-of-way on the northern section. ROUTE AND SERVICES As described by West On Track, the Western Rail Corridor encompasses railways built by various companies throughout the late 1800 s forming a line from Limerick to Sligo . The route later formed part of the Great Southern And Western Railway 's operations. Towns along the WRC include Ennis , Gort , Athenry , Tuam and Claremorris . The route crosses the Dublin – Galway line at Athenry , the Dublin – Westport / Ballina line at Claremorris , and the Dublin – Sligo line at Collooney – these three routes, still open today, were once part of the Midland Great Western Railway 's operations. Passenger services on the section of route from Claremorris to Collooney came to an end in 1963 , with the section being closed completely in 1975 by Córas Iompair Éireann (the track was left in situ but severed at Collooney). Passenger services between Limerick and Claremorris ceased in 1976 , but a twice-weekly service between Limerick and Ennis started again in 1988 . Following track improvements, this was expanded to a further two days a week in 1993 and six days a week in 1994 . In December 2003 a new seven/eight train a day service (seven days a week) started between Limerick and Ennis (connecting or continuing to/from Dublin or Limerick Junction ). Freight services ran regularly on the Limerick to Claremorris section until the mid- 1990s . However with the closure of the Ashai factory near Ballina, regular freight services north of Athenry ceased in 1997. Fertiliser trains from Foynes continued to use the line as far Athenry until 2000 and bulk cement from Irish Cements Ltd Castlemungret factory near Limerick until 2001, when the line ceased to have any regular traffic. In 2002 the section from Athenry to Claremorris was severed at Athenry when the Galway line was resignalled. DEBATE ON THE NEED FOR THE CORRIDOR The lobby group "West on Track" have campaigned for the entire route to be reopened. Their view is that full opening of the line is necessary in giving the western regions of Ireland the Infrastructure they need to stem the trend of population Migration towards the more developed eastern part of Ireland. Their supporters believe the "indirect benefits" accruing to the State in environmental and developmental advantages of rail should be assigned to Iarnród Éireann . This view is questioned by another lobby group, and that there are alternative routings and capacity on open lines to satisfy existing needs. THE EXPERT WORKING GROUP REPORT A Expert Working Group, headed by Pat McCann, CEO of Jurys Doyle Hotels, reported to the Minister for Transport regarding the prospects for reopening some or all of the route. The group was set up by Minister Séamus Brennan at the urging of West-on-Track in June 2004 and delivered their report to Minister Martin Cullen in May 2005 . The report recommended that some sections of the Corridor had immediate prospects for viable reopening. (Report extracts in quotation marks.)
"This section would appear to be one of the more viable as things stand and I am recommending that this section be re-opened in the short-term." McCann also described this section as "not strictly part of the WRC" (page 6 of the report).
"I am also recommending that the second section to be restored should be the Tuam to Athenry line."
"It might be that rail freight will add to the viability of the Tuam-Claremorris section of line and so I am recommending that a thorough study to quantify the potential for rail freight in the region be initiated. It may also be more cost effective to complete the entire section between Athenry and Claremorris as one phase." The report recommended deferring the reopening of the 74.43 km (46.25 mile) Collooney to Claremorris section. It estimated the capital cost of reopening at 197.4 million euros, twice the cost per mile of the Ennis-Athenry section, through a region McCann described as "characterised by low population densities with few towns of reasonable size." The report recommended revisiting the case for reopening in three years to investigate whether the route has improved in feasibility. Criticisms of the Report have included the reliance on anecdotal testimony regarding freight demand and the absence of costings for rolling stock and operating expenses. However the Report does urge the Minister to form an Implementation Group whose deliberations would by necessity encompass these issues. PROGRESS ON THE CORRIDOR Call for action Frank Dawson, Director of Services for on 5 October 2005 entitled ''Gold in the Ox Mountains''. Despite several of the members of West on Track and the InterCounty Railway Committee being part of the various committees which researched the McCann Report, this new paper offers some criticisms of the Report as written by Mr. McCann. While projects such as the Cork to Youghal and the Clonsilla to Navan lines are proposed to be reopened only in part as far as Midleton and Dunboyne respectively where economically viable demand is deemed demonstrable, Mr. Dawson rejects the notion of strict cost-benefit in favour of "balanced regional development", for example: Perhaps this is another example of the double standards which have plagued the decision making process in regard to the West of Ireland for decades. Transport 21 On 1 November 2005 the Transport 21 plan was launched committing government expenditure of 34 billion euros between 2006 and 2015 on road, rail and light rail projects. The Western Railway Corridor commitments under this plan are largely those recommended by the McCann Report. These are:
Minister For Transport Martin Cullen also mentioned completing a feasibility into a rail link for Shannon International Airport in his speech at the launch. COMMENCEMENT OF WORKS Clearance work was carried out on the line in its entirity (from Ennis to Collooney) in January/February 2006. The relaying of the section from Ennis to Athenry is expected to commence shortly after this work. The northern section of the line (Claremorris to Collooney) will be fenced off and left as is for the time being. The intermediate section from Athenry to Claremorris may be opened again as far as Tuam, with the remainder being fenced off. SEE ALSO
REFERENCES
|
|
|