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Western Rail Corridor (all disused sections)

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Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,635 ✭✭✭eth0


    westtip wrote: »
    +1 MYOB its the part they just don't get. The project was doomed to failure simply on the grounds of demographics. Its the old chestnut that the Wesht was being starved out of existence without this railway that really is the painful experience.

    Was staying with friends near stanstead aiport last week We wallked the Flitch Way http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/RoutesLinksCycle/flitch-way-walking-and-cycle-route

    A greenway route along an old victorian branch line running through Essex. It was full of families out walking and cycling, stopping off at cafe on the route in one of the old stations. The people in the area love it. Of course there are loads of examples of such local greenways in the UK, and the funny thing is most of them get used by more people per day than the ennis athenry line!

    And just think what we could have on the WRC from Collooney to Ennis had we got the imagination. It would be a tourist mecca.


    Eventually the greenway will become so popular we'd need a small tram beside the greenway just to transport people to different parts of it. Faster trains from dublin to sligo because tourists arriving in dublin cant wait to get to the greenway. A whole city could be built around it and kick start the Celtic Tiger 3.0


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,905 ✭✭✭Aard


    ^^ Eh, the whole point of a greenway is that people walk or cycle it. Transporting them by tram defeats the purpose.

    What a red herring!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,635 ✭✭✭eth0


    Aard wrote: »
    ^^ Eh, the whole point of a greenway is that people walk or cycle it. Transporting them by tram defeats the purpose.

    What a red herring!


    Ah but ya have to look after the ould wans and people who dont have time to walk all of it


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,282 ✭✭✭westtip


    eth0 wrote: »
    Ah but ya have to look after the ould wans and people who dont have time to walk all of it

    eth0 your sarcasm is wasted. However your reference to ould wans is interesting as the grey euro/dollar/pound and expenditure by greying baby boomer tourists is what will make a greenway so cost effective. This is the problem with those that just don't gettit. Railways are not being opened in sparsely populated rural areas, Extinct C19th railway alignments have been put to good use as greenways across Europe and the United States. But in Ireland we have to cowtow to one pressure group who claim to be right because they have been bleating the same message for 35 years and because the county councillors in one or two counties have hung their career cloaks on this peg and don't have gumption to question their own narrow convictions. A greenway will not create Celtic Tiger 3.0 - it will however give a sense of realism to post Celtic Tiger 1.0. This country needs more tourist euros not more subvented empty rural trains.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,230 ✭✭✭Solair


    This argument was perhaps true in the past, and it is true IF those companies can win public tenders in France.

    However, there are cases where Bombardier and Siemens have won French LRT contracts ahead of Alstom and other French companies.

    Light rail would make some sense on a small scale in Cork btw. It has a metropolitan area of about 420,000 people.

    The WRC simply makes no economic sense though. It's not achieving anything at all and seems to be of no benefit whatsoever to the local area.

    It would have made more sense to open the lines linking into Galway's commuter towns and ensuring a decent frequency of local commuter trains than slashing the cash on this thing. A rail investment like that might have been beneficial to the West.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,645 ✭✭✭yer man!


    I don't think there's much of a point anymore in saying the same thing over and over and over and over again, that it shouldn't have been built and that it should be shut down, personally I think it shouldn't have been built but it's built now and there's a commitment there so it will not be shut down for the foreseeable future so there's little point in bitc*ing constantly. Ways to try and allow the line attract more people need to be looked at. Of course the population density is low along the line but there is a lot of people living within 15mins of a station. Look at park and ride in Galway during december for example, nobody thought it would attract very many people but it did and was a great success (albeit subsidized). One of the main reasons for this was that it was so cheap, €2 to park the car and get the bus into the city, bargain! Same idea could be adopted along this line, people park their car for free at any station an get a commuter ticket for cheaper than the bus and you would have people using it. Gort for example has many commuters passing through it everyday for work, if some of them got the train return for like €6 and free parking at the station I think they would gladly go for that, you can't park at many bus stops and if you can then it'll be charged. If it's cheap they will come!!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,373 ✭✭✭✭foggy_lad


    yer man! wrote: »
    I don't think there's much of a point anymore in saying the same thing over and over and over and over again, that it shouldn't have been built and that it should be shut down, personally I think it shouldn't have been built but it's built now and there's a commitment there so it will not be shut down for the foreseeable future so there's little point in bitc*ing constantly.

    If it is shut down a lot of money much needed elsewhere will be saved!

    Ways to try and allow the line attract more people need to be looked at. Of course the population density is low along the line but there is a lot of people living within 15mins of a station. Look at park and ride in Galway during december for example, nobody thought it would attract very many people but it did and was a great success (albeit subsidized).

    There are thousands of people living within 15 minutes of the park and ride in Galway but nobody living out in the sticks and anybody with a car and sense will drive to Galway or limerick rather than get an expensive noisy train and if shopping they will be much more comfortable getting their purchases home rather than dragging them to the station, onto train then off train and into the car anyway for the last 15-20 minutes.



    One of the main reasons for this was that it was so cheap, €2 to park the car and get the bus into the city, bargain! Same idea could be adopted along this line, people park their car for free at any station an get a commuter ticket for cheaper than the bus and you would have people using it.

    So the answer is throw even more money down the toilet that is the western rail corridor? It is already massively subsidised and Irish rail are on their knees as far as money goes so can't afford to lose money on pipe dreams! It would already be cheaper to send each person in their own taxi but your suggestion makes sense if they were to buy every passenger a bus ticket it would be cheaper than running the train!


    Gort for example has many commuters passing through it everyday for work, if some of them got the train return for like €6 and free parking at the station I think they would gladly go for that, you can't park at many bus stops and if you can then it'll be charged. If it's cheap they will come!!
    People don't need to park at the bus stops because they are situated much closer to where people live unlike a Victorian railway that has not moved with the times in either alignment or speed!

    Tear up the rails and save the country an absolute fortune!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,645 ✭✭✭yer man!


    foggy_lad wrote: »
    People don't need to park at the bus stops because they are situated much closer to where people live unlike a Victorian railway that has not moved with the times in either alignment or speed!

    Tear up the rails and save the country an absolute fortune!
    You do know there are a lot of people who live in the countryside whereby bus stops are few and far between because of massive area and are expensive and infrequent anyway. We aren't a densely populated country, people would have to travel a little bit of the way to get to use public transport. Park and ride in Galway was for cars only, ergo people who were not within walking distance. You say nobody lives in the "sticks" jesus have ever been to the west of Ireland.....? Arguing with you is like shaving with a bowling pin tbh.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,373 ✭✭✭✭foggy_lad


    yer man! wrote: »
    You do know there are a lot of people who live in the countryside whereby bus stops are few and far between because of massive area and are expensive and infrequent anyway. We aren't a densely populated country, people would have to travel a little bit of the way to get to use public transport. Park and ride in Galway was for cars only, ergo people who were not within walking distance. You say nobody lives in the "sticks" jesus have ever been to the west of Ireland.....? Arguing with you is like shaving with a bowling pin tbh.
    Currently you cant buy an on-line ticket or even reserve a seat for the western rail corridor which is described as an inter-city service and even if you could it is going to cost more and take much longer than the express bus service! Why would anyone spend more for a longer less comfortable journey?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,645 ✭✭✭yer man!


    foggy_lad wrote: »
    Currently you cant buy an on-line ticket or even reserve a seat for the western rail corridor which is described as an inter-city service and even if you could it is going to cost more and take much longer than the express bus service! Why would anyone spend more for a longer less comfortable journey?
    Exactly!
    1. Online ticketing needs to be introduced.
    2. Must be cheaper than the bus.
    3. Free parking if not already at all stations along route.
    4. Advertise a reasonable price on facebook/ billboards on the limerick to Galway route/ local papers/ twitter/ radio stations/ college newspapers!!! (17000 students in Nuig read this as its free)
    5. Really good student deals and combined rail and city bus tickets as most people need bus once in city.
    6. Must be able to be in Galway city before half 8 in the morning for commuters.
    7. Advertise tax saver tickets, some of these are a bargain.
    8. Skip stations where there are no ppl, eg. Ardrahan.
    9. Focus on commuter rail instead of intercity.
    10. If there was money the construction of proper bend befor limerick junction for trains going to cork would be good. One train could travel from cork to Galway and back again, this is horrible to travel on a bus and is expensive. Obviously this is a dream bit still this would bethe only way an intercity service could exist in my opinion.

    These ideas aren't perfect but they are relatively low cost and could make an impact. City council are making any effort to introduce park and rides in suburbs and satellite towns but they have no control over what Irishrail does.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,373 ✭✭✭✭foggy_lad


    yer man! wrote: »
    Exactly!
    1. Online ticketing needs to be introduced.
    2. Must be cheaper than the bus.
    3. Free parking if not already at all stations along route.
    4. Advertise a reasonable price on facebook/ billboards on the limerick to Galway route/ local papers/ twitter/ radio stations/ college newspapers!!! (17000 students in Nuig read this as its free)
    5. Really good student deals and combined rail and city bus tickets as most people need bus once in city.
    6. Must be able to be in Galway city before half 8 in the morning for commuters.
    7. Advertise tax saver tickets, some of these are a bargain.
    8. Skip stations where there are no ppl, eg. Ardrahan.
    9. Focus on commuter rail instead of intercity.
    10. If there was money the construction of proper bend befor limerick junction for trains going to cork would be good. One train could travel from cork to Galway and back again, this is horrible to travel on a bus and is expensive. Obviously this is a dream bit still this would bethe only way an intercity service could exist in my opinion.

    These ideas aren't perfect but they are relatively low cost and could make an impact. City council are making any effort to introduce park and rides in suburbs and satellite towns but they have no control over what Irishrail does.
    All those suggestions if implemented would increase passengeers from the average of 8 per train to maybe 10 per train but the reduction in revenue and increase in cost to the tax payer would be massive meaning the line would be losing even more than before. May as well introduce free travel on the line for a month and see how popular it is but that should have been done in January or February to give a true number without school breaks etc upsetting the figures.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,645 ✭✭✭yer man!


    foggy_lad wrote: »
    All those suggestions if implemented would increase passengeers from the average of 8 per train to maybe 10 per train but the reduction in revenue and increase in cost to the tax payer would be massive meaning the line would be losing even more than before. May as well introduce free travel on the line for a month and see how popular it is but that should have been done in January or February to give a true number without school breaks etc upsetting the figures.
    Well currently they are doing absolutely nothing about attracting people.... And not every train has 8 people on boards, it's obvious if you see the train in the morning that it's much busier than lunch time trains which have nobody on them.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 17,733 ✭✭✭✭corktina


    they are doing absolutley nothing to attract people to most of the other lines too.
    Wouldn't it make sense to promote the lines which have a chance of breaking even rather than this white elephant?

    We can't condone IE promoting this line just to make it more likely for WoT to say they were right all along. It has to make some sort of sense!


  • Registered Users Posts: 203 ✭✭trail man


    corktina wrote: »
    they are doing absolutley nothing to attract people to most of the other lines too.
    Wouldn't it make sense to promote the lines which have a chance of breaking even rather than this white elephant?

    We can't condone IE promoting this line just to make it more likely for WoT to say they were right all along. It has to make some sort of sense!


    One thing is sure IE is a disgrace...badly run fiasco...trying to deal with them
    in any shape or form..
    ask the greenway people in west limerick in what they had to deal with in trying to convert the old line.. IE are a law onto themsleves and should be disbanded..
    Heaven forbid if the rest of the line on the wrc is designated a greenway IE
    Will wash their hands of it and let the greenway people and the farmers Battle it out for years.. IT WOULD BE LIKE FRANK KELLYS famous song a christmas countdown ...IE ARE PATHETIC..


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,258 ✭✭✭MayoForSam


    Article on the front page of the Tuam Herald this week, abridged version is here: http://www.tuamherald.ie/2012/02/15/tuam-group-says-disused-railway-could-become-greenway/

    In the full article, a group of like-minded local enthusiasts have proposed converting the section between Tuam and Kilbannon Round Tower to a Greenway taking in local ecclesiastical and historical sites, including nature walks over 2 local rivers, promoting facilities for walking, running and cycling clubs, providing access to areas of botanical interest and pedestrian and bike access to local employers along the route.

    Quote from the article: "The Tuam Greenway Project are not opposed to the completion of the Western Rail Corridor if funding becomes available and in fact have highlighted the benefit of protecting the 'right-of-way' afforded by developing a Greenway on the route".

    In response, an 'anonymous' spokesman for West-on-Track does not agree "This idea is nothing more than short-term opportunism and extreme shortsightedness to say the least." He goes on to mention extending the WRC on to Claremorris and beyond, linking up with Knock Airport, yada, yada, yada.

    "Shortsightedness" - talk about the pot calling the kettle black :rolleyes:.

    I see this as a very promising development for north Co. Galway. Nine individuals are not afraid to be named as committee members on the Greenway group in the article. I have walked along sections of the old rail track mentioned and it is truly a great pity that the possibility of a Tuam Greenway has been overlooked so far. I drive north along the N17 from Tuam every single day and I cross the old rail line in a few places, it is becoming very decrepit and overgrown in spots at this stage.

    West-on-Track are very wary of the 'threat', the last quote in the article is "Proposing a greenway would jeopardise the whole concept of the western rail corridor and a North-South rail link".

    I think the fact that the whole country is in hock up to it's eyeballs jeopardises WOT a great deal more.

    Maybe this time local people-power might just make a difference.


  • Posts: 5,121 Ashlyn Round Spit


    I was curious about where the Kilbannon round tower is so I looked it up on google maps and spotted:

    A woman walking her dog on the line

    The tower is to the right.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 17,733 ✭✭✭✭corktina


    I was curious about where the Kilbannon round tower is so I looked it up on google maps and spotted:

    A woman walking her dog on the line

    The tower is to the right.

    oh for a handheld air horn :-)


  • Registered Users Posts: 581 ✭✭✭Transportuser09


    While I think there may be some point in keeping the Tuam-Athenry section for potential rail use, I do not see how they see north of that as viable. They damage their cause when they suggest it is.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,282 ✭✭✭westtip


    MayoForSam wrote: »
    Article on the front page of the Tuam Herald this week, abridged version is here: http://www.tuamherald.ie/2012/02/15/tuam-group-says-disused-railway-could-become-greenway/

    In the full article, a group of like-minded local enthusiasts have proposed converting the section between Tuam and Kilbannon Round Tower to a Greenway taking in local ecclesiastical and historical sites, including nature walks over 2 local rivers, promoting facilities for walking, running and cycling clubs, providing access to areas of botanical interest and pedestrian and bike access to local employers along the route.

    Quote from the article: "The Tuam Greenway Project are not opposed to the completion of the Western Rail Corridor if funding becomes available and in fact have highlighted the benefit of protecting the 'right-of-way' afforded by developing a Greenway on the route".

    In response, an 'anonymous' spokesman for West-on-Track does not agree "This idea is nothing more than short-term opportunism and extreme shortsightedness to say the least." He goes on to mention extending the WRC on to Claremorris and beyond, linking up with Knock Airport, yada, yada, yada.

    "Shortsightedness" - talk about the pot calling the kettle black :rolleyes:.

    I see this as a very promising development for north Co. Galway. Nine individuals are not afraid to be named as committee members on the Greenway group in the article. I have walked along sections of the old rail track mentioned and it is truly a great pity that the possibility of a Tuam Greenway has been overlooked so far. I drive north along the N17 from Tuam every single day and I cross the old rail line in a few places, it is becoming very decrepit and overgrown in spots at this stage.

    West-on-Track are very wary of the 'threat', the last quote in the article is "Proposing a greenway would jeopardise the whole concept of the western rail corridor and a North-South rail link".

    I think the fact that the whole country is in hock up to it's eyeballs jeopardises WOT a great deal more.

    Maybe this time local people-power might just make a difference.

    This is brilliant news to read and has nothing to do with the sligomayo greenway campaign. But it shows the idea is gathering pace.

    No doubt many of you read the piece in the Irish Times as well last Saturday:

    http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/travel/2012/0218/1224311879321.html

    the best quote from this article which was about the Great Western Greenway was:
    So, after all this work by the community and Mayo Co Council, Fáilte Ireland and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport was it worth it? Hell yes! Up to 80,000 people will use it in its first year, spending around €7 million in the local economy. Already, nearly 47 per cent of businesses indicate that the Greenway has led to increased business and 38 new jobs have been created, with a further 56 existing jobs sustained.

    As I have always said in terms of the economy for the west its a no brainer.


  • Registered Users Posts: 203 ✭✭trail man


    we are now playing catch up with the rest of europe as far as greenways are concerned....The tourists will return to ireland if given the right reasons...
    they want to walk/cycle in the day time and dine at night....
    comely maidens dancing at the crossroads and people on donkey carts as a perspective of ireland no longer cuts the mustard...
    we must get with the programme/wise up and get real
    if we are to compete again on the world tourism stage....
    ITS A CASE OF GREENWAYS OR NOOOOOOOOO WAY.....:D....


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,756 ✭✭✭BowWow


    Bóithre Iarainn (OS)
    20:00
    The Western Rail Corridor: The re-opening of the line from Limerick to Galway in 2010 was seen as a triumph by campaigners for the Western Rail Corridor, but this same line once stretched North West all the way to Collooney in Sligo and was the setting for much drama both in real-life as in art- including the filming of the Quiet Man train scene near Tuam.


  • Registered Users Posts: 25,291 ✭✭✭✭coylemj


    BowWow wrote: »
    Bóithre Iarainn (OS)
    20:00
    The Western Rail Corridor: The re-opening of the line from Limerick to Galway in 2010 was seen as a triumph by campaigners for the Western Rail Corridor, but this same line once stretched North West all the way to Collooney in Sligo and was the setting for much drama both in real-life as in art- including the filming of the Quiet Man train scene near Tuam.

    Watched that last night, the priest and the other guy who are part of the 'West on Track' lobby were shamelessly plugging for the northern section of the line to be reopened, clearly they are still living in cloud cuckoo land.

    The original campaign involved a 'survey' which asked people if they would use the line if it was reopened, thousands said they would but the reality as shown on a recent Prime Time program was different. The trains on the southern section of the line which opened a couple of years ago were mainly empty except for groups of pensioners on a day out thanks to the free travel, hardly any commuters use the service. Criminal waste of money.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 17,733 ✭✭✭✭corktina


    what came over quite clearly to me was the desire to invest the west with this infrastructure for no better reason than they used to have it.
    It's obvious to me that Infrastructure in the form of an M17 (or high quality dual carriageway) would benefit the West far more and that the €106 million wasted on this line would have built some bit of it.
    They couldn't find enough passengers for it in the Old Days when noone had a car, how do they expect to do so now? The line was more or less keep going by the cattle trade, eventually outletting via the SLNCR and the ferry from Belfast to the UK. That trade simply does not exist anymore.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,282 ✭✭✭westtip


    coylemj wrote: »
    Watched that last night, the priest and the other guy who are part of the 'West on Track' lobby were shamelessly plugging for the northern section of the line to be reopened, clearly they are still living in cloud cuckoo land.
    .

    We know they are living in cloud cuckoo land about the northern section of the line and there continued arguing the case on a minority TV programme will hardly change public policy. Did they mention the McCann repor of 2005 per chance? The report used as the basis for the re-opening of the line: Lets just revisit what the report had to say about he infamours northern branch line from Claremorris to Collooney:
    [B]From the McCann Report into Western Rail Corridor prepared for Minister of Transport in 2005/B]I understand that there are two main reasons why the cost of the Claremorris-Collooney section is very high. Firstly, when it was built in 1891-1892 the section was constructed as a light railway. If it were to be brought into the IE network the formation would have to be rebuilt to the national heavy rail standard. The second relates to the cost of necessary alterations to level crossings, of which there are a total of 290 along the section, two of which alone would cost €24m to create grade separations.

    In following through on my general recommendation, I am suggesting that the restoration of the WRC should take account of these relative costings.

    ......AND

    It is clear that this section would be extremely expensive to restore. It accounts for 54% of the restoration costs of the entire line. Expenditure of this order would be very difficult to justify and I have to say that the case for its restoration, as things stand, is weak except on the grounds of balanced regional development.

    This section is characterised by low population densities with few towns of reasonable size.

    AND ...

    Firstly, the section should be preserved in its entirety by clearing, fencing, etc and Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo County Councils should make the necessary arrangements as soon as possible.

    Secondly, the viability of restoring this section of line should be reviewed in three years to see whether the objective conditions for line restoration have changed.


    So there we go - even a report that was wildly optimistic about the WRC more or less said forget it boys when it comes to north of Claremorris. The last two bits are laughable when you see the encroachment that has been allowed on the line and how Sligo Coco at the northern end have allowed people to absorb the WRC into their front drives and gardens. As for reviewing the viability in 2008 (Mc Cann was written in 2005), well as they say we are where we are and we certainly are in the Sh*t now. So it would appear the whole thing is still being long fingered endlessly and we continue to ignore the simple opportunity to create a wonderful leisure and tourist amenity. West on Track aren't in cloud cuckoo land they are on a different planet!!


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,282 ✭✭✭westtip


    http://www.tg4.ie/en/tg4-player/tg4-player.html

    is the link to the TG4 player - we should all watch it - it takes about 25 minutes its actually very interesting - and had nothing to do with any facile arguments that exist to re-open the line.

    The sad thing is there really are some great stories that are worth recording and could become part of the whole marketing mix in making the greenway along this line really interesting - incorporate all its railway heritage with a superb new way of using the line for todays tourism industry. This really is a great programme - and could be used as part of the Western Rail Corridor museum somewhere along the line. This is the lack of vision that West on Track have. Accepting the reality that we actually don't live in an age in which Lady Gregory taking a trip on the Burma Road rail line is an important social event, that the west of ireland has changed along with the rest of the world, and in this most car dependent part of western europe that re-opening a branch line from Athenry to Claremorris is goign to make not one jot of difference to the economy of the west of Ireland.

    The second half of the programme is where the hilarity starts with stories of cattle trains and sugar beet trains and thousands going to GAA mathes on a Sunday on the trains - the only thing missing is the reference to comely maidens. The godfather comes on and talks about the railway track not been taken up over his dead body. But fails to mention the front gardens and bungalows built on the track, the garage forecourts on the track the line running through back gardens etc etc . The usual the west demands it and will rise and fight if we don't get it occurs. This is a must watch programme just to realise the mindset that exists out there!!! and how the failure to see the reality of the world we live in. It's kind of worrying to think the mindset still exists that the west of ireland is still emerging from the famine.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,610 ✭✭✭eastwest


    I just watched the clip of the TG4 programme; it's depressing that this elderly cleric, driven by a philosophy rooted in a throwaway remark by Boxcar Willie, is managing to block development in the west and drive jobs away to other regons.
    There is a proposal being promoted by a group of concerned people to link Dublin port and airport to Achill and Tralee with cycle/walking trails using the canal towpaths and old railways. In North Kerry, they are embracing this proposal and have started to turn the old railway line from Limerick to Tralee into a greenway. The sitaution vis-a-vis Dublin Achill is similar; they need to use a section of the old line from Charlestown to Kiltimagh to connect the route but this ancient cleric and his hillbilly cohorts are blocking it. Nett result: Kerry and the southwest gets the tourism business, and the west gets the yahoos and naysayers. If they don't fight for tourism projects in the west they won't have population enough to sustain a bus service, let alone this mythical train.
    The curse of the clergy extends deep in Irish society. There is no more potent blocker of progress than an ego-driven priest who sees himself as the next Canon Horan. RIP Mayo!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,549 ✭✭✭✭Judgement Day


    eastwest wrote: »
    I just watched the clip of the TG4 programme; it's depressing that this elderly cleric, driven by a philosophy rooted in a throwaway remark by Boxcar Willie, is managing to block development in the west and drive jobs away to other regons.
    There is a proposal being promoted by a group of concerned people to link Dublin port and airport to Achill and Tralee with cycle/walking trails using the canal towpaths and old railways. In North Kerry, they are embracing this proposal and have started to turn the old railway line from Limerick to Tralee into a greenway. The sitaution vis-a-vis Dublin Achill is similar; they need to use a section of the old line from Charlestown to Kiltimagh to connect the route but this ancient cleric and his hillbilly cohorts are blocking it. Nett result: Kerry and the southwest gets the tourism business, and the west gets the yahoos and naysayers. If they don't fight for tourism projects in the west they won't have population enough to sustain a bus service, let alone this mythical train.
    The curse of the clergy extends deep in Irish society. There is no more potent blocker of progress than an ego-driven priest who sees himself as the next Canon Horan. RIP Mayo!

    You're so right of course. Perhaps we should close the Dublin/Tralee line and make that into a Greenway too. :rolleyes:


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,282 ✭✭✭westtip


    You're so right of course. Perhaps we should close the Dublin/Tralee line and make that into a Greenway too. :rolleyes:

    JD this doesn't become you! You know full well that nobody is proposing closing a line to make it a greenway - in fact EastWest is proposing like I have for years on this thread and its predecessor to make good use of a long closed down line that we all know is not viable to open - and that making the line greenway will in fact protect the alignment in the long term against further encroachment. People are beginning to wake up to the greenway arguments on the claremorris/collooney line and the fact a local group in Tuam is now actively campaigning to greenway the burma road really says it all; they are campaigning for a greenway on the holy grail of a line to Claremorris (the clapham junction of the west) you know JD I am sure of this, that the WOT arguments have long disappeared down the plughole and the opinions of an ocotgenerian priest is not what Irelands future tourism industry is about. He would have us going back to the days fo the dining car heading for Knock shrine and priests saying mass on the train over the tannoys - what was that train radio all about in that TG4 programme - straight from the Python school of comedy. Do you think a train service running along this route will bring one more tired hungry tourist to Kiltimagh, Curry, Charlestown, Tubercurry - not to mention south of Claremorris to Tuam? Not one, JD Ok sorry apart from the notebook carrying anorak from the UK for the annual special steam train run. This the crux of the matter - the WOT spokesperson on that programme could only talk about trains trundling through Claremorris when he was a boy, the penny dropped when he did this - it really is all about the trainspotting fraternity. Sure I can remember big Steam engines in Snowhill Station in Birmingham as a child - a very distant memory - it was the end of the "golden age" of steam and rail travel in the UK. JD we simply have to move on - and people like Varadkar, Michael Ring and all the county councils have to grab the nettle of what is being said. otherwise as East West quite rightly points out we are throwing away a golden opportunity to build on the massive success the great western greenway has presented to the counties of Sligo, Mayo and Galway (and indeed Leitrim and donegal if the network can be expanded in that direction). People like me and EastWest are talking about real feasible projects to inject pride, jobs and money into the west of Ireland tourism industry. West on Track are trying to block us all the way. But we won't give up!!!!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,610 ✭✭✭eastwest


    eastwest wrote: »
    I just watched the clip of the TG4 programme; it's depressing that this elderly cleric, driven by a philosophy rooted in a throwaway remark by Boxcar Willie, is managing to block development in the west and drive jobs away to other regons.
    There is a proposal being promoted by a group of concerned people to link Dublin port and airport to Achill and Tralee with cycle/walking trails using the canal towpaths and old railways. In North Kerry, they are embracing this proposal and have started to turn the old railway line from Limerick to Tralee into a greenway. The sitaution vis-a-vis Dublin Achill is similar; they need to use a section of the old line from Charlestown to Kiltimagh to connect the route but this ancient cleric and his hillbilly cohorts are blocking it. Nett result: Kerry and the southwest gets the tourism business, and the west gets the yahoos and naysayers. If they don't fight for tourism projects in the west they won't have population enough to sustain a bus service, let alone this mythical train.
    The curse of the clergy extends deep in Irish society. There is no more potent blocker of progress than an ego-driven priest who sees himself as the next Canon Horan. RIP Mayo!

    You're so right of course. Perhaps we should close the Dublin/Tralee line and make that into a Greenway too. :rolleyes:

    The limerick Tralee line is already being turned into a greenway. It will eventually link tralee to dublin using the grand canal towpath. A related proposal to connect dublin to Achill using the royal canal and a disused rail line in mayo is being blocked by the pro rail lobby. Clearly, mayo doesn't want the tourists but Kerry does.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,549 ✭✭✭✭Judgement Day




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