Western Rail Corridor (all disused sections)

monument

Stick to the topic -- thanks

what_traffic

Look what the Western Greenway is missing out on. More funding announced for Greenways around the Country.
http://irishcycle.com/2014/05/15/e10m-for-greenways-across-ireland/

westtip

Been off here for a while concentrating on more widely read forum, but yes all the councils in the west would be pushing at an open door. Here is the link to Kellys announcement
http://www.dttas.ie/press-releases/2014/govt-announces-%E2%82%AC10-million-investment-greenways-%E2%80%93-minister-alan-kelly

the bit about Mullingar - Athlone is key to the arguments we have been putting out. It will happen (a greenway) I am confident of that now.

corktina

I came by that way yesterday. I see that at least one level crossing has been eliminated and tarred over, (Near Milltown) I saw claims elsewhere recently that inspection trains had run recently....I don't think so!

eastwest

The west on track councillors have really screwed this one up. This is money that the west could have pulled in; it would have helped secure the route and would have retained mayo's lead in cycling tourism. The Kerry guys are streets ahead of them.

corktina

Athlone to Mullingar will show what can be done. Will IE step up to the plate and ensure there are lots of bike spaces available on their trains?

end of the road

corktina wrote: »

Will IE step up to the plate and ensure there are lots of bike spaces available on their trains?

no, never

jmlfc

Relax, there won't be a greenway cycle
Clairemorris to Sligo

No chance, you might be better off predicting the lotto and the euro millions

corktina

jmlfc wrote: »

Relax, there won't be a greenway cycle
Clairemorris to Sligo

No chance, you might be better off predicting the lotto and the euro millions

Why do you say that or is it just rhetoric?

westtip

jmlfc wrote: »

Relax, there won't be a greenway cycle
Clairemorris to Sligo

No chance, you might be better off predicting the lotto and the euro millions

Charlestown/Bellaghy - colooney will happen, would you like to have a little wager on that? If Charlestown Claremorris doesn't happen it will be down to Mayo coco stopping it - but Im not so sure they will continue to oppose it.

eastwest

jmlfc wrote: »

Relax, there won't be a greenway cycle
Clairemorris to Sligo

No chance, you might be better off predicting the lotto and the euro millions

As sure as night follows day, there will be a greenway on that route. I see that they just today approved funding for one on Athlone - Mullingar on the disused line there, and the opening of that as a railway is a lot less of a fantasy project than the notion of trains running on the old alignment north of Claremorris.
No minister in his or her right mind is going to go to cabinet with a lunatic proposal like that; after the debacle of the Ennis Athenry section, they'd be laughed out of court.
I see that the WOT campaigners have quietly dropped the notion of passenger trains on the WRC (so-called), presumably on the back of the failure of Ennis-Athenry. Now they're spouting on about freight, according to their article in this week's Mayo News. What next from these guys? A second runway for Sligo airport?

corktina

the only likely freight would be pre-existing stuff from Ballina I suppose. Hardly a practical proposition to build another line for it

westtip

corktina wrote: »

the only likely freight would be pre-existing stuff from Ballina I suppose. Hardly a practical proposition to build another line for it

there is no capacity to justify this latest funny farm idea. there is plenty of night time capacity to move freight on the existing Westport line, unless they have discovered copper in Mayo or some other resource that requires heavy rail then this is just a red herring yet again from WOT.

foggy_lad

Just seen a butcher from Newport on the Saturday Night Show talking about how he advertises and sells puddings to the people using the Western Way, He has a map of the route on the packaging.

He also mentioned his daughter whose restaurant closed a few years ago but has now reopened employing 6 people thanks to the business from the Western Way!

This is the sort of business that the inter-county railway committee are vetoing.

westtip

foggy_lad wrote: »

Just seen a butcher from Newport on the Saturday Night Show talking about how he advertises and sells puddings to the people using the Western Way, He has a map of the route on the packaging.

He also mentioned his daughter whose restaurant closed a few years ago but has now reopened employing 6 people thanks to the business from the Western Way!

This is the sort of business that the inter-county railway committee are vetoing.

Tick tock. It's just a matter of time.

corktina

I believe it was stated that the Mullingar to Athlone greenway announced recently will create 80 jobs. How can elected representatives deny that sort of amount of voters in Mayo jobs?

Kick em out voters!

westtip

corktina wrote: »

I believe it was stated that the Mullingar to Athlone greenway announced recently will create 80 jobs. How can elected representatives deny that sort of amount of voters in Mayo jobs?

Kick em out voters!

Sligo mayo greenway has been asking Mayo coco this question for a long time. The only councillor who has consistently support the idea is Joe Mellett.

eastwest

foggy_lad wrote: »

Just seen a butcher from Newport on the Saturday Night Show talking about how he advertises and sells puddings to the people using the Western Way, He has a map of the route on the packaging.

He also mentioned his daughter whose restaurant closed a few years ago but has now reopened employing 6 people thanks to the business from the Western Way!

This is the sort of business that the inter-county railway committee are vetoing.

They don't rate this kind of business as important; these old-style politicians are fixated on a 'fak-three' as the saviour of their towns. They don't really understand the role that SMEs have in an economy, or the notion of the multiplier effect of any euro spent locally.

sonnyblack

Has anybody heard how the pro-greenway candidates got on in the election?

westtip

FYI: On March 12th Pat the Cope, Marian Harkin and Jim Higgins issued a statement through west on track saying they only supported the railway. 2 out of 3 of the overtly anti-greenway candidates look like they are gone, but with the proviso the count is not yet completed.

Looks like we will get rid of 2 of the 3 anti greenway pro west on track MEPs as declared on March 12th and end up with two pro-greenway candidates, Shinner following party orders and just one anti-greenway MEP

Tuam Greenway Project

sonnyblack wrote: »

Has anybody heard how the pro-greenway candidates got on in the election?

Shaun Cunniffe Ind ,who ran on pro-greenwy ticket, is elected to Galway Co Co. Karey McHugh Ind is also elected and she is a member of the campaign group. Donagh Killilae FF, elected, has given his backing to the campaign. With 39 councillors elected, who knows where the balance of power will lay and whether or not the new council will support the campaign but it's all to play for now.

westtip

Tuam Greenway Project wrote: »

Shaun Cunniffe Ind ,who ran on pro-greenwy ticket, is elected to Galway Co Co. Karey McHugh Ind is also elected and she is a member of the campaign group. Donagh Killilae FF, elected, has given his backing to the campaign. With 39 councillors elected, who knows where the balance of power will lay and whether or not the new council will support the campaign but it's all to play for now.

TGP hopefully there will be some new blood on galway county council in addition to the great news you have from Tuam, that can be canvassed outside of the Tuam area' there are a lot of newly elected councillors from FF FG and independents who won't be arriving in the council set in their ways or carrying WOT baggage and allegiance with them. These are the councillors that need to be targetted who owe no allegiance to the old ideas of West on Track.

This applies to other councils as well.

dowlingm

eastwest wrote: »

The west on track councillors have really screwed this one up. This is money that the west could have pulled in; it would have helped secure the route and would have retained mayo's lead in cycling tourism. The Kerry guys are streets ahead of them.

except the ones standing in the way of the North Kerry line route...

Does the Patrickswell-Raheen project impinge on the Foynes line anywhere?

corktina

I believe that is by way of using the old main road which was bypassed by the M20 and since the opening of the Tunnel is no longer even the great shortcut it used to be.

westtip

sonnyblack wrote: »

Has anybody heard how the pro-greenway candidates got on in the election?

sorry didn't get back to you on this - I think we have a clear majority on sligo coco now in favour of a greenway, no doubt West on Track will try to stop the inevitable, with various tactics re Regional Planning Guidelines and one other card they have which I am not going to state here....but it really does look like Sligo coco will step in the right direction.

petronius

I am in favour of greenways but not at the expense of railway infrastructure - there is scope for these greenways aside canals, a lines but developing them on a functioning line i disagree with since it puts an obstacle to future reopening the mullingar - athlone and indeed the western rain corridor
It is a lazy option for government to build greenways on these lines since it is cannibalising resources IE should be championing rail and not seeking to sell of or allow its landbank for financial gain
The idea that there is not a train service from mullingar to Galway shows the lack of support and imagination by IE and the government

corktina

what functioning line? the only difference between these lines and the derelict one behind my house is that they never pulled up the tracks.

petronius

I am just saying that the there is a rail line there to build a path they would have to remove the line - which is maybe what IE wants
but IE should be using this line enhancing the services available i.e. if in galway a train to mullingar or maynooth should be an option
rather than just the radial dublin centric model they seem to promote

westtip

petronius wrote: »

I am in favour of greenways but not at the expense of railway infrastructure - there is scope for these greenways aside canals, a lines but developing them on a functioning line i disagree with since it puts an obstacle to future reopening the mullingar - athlone and indeed the western rain corridor
It is a lazy option for government to build greenways on these lines since it is cannibalising resources IE should be championing rail and not seeking to sell of or allow its landbank for financial gain
The idea that there is not a train service from mullingar to Galway shows the lack of support and imagination by IE and the government

Interesting speech Petronius. Question one: Where is the money going to come from for the capital investment - please read European TEN-T policy before answering. Question two Where are the passengers going to come from (reference Ennis/Athenry passenger numbers) Question Three: Once the new train set is in place and you have miracously found the answer to Question one, but will be unable to answer Question two: How much will it all cost to subvent.

Please don't give the green/energy argument - a near empty train running on steel tracks which cost a lot of energy to create will cost how much per passenger journey (hint estimates have been put at €80 per passenger journey subvention on Ennis/Athenry)

Answer these points and I for one will start campaigning for a railway!

Tuam Greenway Project

petronius wrote: »

I am in favour of greenways but not at the expense of railway infrastructure - there is scope for these greenways aside canals, a lines but developing them on a functioning line i disagree with since it puts an obstacle to future reopening the mullingar - athlone and indeed the western rain corridor
It is a lazy option for government to build greenways on these lines since it is cannibalising resources IE should be championing rail and not seeking to sell of or allow its landbank for financial gain
The idea that there is not a train service from mullingar to Galway shows the lack of support and imagination by IE and the government

Why not Greenways aside railways ! The WRC probably won't open for trains again in our lifteime, but even it it did it would be just for very occasional freight. Even the most optimistic rail advocates have conceeded that passenger rail on the WRC is a dead duck. I'm sure cyclists and walkers wouldn't mind the occasional slow train from Sligo chugging along beside them once or twice a week, just like the occasional freight barge that might be meandering up and down the canals - as is in keeping with their original purpose.