Western Rail Corridor

Aard

How about we fix our engines before putting in nice seat covers and fuzzy dice?

Sponge Bob

This Sligo-Derry plan is verifiably and certifiably McGuckian.

"Transylvania-on-Track!" says the thread title from 2007 It was actually about Transylvania until someone posted a soupcon of pure McGuckian to derail it

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=53295843&postcount=16

Sligo Weekender
Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Ambitious idea for rail link between Sligo-Derry

NOVEL new proposals to extend the Western Rail Corridor from Sligo to Derry were unveiled at a public meeting last week at the Abbey Hotel, Donegal.

It was suggested that such a link from Sligo, serving Bundoran, Ballyshannon, Donegal town, Ballybofey/Stranorlar and Letterkenny, would not just provide a new rail artery to the North West but would complete a new round-Ireland rail route, taking in Derry, Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Dublin and Belfast.

The plan has been proposed by a Dublin-based rail and integrated transport researcher Brian Guckian, who said this could have a major impact on tourism as well as generating other significant benefits in the general transportation and freight logistics.

The proposals have been broken down into three major, inter-connected, subprojects. These comprise Sligo to Donegal Town, Donegal to Letterkenny and Letterkenny to Derry.

These have been designed, except for some relatively short sections, to re-use former rail alignments in the region, significantly reducing costs.

It is claimed that an initial outline cost-benefit analysis had shown that the proposed routes could recoup their capital investment within a ten-year period.

Mr Guckian pointed out that the Sligo-Donegal and Letterkenny-Derry projects had already been included in a proposed

•2.5 billion passenger and freight rail investment programme known as the Inter-City Network Extensions programme, or NEXT for short, which he had submitted to government in 2005. He said the Donegal-Letterkenny proposal formed a critical “missing link” in the plan, which could be completed for an additional estimated 270 million. “Furthermore, the NEXT rail investment programme, if adopted, would form just over seven per cent of current envisaged Transport 21 expenditure, with the connecting Donegal-Letterkenny project comprising just under one per cent. Funding could also come from existing Cross-Border and EU mechanisms in the region.”

Mr Guckian said that preliminary engineering and economic appraisal work had shown that the proposals were feasible.

dowlingm

I wish B***n G*****n would go the way of Ch***en Di***rs

EDIT: Incidentally, I wonder who funds BG's crayon drawing. He's always described as something like "independent researcher". A google search of him brings up all sorts of things - it's like he selects the ones LEAST likely to see the light of day.

corktina

That pesky revererend gentleman again! Im guessing it weont be hiom paying for any of this nonsense.

Im sure that most Politians will only pay lip-service to plans like this. Its a total waste of time

oh and

there already is a Derry to Cork line Reverend

Sponge Bob

http://www.independent.ie/farming/news-features/getting-walkways-on-track-is-a-route-to-rural-riches-2836821.html

The demise of this infrastructure has left us with a residual legacy of routes driven through the countryside by the railwaymen and the canal companies. In the present difficult climate, how can we best use these corridors for the benefit of local communities and the country as a whole? In the case of the railways, should we cling to dreams of reopening lines at some time in the future or move now to extract value from these assets, bringing jobs and growth to areas that have declined in tandem with the original networks?
The most obvious approach works well elsewhere -- using defunct rail lines as cycling and walking routes to attract and retain tourists in the areas once served by the lines.

Examples mentioned will not have gone down well in certain quarters, this greenway thing threatens to sweep the west clear of McGuckian! :cool:

Brendan Quinn, the Sligo-based promoter of a proposal to create a cycling and walking route from Claremorris to Collooney, believes that this project would bring life to towns and communities along the route, repeating the success of the recently opened route from Newport to Achill.Mr Quinn believes that a harvest of 'tired, hungry tourists' can deliver far more benefit to the west of Ireland than the weed and briar crop that currently chokes the old railway route.
There are other proposals out there too. Campaigners in Donegal, mindful of the success of the Newport-Achill greenway, want the old Donegal railway network reopened as a cycling and walking trail. In Leitrim, others have a similar view around the old Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway that links Sligo and Enniskillen. In the South-west, campaigners want to extend the successful Rathkeale-Abbeyfeale rail trail onwards to its original destination in Tralee.

weehamster

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Examples mentioned will not have gone down well in certain quarters, this greenway thing threatens to sweep the west clear of McGuckian! :cool:

If these 'certain quarters' really cared about their regions long term future, then they would fully support the green-ways and not follow some unrealistic pipe dream.
(Anyway, wasn't this dream not started by some priest who simply just wanted to travel to Knock shrine by train. Nothing at all to do with improving the region)

D'Peoples Voice

Sponge Bob wrote: »

This Sligo-Derry plan is verifiably and certifiably McGuckian.

"Transylvania-on-Track!" says the thread title from 2007 It was actually about Transylvania until someone posted a soupcon of pure McGuckian to derail it

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=53295843&postcount=16

The plan has been proposed by a Dublin-based rail and integrated transport researcher Brian Guckian,......

enough said, not being from the area, knows nothing about the priorities for the area, in an area of massive unemployment/emigration, a fecking empty railway line is not the solution.
Maybe investing more in the electricity grid in the region, better broadband, an expansion of the gas transmission pipeline to bring cheaper energy costs for companies, improvements to N59 to make the journey more enjoyable for tourists, the list goes on and on a long time before you reach a fecking railway that no-one needs.

L1011

D'Peoples Voice wrote: »

improvements to N59 to make the journey more enjoyable for tourists,

Donegal doesn't need tourists finding Connemara and North Mayo more enjoyable

DWCommuter

dowlingm wrote: »

I wish B***n G*****n would go the way of Ch***en Di***rs

EDIT: Incidentally, I wonder who funds BG's crayon drawing. He's always described as something like "independent researcher". A google search of him brings up all sorts of things - it's like he selects the ones LEAST likely to see the light of day.

Why do you wish his name would go the way of chicken dinners? If he is in the public domain with all this crap, then he is open to scrutiny. Its no different to people here being critical of me and my views or even you.

Nobody funds his crayon drawing but himself. He is meaningless in terms of rail transport infrastructure in the current economic and political climate. He created the name, "independent researcher", once he left P11. If we had a blank cheque, then he might be entertained. In all honestly, he is harmless and has an honest, but severely naive view of the transport world. That said, it is perfectly acceptable to take him apart once his ideas are in the open.

corktina

Is it likely this gent would come on here to discuss his views? Would be good for balance to give him the chance to respond to some opinions of him on here.








(and probably great craic too)

DWCommuter

corktina wrote: »

Is it likely this gent would come on here to discuss his views? Would be good for balance to give him the chance to respond to some opinions of him on here.








(and probably great craic too)

I wish he would, but I believe it's very unlikely apart from a few generated accounts from supporters defending him. This is why I have no problem with people having a go at him, because he is free to come on here and defend/debate/contribute.

weehamster

Ah haa... maybe there is a use for the WRC after all.
Looks fun too