[Railway] Would a "National Circle line" be viable?

Run_to_da_hills

With the completion of the WRC (Western Railway Corridor) as far as Galway and possibly on to Sligo in the coming years would a National Circle line be viable that would circle much of the country from coast to coast?.

Trains could depart /Arrive via Heuston or Connolly via the Phoenix park tunnel in either direction in the mornings.

Feeder busses and rail connections could meet up with trains along the route. The line would be more designated towards tourism rather than the commuter and could also accommodate specialty "dinner" or charted trains. It could also operate on a "Hop on hop" off basis similar to open top Dublin tour busses.

The advantage of this route would be that it would cover the country without having to backtrack to Dublin thus suiting those on a tight schedule.
It would also suit those carrying bicycles.

The imminent closure of the Rosslare to Waterford line (in Black) would ruin the possibilities of connecting up the spectacular East coast route with the WRC via limerick Junction.

L1011

In a word, no. It'd take too long to critique it properly but the demand isn't there, the track geometry isn't right in most places and it'd take DAYS to do the journey around other services using the tracks.

paulm17781

With the WRC about to open, is there any reason this can't be done? It would absolutely fail as a commuter route but for specials / pre-booked tours (that don't conflict with regular traffic) it could be good.

I've always liked the idea of an overnight train (with beds and cabins etc.) and I'm not an enthusiast. Provided it wouldn't interfere with regular services, I can't see a reason for someone not to try something. Perhaps you could suggest it to Failte Ireland?

Run_to_da_hills

MYOB wrote: »

In a word, no. It'd take too long to critique it properly but the demand isn't there, the track geometry isn't right in most places and it'd take DAYS to do the journey around other services using the tracks.

Time would not be an object even if it took three days to complete the route. The track geometry is as good as you would get and would suit the leisurely pace. I have taken several tourist trains including the India Pacific and Copper Canyon trip in Mexico, that one took 13 hours, a bus would have done it in half the time but it is not the point.

The only lines that I could see a "congestion problem "with would be the East Coast Dart line from Connelly to Greystones, possibly Limerick Junction . and the Sligo line after Mullingar into the Dublin Suberbs. The rest of the line including the WRC would not be a problem.

Carawaystick

no

L1011

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Time would not be an object even if it took three days to complete the route. The track geometry is as good as you would get and would suit the leisurely pace. I have taken several tourist trains including the India Pacific and Copper Canyon trip in Mexico, that one took 13 hours, a bus would have done it in half the time but it is not the point.

The only lines that I could see a "congestion problem "with would be the East Coast Dart line from Connelly to Greystones, possibly Limerick Junction . and the Sligo line after Mullingar into the Dublin Suberbs. The rest of the line including the WRC would not be a problem.

I meant in terms of reversing. There aren't suitable direct curves in a lot of the cases.

Blocking slots on the Maynooth line, over the loop line, through Limerick Junction etc is not an option for a tourist train that nobody would use.

FlameoftheWest

No.

Sponge Bob

no

Stonewolf

I think a lot of peoples objections here are related to the concept of using an actual physical train. Surely what's actually needed is an appropriate ticket that gets you one journey on each of the legs (given that with the exceptions of the link from the Galway line to the Sligo which is not currently open services already operate on all those legs).

eia340600

Why spend 100's of millions of Euro, to create a line for a couple of hundred tourists to use..
There's already enough money being wasted with the WRC, why waist more???

L1011

Stonewolf wrote: »

I think a lot of peoples objections here are related to the concept of using an actual physical train. Surely what's actually needed is an appropriate ticket that gets you one journey on each of the legs (given that with the exceptions of the link from the Galway line to the Sligo which is not currently open services already operate on all those legs).

Such a ticket has existed since before I (and Irish Rail, because we're exactly the same age) was born. Currently €145 and gives you 5 days (consecutive or not, lasts two weeks) unlimited rail travel on the entire IR network.

Godge

This is madness. No demand, a huge cost to provide.

Money needs to be spent on commuter services in all major cities including new LUAS etc.

Inter-city public transport (apart possibly from Dublin/Cork and Dublin Belfast) should be provided by bus.

Run_to_da_hills

Forget the specialty trains, leave them to the Heritage / Charter groupes.
If IR were to launch a survey and then introduce a proper timetable with the current trains that are in service so that they can all synchronize with each other. People traveling from Dublin to Rosslare / Wexford could connect to a 2700 waiting for them and then travel on o Waterford and so on until they reach the WRC.

eia340600

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Forget the specialty trains, leave them to the Heritage / Charter groupes.
If IR were to launch a survey and then introduce a proper timetable with the current trains that are in service so that they can all synchronize with each other. People traveling from Dublin to Rosslare / Wexford could connect to a 2700 waiting for them and then travel on o Waterford and so on until they reach the WRC.

But why??? Who would want do do that?? and tourists is not an answer.There are even very few tourists that would bother.
We already made the mistake of building roads so that we could have pretty map..Let's not continue the trend with rail.

galwayrush

Not here, low population, too long the journey time.Works very well in Holland, then again, they have more than twice our population in an area the size of Munster.

cnocbui

Railways are a technology who's time is long since past. Good for hauling huge quantities of ore from a mine site to a port but uneconomical for transporting humans in most instances.

So, no.

eia340600

cnocbui wrote: »

Railways are a technology who's time is long since past. Good for hauling huge quantities of ore from a mine site to a port but uneconomical for transporting humans in most instances.

What a ridiculous statement..What other type of transport has improved on rail for transporting vast amounts of people to/from work etc. ?