Carrigtwohill West railway station

marno21

Anyone else think it's about time that the planned Carrigtwohill West railway station was brought back onto the agenda?

There is a railway station in Carrigtwohill with green fields on 3 sides, on a rail line which runs directly through a business park on the other side of town at Killacloyne. I believe the Ikea store may be constructed near here also.

Surely this is a no brainer going forward? Then again a railway station at Blackpool would be useful too but no sign of one

Markcheese

And the planned park and ride at dunkettle as well, there's also a potential station at water Rock (near Midleton), the more usable the Midleton line is the better...
(can't see ikea making much difference to a train station though, it's model is based on cars)

Isambard

not to mention the Park and Ride for Blarney, surely a no-brainer

Frostybrew

Dunkettle, Blackpool and Carrigtohill West should be constructed immediately. Blarney and Ballynoe in the medium term. Monard, Midleton West; and a station at the Amgen site, if it ever gets developed, should also be on the cards. Possibly eighth new stations within the next ten years.

This is what should be done. What will be done will probably be the opening of Carrigtohill West and possibly one or two others.

Public transport communting in Cork is not taken seriously as a viable option by the majority of Cork's commuting public. As a result there is little political will for improvements.

Isambard

the problem being that the station isn't particularly well located for any of the main destinations within the City.

Frostybrew

Isambard wrote: »

the problem being that the station isn't particularly well located for any of the main destinations within the City.

I disagree. It may not be in Patrick Street, but it is central, with most of Cork City Centre within 20 mins walk, which is a reasonable commuting time; and comparable to many other cities.

The two main issues with public transport in Cork are the quality of the service, and a negative public perception of public transport.

Isambard

Frostybrew wrote: »

I disagree. It may not be in Patrick Street, but it is central, with most of Cork City Centre within 20 mins walk, which is a reasonable commuting time; and comparable to many other cities.

The two main issues with public transport in Cork are the quality of the service, and a negative public perception of public transport.

No the Bus Station is central and from there you can get connections to UCC CIT CUH and all manner of places. Not many will walk 20 minutes and then get a connection, thus they will drive in all likelihood.

tabbey

Markcheese wrote: »

(can't see ikea making much difference to a train station though, it's model is based on cars)

Some of the staff might commute from the city, and probably would not be well paid, so would not own cars.

Frostybrew

Isambard wrote: »

No the Bus Station is central and from there you can get connections to UCC CIT CUH and all manner of places. Not many will walk 20 minutes and then get a connection, thus they will drive in all likelihood.

Then the issue is the lack of connection and not the location, though two of the locations you use as examples (UCC and CIT) are served by the 205; and the third (CUH) could easily be connected by extending the 214 to terminate at the train station. Then there is the airport and airport business park which is connected via the 226/226A. There have also been rumours that the 206 is to be extended to the station.

Furthermore Kent station is ideally located to service the Docklands expansion. This will involve an extra 30,000 to 40,000 jobs coming on stream within the next 20 years. In total up to 70,000 jobs within walking distance between the existing city centre and the docklands expansion. Of course you also have the option to cycle, which cuts commuting time even more. The location of Kent station in relation to Cork city centre is a non issue.

A more progressive move would be to encourage the creation of a Cork Transport Authority to develop, manage, and promote public transport in the Metropolitan Cork Region. In effect bringing all bus, rail, future light rail, and cycling facilities under one organisation and market it as a unified entity. This would make it easier to progress the building of new stations such as Carrigtohill West; and expand the use of integrated public transport as a viable and efficient commuting alternative to the very inefficient motor car.

Wagon360

Frostybrew wrote: »

Then the issue is the lack of connection and not the location, though two of the locations you use as examples (UCC and CIT) are served by the 205; and the third (CUH) could easily be connected by extending the 214 to terminate at the train station. Then there is the airport and airport business park which is connected via the 226/226A. There have also been rumours that the 206 is to be extended to the station.

Furthermore Kent station is ideally located to service the Docklands expansion. This will involve an extra 30,000 to 40,000 jobs coming on stream within the next 20 years. In total up to 70,000 jobs within walking distance between the existing city centre and the docklands expansion. Of course you also have the option to cycle, which cuts commuting time even more. The location of Kent station in relation to Cork city centre is a non issue.

A more progressive move would be to encourage the creation of a Cork Transport Authority to develop, manage, and promote public transport in the Metropolitan Cork Region. In effect bringing all bus, rail, future light rail, and cycling facilities under one organisation and market it as a unified entity. This would make it easier to progress the building of new stations such as Carrigtohill West; and expand the use of integrated public transport as a viable and efficient commuting alternative to the very inefficient motor car.

Yes this would be a positive step forward and would help with future planning of the city and its surrounding area.