Western Rail Corridor / Rail Trail Discussion

Markcheese

Oh and for the record the carrigaline municiple district has a population of about 36 thousand people and growing fast , as well many large industrial sites ,

And is only 15 km from the city ,

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121158394#Comment_121158394

so is ridiculously viable to be served by light rail.

meaning your claim as to why it wasn't built is incorrect.

deirdremf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121157385#Comment_121157385

Even in the rural west, the population of every county has been growing - and this growth tends to very disproportionately go into the towns and in their immediate vicinity, while the actual rural population declines or remains static as small farmers retire and their land becomes incorporated into larger holdings.

Many people commute long distances to work - 50 miles is not unheard of. I'd guess quite a number of people in S Mayo commute to Galway for work & study, also to Tuam and Castlebar as the closest large towns. Many also drive to Galway - which is a nightmare to get in and out of - for shopping.

So to my mind, it is not unreasonable to restore the Athenry to Claremorris lines, while laying more passing points on all single tracks. As well as allowing for a better service, this would permit the introduction of local trains; for instance a hub in Athlone with short trains running local services to nearby town, and maybe another in Claremorris.

Hotblack Desiato

while the actual rural population declines or remains static as small farmers retire and their land becomes incorporated into larger holdings.

In a sane country the only truly rural population would be farmers but this is very far from a sane country.

loco_scolo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121178843#Comment_121178843

The abnormal abundance of rural one-off homes in Ireland is a result of post-colonial Landlord Estates being split out evenly to every farming family in Ireland. It's actually quite extraordinary, don't think any other country, certainly in Europe, has the same structure.

Unfortunately, it's so engrained in our culture and past, it's extremely difficult to change. What is insane is the total lack of government support to build homes "in" villages and towns. They claim to be limiting permissions for one-off housing, but in rural areas I see zero homes being built in towns, but lots of new one-off homes.

kirk.

Plrnty of small town estates built

Consonata

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121179105#Comment_121179105

If we had implemented the Kenny report appropriately, we may have been able to avoid it. This way that land has developed has cost the state billions.

Hotblack Desiato

Yeah but farmers cash in, which is the important thing...

loco_scolo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121180145#Comment_121180145

I'm sure this is true in some towns, but it's not the case in most towns outside the Dublin commuter belt.

Prior to the crash, every Tom, Bridie and Harry could get money from the bank and become a developer. Now, there is only funding available for the biggest developers who have no interest building homes in a rural village in the Midlands.

Trying to bring this back on topic, people think it is a waste of time investing in rural rail, however with the right policy and support from government, much needed homes could be built at high density near new, upgraded and higher frequency stations.

Unfortunately, the lack of action from the current gov is insane. All the problems left to private enterprise to fix itself.

kirk.

Ah could be , maybe the building has changed lately then

Westernview

Discontent continuing with the downgrading of the N17 as a priority for the region.

https://www.con-telegraph.ie/2023/10/04/fund-the-n17-now-sligo-chamber-and-ireland-west-airport-in-joint-call/

It still seems strange that it was given such importance in the NDP and then kicked to touch. Initially there was talk of a motorway, then dual carriageway then singlecarriageway and now it's uncertain when work will take place at all.

Sligo and Galway have been the two gateway cities identified in the region and once the rail reinstatement was rejected the road should logically gain more emphasis. Can it just be put down to limited resources and having to prioritising other road projects or is something else at play?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121192195#Comment_121192195

Sligo is not a city

Westernview

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121192539#Comment_121192539

It is classified as a 'gateway city' in terms of regional development and National Development Plans, which is why I included the word gateway.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121192591#Comment_121192591

Cool, still not a city though regardless of what you put in front of it

Westernview

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121193130#Comment_121193130

It's not a city no. It just has that title which refers more to it's longterm future prospects in terms of regional planning for future population growth and targeted investment. Gateway region is another term that is being increasing used more recently so that is probably a more appropriate description I could have used.

The main point I was making is that Sligo and Galway are the 2 biggest population centres in Connacht and will be in the future. They are situated at each end of the province and up to recently there was supposed to be a strong emphasis on improving infrastructural links between them, which would seem to make sense. That seems to have been diluted significantly since though.

marno21

There are named 10 hubs in Project Ireland 2040. Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Sligo, Athlone, Letterkenny, Drogheda and Dundalk. Connecting these with decent inter urban roads is a priority under the National Development Plan (hence the prioritisation of upgrades to the N2, N4, N17, N20, N24 amongst others).

This was a noble endeavour until it was pillaged by the bike salesman in charge of the Department

kirk.

Is upgrading roads still a thing ?

Doesn't it just encourage car travel

notJoeJoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121193130#Comment_121193130

Put your pedantry away. Gateway cities are basically the centre of activity for a region. While the term of "city" is more applicable to places like Europe and America who have larger urban areas, Sligo is the largest urban area in its region, and second largest in Connacht. It is in effect a city for the places around it. That's all the term means. If you so desperately need another term that doesn't have city in it, call it a "gateway town".

notJoeJoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121193375#Comment_121193375

Kinda to be honest. While I'm not totally opposed to improving roads because people do need them, it shouldn't come at the expense of rail infrastructure. Roads probably won't need large upgrades if more non-road alternatives were provided.

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121193331#Comment_121193331

the bike sales man who is dragging us into the 21st century in terms of transport.

still a lot to do as we have a hell of a lot of catching up to do, but well done eimo.

the days of megga road schemes are over, they just bring high expensivity and mean less money for the bread and butter roads and the necessary motor ways.

marno21

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121193548#Comment_121193548

Nobody wants any mega road projects on the N17. Just a safe route from Charlestown to Collooney that isn’t a death trap and is actually suited to modern transport needs.* Most of this stretch of road dates from the 1800s and is unengineered.

* Buses use this route too and have to currently navigate it at uncompetitively slow speeds. Cyclists and pedestrians risk their lives using it.

Pete_Cavan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121193493#Comment_121193493

Unless you count the Velorail thing, there is no non-road alternative to the N17 north of Claremorris and there are no plans for one.

Westernview

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121193548#Comment_121193548

Generally I agree and I like a lot of what Ryan and the Greens want to do - active travel, reduced speed limits, town bypasses taking out bottlenecks instead of big new roads, taking freight off roads on to trains etc but this does seem to be a strange one. Im glad to see the plan to open the rail to Claremorris but it was never going to substitute for the N17.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121193587#Comment_121193587

Exactly just needs to be a safer single lane carriageway with a hard shoulder and bypass as many towns as possible.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121193453#Comment_121193453

A fact is not pedantic, it is a fact

Though in fairness facts have rarely been welcomed by WRC supporters

loco_scolo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121194308#Comment_121194308

What term is used to describe Sligo is irrelevant to the point the poster was making. 3 follow up comments focusing on the incorrectness of the term is, in fact, pedantic.

Poxyshamrock

Limerick to Galway service to be upgraded to 22000 fleet from December. Not sure if all 2800s will be withdrawn from this line or if some will continue to be used for Limerick-Ennis services.

Westernview

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121195708#Comment_121195708

Good to see upgrades in fleet. Is that like-for-like in terms of carriages and capacity? I saw a number of people on social media complaining last week that they had to sit on the floor along the route.

kirk.

What are they so lax about seatbelts on buses

Also thought the lapbelts they mostly provide had been deemed unsafe

Poxyshamrock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121196202#Comment_121196202

There should be an increase in capacity as some existing services use 2-car 2800 (85 seated) whereas the minimum for a 22000 is 3-cars (190 seated)? Open to correction

notJoeJoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121193877#Comment_121193877

Hopefully the AIRR recommends Claremorris-Collooney for reopening after this second round of consultation... but the fact an N17 upgrade would have helped buses and cyclists makes it a really stupid decision to effectively cancel it.