Western Rail Corridor / Rail Trail

The public consultation is now open for the next 6 weeks

Express your opinion in the survey below

https://emea.focusvision.com/survey/selfserve/214c/190513

Del.Monte

Thank you - ticked all the right boxes. I need to travel Athenry/Claremorris and Claremorris/Collooney by service train as I have already done both by special but that's not the same is it! When is the Grand Re-Opening Day?

Isambard

Del.Monte wrote: »

Thank you - ticked all the right boxes. I need to travel Athenry/Claremorris and Claremorris/Collooney by service train as I have already done both by special but that's not the same is it! When is the Grand Re-Opening Day?

both doable, but a bit roundabout currently.

Surely you wouldn't want public money spent just so you could tick the lines off your list?

Muckyboots

Del.Monte wrote: »

Thank you - ticked all the right boxes. I need to travel Athenry/Claremorris and Claremorris/Collooney by service train as I have already done both by special but that's not the same is it! When is the Grand Re-Opening Day?

Hope you put lots of emphasis (maybe trumpian style capital letters) on the word "need" and gave plenty of context to your special needs.

westtip

Press release From: The Western Rail Trail campaign

June 7th 2019 for immediate release

• Headline passenger figures on Western Rail Corridor shown up as transparent.
• Passenger numbers on Ennis-Athenry section of new line still achieving little more than half of original business case target.
• Average passenger load per train on Ennis-Athenry section would barely fill a bus.
• Trains carrying 20% of capacity on average
• Public invited to comment on economic analysis of Western Rail Corridor.
• Rail review will need to consider failure of phase one of Rail Corridor.

In April 2019 Irish Rail released figures showing 387,408 journeys on the Western Rail Corridor in 2018. However figures obtained from Irish Rail under freedom of information by the Western Rail Trail Greenway campaign show that in fact only 137,784 of those passenger journeys were made on the new section of railway between Ennis Athenry which was opened in 2010 at a cost of €105 million.

The route from Ennis to Athenry reopened in 2010 was built to allow direct intercity journeys between Limerick and Galway. The business case used to convince the Government of the time to invest €105 million in the Western Rail Corridor was based on 250,000 journeys on the new route using Ennis-Athenry by end of year five. Eight years since the Ennis-Athenry line was opened it is still well short of original targets with only 137,784 journeys recorded in 2018. Subvention on the line is costing more than €3 million a year.

Brendan Quinn of the Western Rail Trail campaign said. “We were interested to see the real story behind the headline figure published by Irish Rail in April, so we submitted the FOI request. The headline passenger numbers from Irish Rail in April included those using the Athenry to Galway line which is part of the pre-existing Dublin Galway railway route, as well as numbers on the Ennis-Limerick commuter line. Passenger numbers are up on these two parts of the route which existed before the ‘Western Rail Corridor’ project was developed, in particular on the short section of the Dublin-Galway railway between Oranmore and Galway ; Oranmore station re-opened in 2013.

A total of 54,417 journeys in 2018 were made on the 7 minute journey into Galway city centre from Oranmore utilising the Dublin Galway line which is not part of the Western Rail Corridor. This growth is hardly attributable to the fact a railway between Ennis and Athenry was re-opened.

The figures for the intercity passenger demand between Limerick and Galway using the Ennis/Athenry route is still very low at 137,784 for the whole of 2018.

Quinn continued “To put this number in context based on the number of trains per annum using the new railway route from Ennis to Athenry, the average number of passengers per train travelling on the Ennis to Athenry line is 39 per trainload; a number that could easily be accommodated on one bus. Each train on the Ennis/Athenry line has a capacity to carry 192 passengers so the trains are operating at 20% of capacity”

Quinn added “An independent international consulting company EY DKN has been appointed to examine the economic and business case for an extension of the Western Rail Corridor, and just this week EY DKN have invited the public to make submissions on the rail review. EY DKN will discover during this consultation process that phase one of the Western Rail corridor from Ennis to Athenry has not achieved the target numbers it was built for and that there is now a huge demand for a greenway on the closed railway route. What is absolutely clear now is that based on the actual performance of Ennis Athenry any case for a railway north of Athenry will most likely be viewed with caution based on the failure of phase one of the Western Rail Corridor to deliver on the original business case.”

People can make their voices heard at this link:

Survey on rail review invites public to express their views on Western Rail Corridor extension

Western Rail Corridor Passenger figures: The real picture

Year Passengers using new railway from Ennis to Athenry - intercity passengers from Galway to Limerick and vice versa – “Western Rail Corridor” passengers % of original business case of 250,000 passengers per year by year 5 used to justify building the Ennis/Athenry
2010 43799
2011 34461
2012 34325
2013 28437
2014 51128 20%
2015 102486 41%
2016 100564 40%
2017 133835 54%
2018 137784 55%


Year No. of Passengers using Oranmore Galway commuter route part of the mainline from Dublin to Galway
2013 5,522
2014 11,624
2015 13,852
2016 19,887
2017 34,138
2018 54,417



ENDS: body text 566 words Contacts: contact via the sligo mayo greenway page on FB or PM on boards.

Carawaystick

westtip wrote: »

• Trains carrying 20% of capacity on average


Quinn continued “To put this number in context based on the number of trains per annum using the new railway route from Ennis to Athenry, the average number of passengers per train travelling on the Ennis to Athenry line is 39 per trainload; a number that could easily be accommodated on one bus. Each train on the Ennis/Athenry line has a capacity to carry 192 passengers so the trains are operating at 20% of capacity”

Whats the source for the 192 passengers per train number? As some trains are commuter services, the crush load would be way higher.

Isambard

Carawaystick wrote: »

Whats the source for the 192 passengers per train number? As some trains are commuter services, the crush load would be way higher.

well that reduces the 20% loading factor even further

Carawaystick

Isambard wrote: »

well that reduces the 20% loading factor even further

That's sort of my point

westtip

Carawaystick wrote: »

Whats the source for the 192 passengers per train number? As some trains are commuter services, the crush load would be way higher.

goingnowhere wrote: »

192

I asked the question on this forum and got the above answer

Muckyboots

https://twitter.com/RailEquality/status/1138074495711887370
450,000. "For the love of God !" (in Adrian Dunbar's accent). I dont have the care or the will to challenge this stuff anymore.

Isambard

I copied the press release on to a ppro-rail site and was told it was "propaganda" even though they are IE figures.

westtip

Muckyboots wrote: »

https://twitter.com/RailEquality/status/1138074495711887370
450,000. "For the love of God !" (in Adrian Dunbar's accent). I dont have the care or the will to challenge this stuff anymore.

I wouldn't worry too much about Muckyb. The problem with the WRC spin machine it actually believes itself. The key point is that those who need to know the truth, do know the truth.

Lord Glentoran

Athenry - Tuam and Tuam - Claremorris could progress quickly once green light given

http://www.clare.fm/news/transport/extended-western-rail-corridor-progress-quickly-given-green-light/

thomond2006

How can he say there would be access to Cork and Waterford from Claremorris? There would be so many changes/connections, it's a ridiculous comment.

Lord Glentoran

Saw a great T-shirt today. [url] https://www.redmolotov.com/they-dont-like-it-up-em-tshirt[/url]

In other news, here are timetabled connections from Waterford and Cork onto the Limerick-Galway line.

http://www.irishrail.ie/media/12_waterfordclonmellimk.pdf

http://www.irishrail.ie/media/11_galwaylimericktraleecork.pdf

Sam Russell

Looking at Google maps to give directions for Cork to Galway, no rail connection is given. The quickest is 2 hrs 45 mins. In fact rail is not suggested for Cork to Limerick.

Rail does not figure at all.

westtip

Lord Glentoran wrote: »

Athenry - Tuam and Tuam - Claremorris could progress quickly once green light given

O'Ragilly speaks therefore it must be true and safe as houses. SF/WOT to achieve their dream of uniting the diaspora in Shannon with the homeland in Derry for All Ireland specials and Reek Sunday.

Isambard

thomond2006 wrote: »

How can he say there would be access to Cork and Waterford from Claremorris? There would be so many changes/connections, it's a ridiculous comment.

you can already do Claremorris to Cork. 4 hours 45 with two changes
Claremorris to Waterford 5 hours 16 with two changes.

thomond2006

Slightly off-topic but has there ever been a proposal for a direct rail link between Cork and Limerick? Could one be built alongside the future Cork-Limerick motorway?

A quick glance at the map shows Limerick to Cork via the existing Charleville-Cork line is almost a straight line. Colbert being a terminus stop would be the big stumbling block with an eventual Cork-Galway link...

Isambard

thomond2006 wrote: »

Slightly off-topic but has there ever been a proposal for a direct rail link between Cork and Limerick? Could one be built alongside the future Cork-Limerick motorway?

A quick glance at the map shows Limerick to Cork via the existing Charleville-Cork line is almost a straight line. Colbert being a terminus stop would be the big stumbling block with an eventual Cork-Galway link...

there was a direct line, closed in the 60s I think. I can't see it being viable to re-build it for a tiny number of passengers..

Del.Monte

The Cork & Limerick Direct Railway (Charleville/Patrickswell) closed to passengers in 1934 and completely in 1967. Reopening would be a much better expenditure of public money than the proposed motorway but the penny still hasn't dropped with many, many people of the scale of the changes that are needed to save the planet.

galwaytt

Del.Monte wrote: »

The Cork & Limerick Direct Railway (Charleville/Patrickswell) closed to passengers in 1934 and completely in 1967. Reopening would be a much better expenditure of public money than the proposed motorway but the penny still hasn't dropped with many, many people of the scale of the changes that are needed to save the planet.

The motorway is needed irrespective of the merits (or otherwise) of a rail line on that route. Road safety grounds alone warrant it.

Sam Russell

galwaytt wrote: »

The motorway is needed irrespective of the merits (or otherwise) of a rail line on that route. Road safety grounds alone warrant it.

Not just road safety, but commercial traffic needs it. HGV traffic will not divert to rail freight.

Lord Glentoran

Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road

Oh dear. Where would dear old Ireland be without such martyrs for their cauze?

serfboard

thomond2006 wrote: »

Slightly off-topic but has there ever been a proposal for a direct rail link between Cork and Limerick? Could one be built alongside the future Cork-Limerick motorway?

We could do what the Germans do and build a train line in between the motorway lanes.

However, I can't see that happening, and once the M20 is built, express bus services using the motorway will take care of any public transport users wanting to travel between the two cities.

As an example of what's possible, Citylink are already running a Galway-Cork non-stop service (currently Fridays and Sundays only) which uses the (existing) Motorways and takes two and a half hours. A Galway to Cork via Limerick service is not going to beat that, given that Galway to Limerick on the existing train service takes two hours alone. And once the M20 is built, I would expect the Galway to Cork service to be 15 minutes (or more) quicker.

westtip

Del.Monte wrote: »

The Cork & Limerick Direct Railway (Charleville/Patrickswell) closed to passengers in 1934 and completely in 1967. Reopening would be a much better expenditure of public money than the proposed motorway but the penny still hasn't dropped with many, many people of the scale of the changes that are needed to save the planet.

I think the penny has well and truly dropped. It's called electric cars.

Del.Monte

westtip wrote: »

I think the penny has well and truly dropped. It's called electric cars.

Yes, of course, electric cars can be built with non fossil fuel products and their tyres, lubricants etc are are organic. You not with the programme.

serfboard

Del.Monte wrote: »

Yes, of course, electric cars can be built with non fossil fuel products and their tyres, lubricants etc are are organic.

Good thing trains don't need lubricants ...

Del.Monte

serfboard wrote: »

Good thing trains don't need lubricants ...

It's all relative, if you think that private cars/trucks etc. are the future you're delusional.

serfboard

Del.Monte wrote: »

if you think that private cars/trucks etc. are the future you're delusional.

I don't actually, but if you think that the 170,000 people that don't live in Galway City are going to get around by train, then you're delusional yourself.

And that's before we get to Thomas The Tank Engine meandering merrily around Mayo ...