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Cross-border review of rail network officially launched
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Apologies, don't have notifications for mentions turned on so didn't spot this until now.
Lets look at your proposal
- 33km - Tuam to Eyre Square - 35 min driving, maybe 40 mins for bus at the moment. When bus lanes are implemented you're looking at 30 mins or less
- Only looking at the private operator Burkes bus, you have 20+ services a day
- For full bus lanes from Loughgeorge to the Huntsman, you're probably talking 15-25 mil, with the majority of that being spent from the An Post depot, to the Huntsman. Loughgeorge to the depot would require on a small amount of works as there is a hard should ready to be used for almost all of it.
Now the train line alternative
- 24.7km Tuam to Athenry
- Roughly 6-7 level crossings which will mean it won't be fast. Sorting those out means the costs go through the roof making making a balls of the CB ratio
- You'll have to include a stop at Abbey/Ballyglunin to capture commuters coming from Roscommon
- Tuam to Galway, including stops at Abbey, Athenry, Oranmore, you're looking at, best case, approx 45 mins.
- This means the absolute best you can hope for is a 2 hourly service
- In terms of cost, Phase 1 was costed at 75 mil, but ended up nearly 50% higher than that. This section was costed at 35 mil in 2005, so likely close to 70 mil now given inflation and under quoting by the WOT lads.
Note, this is not to say its not worth doing. It probably is, but you'll get a far greater return, for less money spent, with a more efficient, higher frequency service, if you focus on the bus lanes first. Burkes have stated many times they would ramp up to 30+ services if they could do it more efficiently. Right now they can't, because a peak time journey is approx 1hr+ one way due to congestion.
Lets look at where the WRC is already opened, in Phase 1.
Ennis to Galway
- Rail - Approx 1 hr 15 mins. 30 eur cost
- Road - Depending on route, 64-73km, 54-52 mins journey. 22 eur cost
The usage numbers are horrendous too with that line needing one of the highest subventions on the IE network.
There is absolutely demand, but I don't know of anyone, given the choice, who would choose the slower, more expensive and less frequent train, over the bus. I'm sure there are some, but if you asked the locals where the investment should go, I think it would overwhelmingly be for the bus lanes.
At present, do Limerick Galway trains have to switch direction in Athenry given the alignment?
Yes they do
Before reinstating the line to Tuam can even to considered, Athenry - Galway needs to be double-tracked. No point adding new bits until the core network is capable of receiving it. We need a decade of proper investment in the existing network first.
This! 1,000,000% this!
If it was decided there was sufficient demand for a Tuam Galway train service, would it not make more sense to make it a direct route?
It would, but 2 things would block it
- The WOT fanatics who are tied to reusing the 19th century alignment because.....reasons
- The shambles that is planning in Galway CoCo means there's houses built all over the place. Trying to find a route without impacting someone's property will be difficult. That's before you have the IFA and the farmers screaming blue murder for you stealing their farmland when there's a line lying idle that could be used
Post edited by [Deleted User] on5 -
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