Railway lines

Youghal could generate plenty of traffic as it stands and if proper development was carried out along the corridor it would be well worth reopening. It was short sightedly left off the original Cork Land Use and Transportation Study back in the 1970s which is why it did not feature in the Midleton reopening. Midleton's population is hardly enormous at about 12,000 and it has little potential for tourist/day tripper traffic in the way that Youghal does. Youghal needs the railway back whatever about the railway needing Youghal back.

savagethegoat wrote: »

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Which is probably 2006 or 2011 census results. Killeagh 656, Mogeely 604 and Youghal Town 7101 in 2016. Not larger enough to justify stations really, though.

KC161 wrote: »

The Midleton to Youghal section of line in Cork could badly do with being reopened for passenger traffic but they seem more interested in making a greenway out of it.

It would be nice to see trains return to Youghal, but it probably is not justified at present for a number of reasons;
The station is too far from most of the inhabitants of the town.
The Cork people who used to visit Youghal by train in the 1960s & 70s, now mostly have cars, and live farther from Glanmire Road, so the numbers of seaside day trippers would be much less if the line reopened.
The adjacent main road is less congested, given that N25 trunk traffic now bypasses Youghal.

Nevertheless, there is potential for future development justifying reopening at some stage. It is essential that the route be properly preserved for the future, not like the sham that was the Harcourt Street line.

When the time comes, it could be a very useful line, given the direct and almost straight route, facilitating fast running, providing it is not ruined like the WRC, with halts at every hamlet, delaying longer distance passengers.

tabbey wrote: »

The two direct curves were built on the cheap, sharply curved,with slow speed limits. The Junction direct curve, if a little longer, but straighter, would allow 70mph running, with time saving by direct Dublin - Limerick trains. Similarly the one near Kilkenny could have been built a little further out with less severe curve, suitable for Waterford express passenger trains. At present the Dublin - Waterford time is so slow, that it has lost market share to road. Four or five trains stopping at Carlow only, would be a significant improvement. Instead the curve is used mostly for freight, trundling at 20 mph.

Limerick Junction curve was laid purely to eliminate the reversal and run around at the junction for direct trains. There was no gain in laying it any longer; trains approaching the junction had to slow down anyway. Also, an oft used long layover siding on the Limerick branch meant that it could be no longer than was it is.

Laviston Loop on the Kilkenny line was funded by Bell Ferries so it was their call as to how much was spent on it. There is a large farmhouse on the down side; doubtless this affected the location as well.

Good thread. DARTunderground is most likely to be Ireland's first new(i.e. not a renovated victorian) rail line since independence. I could think of several instances where a new line would be useful:

A new line between Navan road Parkway and Dunboyne stopping at Connolly Hospital, Blanch Centre and Abbotstown, electrified of course.

A new line from Drogheda, through the airport, under Ballymun, onto the PPT line at liffey junction and into Heuston(pl. 10). This would allow for direct Belfast-Dub Airport-Dub Heuston-Limrick Jnct-Cork services. Then the existing Connolly-Drogheda Line can be DART only, completely separating DART from intercities.

A new double tracker alongside the proposed M20 between Charleville and Patrickswell and a new line across Carey's road in Limerick to provide more direct access to Colbert.

The WRC between Ennis and Galway should have been built on a new modern alignment instead of the windy victorian detour via Athenry that was never going to deliver good journey times

With all the above you could have a decent Cork-Galway via Limerick service in about 2h30.

Also, if we're re-opening lines, surely the West Cork railway is a prime candidate. Cork's coastal towns are destroyed with traffic in the summer and all the buses seem to be wedged.

cgcsb wrote: »

surely the West Cork railway is a prime candidate. Cork's coastal towns are destroyed with traffic in the summer and all the buses seem to be wedged.

absolutely. it would be rather difficult to do though. you would need some way of getting the line to cork station, probably on a viaduct spanning the city or a tunnel (not cheep) . won't happen sadly.

They'v been talking about that estate for the last 20 years. Best and only route was the one they had and they pulled it up as fast as they could. Whats left is now a greenway.

511 wrote: »

This is pretty much the reason many rail line across the world have been closed down. Rail used to be the most efficient and fastest way to travel across the country, but ever since cars were introduced, the lines needed to be subsidized and weren't worth keeping open anymore.

well actually, it was about trying to get the railway to turn a proffit. a couple of lines closed in this country were certainly worth keeping open but were shut and ripped up with haste and the land sold off to insure they couldn't reopen and send a message to their objectors that CIE will do as they please. but what's done is done.

511 wrote: »

Maintaining a rail track is very expensive

actually it's not. it looks expensive because the money to it can't be well hidden like it can with roads. it also can't be shared by multiple types of single vehicle, so therefore it doesn't have access to the amount of income a road would be able to bring in.

511 wrote: »

with less passengers using them, they had no choice but to close them down.

well actually they did have a choice but they chose to close them. that was perfectly fine for most that were shut, but they're were a couple of routes which could have had a future and yet they chose to ripp them up and dispose of the land to insure they couldn't reopen to send a message to those who objected to their closure and who saw they would actually be needed that CIE didn't want them whatever the cost later on.

511 wrote: »

If we want to see our rail network improved, we need to reduce our rural population

if we want our network to survive we must invest in it, see it as a public asset, and make it attractive to users. the vast vast majority of the network is not "rural" . you aren't going to get a workable railway by doing it on the cheep, it's the same for any public service.

511 wrote: »

I think I read on here somewhere that only the Dublin-Belfast and Dublin-Cork lines turn over a profit, the rest are subsidized.

and that is likely how it is going to remain. they're will be no proffitable railway. not going to happen. public services rarely if ever make a proffit. it would be good if they did but they usually don't.

tabbey wrote: »

No railway line in Ireland makes a profit. They are all subsidised.

Some lines may make a small operating profit, but they do not cover capital costs.

how many of Ireland's roads "make a profit" in reality either...

savagethegoat wrote: »

I'd say roads are very profitable given that the tax take exceeds the cost

That's the trouble with many of your posts here 'I'd say' rather than any facts. What about if you take into account the hidden costs of roads - cost of oil imports, environmental pollution (greenhouse gas emissions - it's not just farting cows no matter how certain groups spin it), cost of accidents, cost of repairs......'I'd say that roads are far from profitable.