Western Rail Corridor / Rail Trail Discussion

ShaneC1600 wrote: »

I believe the route should be extended to Tuam

If you only extend the route to Tuam, and do not extend it to Claremorris, then it will not allow for through journeys from Castlebar/Ballina etc. Then, when it inevitably fails, you will have railway supporters on here saying that it failed because it was not extended to Claremorris.

In other words, if you're going to do it, build it to Claremorris - or don't do it at all.

serfboard wrote: »

If you only extend the route to Tuam, and do not extend it to Claremorris, then it will not allow for through journeys from Castlebar/Ballina etc. Then, when it inevitably fails, you will have railway supporters on here saying that it failed because it was not extended to Claremorris.

In other words, if you're going to do it, build it to Claremorris - or don't do it at all.

Fair point, full connectivity is what is required. I am conscious of the cost of returning the line north of Tuam, I think a park and train ride from Tuam would still succeed but better going all the up.

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Yeah right
Would the trains have to be entirely empty before you'd deem it a failure?

Silly comment. Are the trains on the Western Corridor even remotely empty, no they are not.

donvito99 wrote: »

Why was a line from Ennis to nowhere to Athenry prioritised ahead of the shorter stretch from M3 parkway to Navan?

That is the ideal journey with which to re-open a passenger railway as opposed to a bus service - large population centre to massive population centre. Ennis to nowhere to Athenry would be better served by a bus service which, at a fraction of the capital and ongoing costs, would likely be faster and more frequent whilst also being flexible enough to serve the centres of towns and villages and use the parallel motorway where necessary.

Former Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and his friends have made sure the Clonsilla/M3 Parkway line will never reach Navan - remember that when considering voting FF in the impending General Election.

donvito99 wrote: »

Why was a line from Ennis to nowhere to Athenry prioritised ahead of the shorter stretch from M3 parkway to Navan?

Del.Monte wrote: »

Former Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and his friends have made sure the Clonsilla/M3 Parkway line will never reach Navan - remember that when considering voting FF in the impending General Election.

I raised the point in another thread about the line to Navan - given that the state (Noel Dempsey, Minister for Meath) guaranteed traffic numbers on the M3 motorway in order to get it built, it should be in our interest to make sure that the motorway is as busy as possible so as to reduce the subvention.

It was pointed out to me that actually, the subvention doesn't apply now (or will shortly not apply, given growth), so this excuse for not building the Navan line doesn't apply any more. And as someone else in the thread said, the bus services to Navan have improved massively (even going to 24 hours now) and the government would not be doing that if it wanted to keep motorway numbers high.

Navan would do far better on CBA/VFM metrics than the WRC.

I know this might be off-topic for this thread, but sure we've nowt else to talk about here while the tumbleweed continues to roll along the WRC!

donvito99 wrote: »

Ennis to nowhere to Athenry would be better served by a bus service which, at a fraction of the capital and ongoing costs, would likely be faster and more frequent whilst also being flexible enough to serve the centres of towns and villages and use the parallel motorway where necessary.

would be pointless as said bus service wouldn't attract any extra patronage as those wanting bus services are already using existing ones, and rail users won't transfer.
so by replacing the train with a bus you will have killed the likely greater public transport usage the rail service seems to be bringing to the corridor.
also, the ennis to not nowhere to athenry line is only a tiny part of the galway to limerick service, which is what the line is . galway to limerick, a line which is now doing well.

[Deleted User] wrote: »

What response were you expecting when you suggest an extension being viable?

The current open section requires the following just to generate the equivalent of a bus full a day
- free parking
- reduced fares
- insane subvention

Free parking is available in lots of stations elsewhere in Ireland, including(but not limited to) Kilcoole, Thomastown and Foxford.

Train fares are not the exact same everywhere on the rail network per km travelled.
A few years ago, a train ticket(adult day return, booked online) from Bray to Rosslare Strand(distance 130km) cost me €30.10.
A few weeks later, a train ticket(another adult day return, booked online) from Dublin Heuston to Limerick(distance 200km) cost me €26, so it was cheaper than the Bray to Rosslare Strand ticket, but took me a longer distance.

The line does require subvention, and I accept that if a line requires too much subvention, then that's a reason to close it, but I don't believe this line requires too much subvention.
This is because its patronage is barely lower than that of Ennis - Limerick, if you subtract the journeys which use both the Ennis - Limerick and Ennis - Athenry sections, from the patronage of Ennis - Limerick.
Ennis - Limerick is not usually considered a crazy service to subsidize.

donvito99 wrote: »

People keep saying here that the line is "doing well" but only stats that have been represented indicated that the Ennis - Athenry stretch is still only mustering 50% of the anticipated volumes, how is this "doing well"?

The "doing well" is in relation to how it had been doing, which was appallingly.

In fairness that was during the recession, and every mode of transport is getting more users now.

westtip wrote: »

In a speech at a conference about the Western Rail Corridor in May 2009. Mr O’Cuiv when Minister for Community and Gaeltacht affairs said:
“should we use the section of the railway line north of Claremorris as a walkway and cycleway while it is not open as railway?”

Begging the question - how many decades must a railway line be closed before it can be considered for a Greenway?

In the case of Westport, the answer was seven (1937-2011). We've a bit to go yet!

blackwhite wrote: »

Waterford & Tramore railway closed in 1960, so just shy of 6 decades for there

Is there a Greenway on the Waterford and Tramore railway? Is that the one at Jack Meades?

There's a meeting regarding EU funding and the Western Rail Corridor hosted by Sinn Féin next Thursday (12th December) in the local community Hall in Athenry.

I'd love is these meetings were cross party, however, alas, this became a loaded issue last year and many politicians were bullied over it so it kinda takes guts to stand up and say 'actually, I've a different opinion' at the moment.

As a carer with my sister a member of the Wheelchair Assoc., I know that train is a lifeline for her....

https://www.facebook.com/events/2336790123301860/

Deleted User wrote: »

A different opinion is not bullying.

The facts are that the difference of opinion is held by the vast majority of people in East Galway as shown by the fact that a number of politicians blocking the greenway were voted out in the last local elections.

I'm looking forward to this meeting on Thursday.

Can't wait to meet the only 3 members of Flag too

well actually, voting out politicians who happened to block a greenway that is probably unlikely to be built anyway, isn't of itself proof that the vast majority of people in east galway share the difference of opinion.
what it does show, is that those politicians in general weren't delivering enough, and were not meeting the expectations of the people they were originally elected to serve.
even if they supported the greenway, if they were crap over all and not delivering, then they probably would still be out.