Greaney wrote: » Yes. And sticking with the theme of the thread, I simply don't see bicycles as the most appropriate form of transport on the Western Rail Corridor.
Greaney wrote: » Yes, and that's why I simply don't see bicycles as the most appropriate form of transport on the Western Rail Corridor.
Quackster wrote: » Fortunately the region is served by an extensive road network which could support a much improved bus service that would benefit many more people at a fraction of the cost of reopening the WRC.
Greaney wrote: » And that's where we disagree. We've gone over the issue of buses v rail ad-nauseum on this thread before and neither of us are for turning I'd day.
Muckyboots wrote: » You've got a minority view there.
eastwest wrote: » It's not about what any of us would like to see, in an ideal world, it's about what is realistically achievable for the asset. Given that the dogs in the street know what conclusions the rail review came to, there is no railway coming any time soon, or not in most of our lifetimes at any rate. A greenway on the other hand is achievable, can attract available funding, and has the support of most people with the exception of a few politicians who rely on the myth of the railway as an an election promise. This was never about railway versus greenway, it is about what can be achieved. According to the rail review and several other similar reviews in the past, rail is not a viable option. If it was, do you think they'd be hiding the report from the people of Galway?
Greaney wrote: » Don't be too sure about that. The support for rail has always been solid. Furthermore, the greenway campaing on the WRC got very shouty there for a while. People are not into unnessecary conflict, on-line or off (except me apparently:rolleyes:). The numbers supporting rail are significant, and don't just live in Athenry & Tuam. There's folk campaigning from Derry to Cork. According to the rail review of 2012 which is the last one available to the public, the Tuam to Athenry section of the western rail corridor was the most viable in the country and the people were so encouraged they began to strategize for it. The residents of Ballyglunin were part of that strategy and have been working on restoring the station. They got funding just recently. To get anything done in Ireland, you've to plug away at it for years, trust me, I know. I'm surprised folk on this forum think it'll be easier to get a greenway on the track. This is Irish rail we're talking about. It not only won't be easier to get a greenway on it, it won't be given up by Iarnrod Eireann. The Velo is the thing we should be concentrating on. Two of them pass through Galway!! That's huge, though some would like you not to think so.... Indeed the issue has been made so political, I've personally been very spooked from involving a politician in any of our projects.https://connachttribune.ie/cannon-rules-out-cpos-for-future-greenway-routes/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/objections-put-brakes-on-cycleway-from-dublin-to-galway-1.2411393https://connachttribune.ie/minister-cannon-comes-under-fire-for-supporting-greenway-000/https://www.advertiser.ie/galway/article/102951/greenway-does-not-threaten-future-rail-services-says-cannon
Greaney wrote: » The residents of Ballyglunin were part of that strategy and have been working on restoring the station. They got funding just recently.
mayo.mick wrote: » Why arn't they all out on the streets and above at the Dáil then, demanding that this latest "rail review" be published? :rolleyes:
Greaney wrote: » if the government wants the WRC to happen soon, it'll be amazingly positive. If they want a greenway, it'll be damning, and if they want to park it.... it will be neither positive or negative.
ezstreet5 wrote: » A bit cynical, Greaney. Rather, I suspect the 'rail report' will be perfectly vague and will be readable in support of either a greenway or reactivation or a railway. And the government will be able to select à la carte. What is darkened, however, is the bankrupt effort to force the report's release via multiplicative FOI requests. Do you think you can bully yourselves a greenway without a backfire? These seem to be the final throes of a failed effort.
wonder88 wrote: » The Galway Limerick route was fairly busy last Saturday, and two weeks ago, from my experience. The Oranmore station seems to be a success as well. The idea that there is no demand for rail in Ireland and car/road is what we want, may not be correct despite what Colm McCarthy etc says.
Sligo eye wrote: » If anyone is wasting their money on FOI requests; don’t bother. An election is imminent and I would hazard a guess that the reason the report isn’t issued yet is down to simple politics. If the report damns the railway and recommends a greenway that would be seen as giving an advantage to Ciaran Cannon. If the report supports the clear improvements to public transport then it would be seen as giving an advantage to Sean Canney. If the report kicks the proverbial can down the road again it will benefit no one and therefore not political. No doubt all will be revealed at some point, I’d advise the Greenway disciples to save their hard earned cash unless of course some road based foundation is giving them the funds to pay for all this...
Muckyboots wrote: » I agree. Signed: Greenway disciple advocate.
westtip wrote: » You are right Oranmore is doing well as is Athenry-Galway, but they are not part of the Western Rail Corridor, they are part of the pre existing Dublin Galway line, yes there is clearly a case to develop double tracking on the Athenry Galway section perhaps - to enable better local services into Galway. The figures touted by West on Track about the huge success of the Western Rail Corridor need to be examined more closely, thankfully they were and presented in detail to EY consulting. You may recall in 2019 the top line figures on usage of the WRC were touted out in the public domain claiming they proved the huge success of the line, with 387,000 passengers recorded on the route in 2018, it was a complete myth, of the 387,000 passenger journies 217,000 were passengers only using the Athenry/Galway and Oranmore/Galway route, they were short journey Galway commuters using the pre-existing Dublin/Galway main line. The top line figures touted by West on Track did not draw attention to this fact, take a look at the real states, EY did because they had them presented to them in black and white, they came by the way directly from Irish Rail who were asked to release them.
[Deleted User] wrote: » Fyi, any FOI requests for this report would be freehttps://foi.gov.ie/faqs/is-there-a-fee/
eastwest wrote: » That's what they want you to believe! It's all a big conspiracy. ;-)
TCDStudent1 wrote: » According to that attached file, 137,784 was the number of passengers between Ennis & Athenry in 2018. What figure would this need to be for the line to be considered sustainable?
Sligo eye wrote: » It doesn’t matter if the trains are packed to the brim, the anti rail campaigners will always make ever more incredible claims about how “unsustainable” the line is.
Sligo eye wrote: » It only takes two people to make a conspiracy you know
[Deleted User] wrote: » No need, the massive subvention due to low usage is all that is needed Just to be clear, I'm not anti-rail. I'm anti-waste. For example, I'm all for double tracking the full Galway to Dublin line, increasing capacity at Athenry and Oranmore P&R's, etc But a line between 2 small towns that will be slower than driving, cost more than getting the bus and waste an insane amount of cash to both get it up and running and then to keep it running...... Yeah, sorry, never going to support that
westtip wrote: » The figures ... need to be examined more closely, thankfully they were and presented in detail to EY consulting.
eastwest wrote: » But but but but They have the LUAS up in Dublin, the feckers
Deleted User wrote: » No need, the massive subvention due to low usage is all that is needed Just to be clear, I'm not anti-rail. I'm anti-waste. For example, I'm all for double tracking the full Galway to Dublin line, increasing capacity at Athenry and Oranmore P&R's, etc But a line between 2 small towns that will be slower than driving, cost more than getting the bus and waste an insane amount of cash to both get it up and running and then to keep it running...... Yeah, sorry, never going to support that
westtip wrote: » You think it darkens a campaign and makes for a bankrupt effort for multitudes of people (voters) to engage in the process of democracy to simply ask for what they paid for?
serfboard wrote: » While no-one could disagree with that, until we as a nation stop scattering one-off houses for city workers all over the countryside, we won't wake up to anything.
Sligo eye wrote: » Oh ho ho ho. I’d love to know why you come on here and trot out the same catch phrases year after year. I’ve yet to hear from you a convincing argument as to why we should destroy public transport at a time when the rest of the world is switching to rail away from air and road.
galwaytt wrote: » The volume of 1-off houses isn't the problem. If you think that's the problem, then explain why those already in cities like Dublin & Galway can't get around them or out of them.
galwaytt wrote: » And in Galway at least, most of the jobs are in the suburbs, not the city, so even if they ran a train into Ceannt every 10 minutes it wouldn't be worth a shine as there is no way to get from Ceannt to Ballybrit/Parkmore etc etc., And it does nothing to help those on the West of the City to get to the East of the city....and back again.
galwaytt wrote: » My SO has the opposite problem: wants to get the train but can't, as Irish Rail thinks we're in the 50's and no-one starts work 'til 9 or something......there needs to be a train arriving in Ceannt at 07:40 latest.
ezstreet5 wrote: » OK, forgive my barbs. The were unnecessary, but yes, I do think that spamming DTTAS with FOIA requests is futile. A reasonable person would send just one, and then pursue their administrative and judicial remedies if they believed they were wrongfully refused information under the Act. I also think that spamming the NWRA with duplicate submissions on the RSES is equally futile. Spamming Mayo Council regarding the velorail project is both futile and disingenuous. I think a surefire way to ensure that something doesn’t change is to start a petition on change.org. And do you remember the magic “feasibility study?” Someone had convinced themselves (and many others) that all we needed to access our share of the €42 million of government greenway money was some sort of an undefined feasibility study. Councilors were spammed regarding their vote for such a study, and there was a kerfuffle over a second vote for a wider-scoped study. If anyone would have taken 5 minutes to read the funding guidelines, they would have seen that funding was restricted to actual projects with full planning permission (or soon-to-be issued permission). But we couldn’t turn down an opportunity to get political, personal, and nasty. After all, anyone who even questions the notion that bicycle tourism will transform East Galway and Mayo is not only delusional, but probably corrupt with their own agenda. That last bit of ugliness can be traced back to a certain junior minister, who while supporting greenways on the surface, has probably done more to deprive the region of the same by promising landowners that no CPOs would be issued for the Galway to Athlone stretch. So while that project is delayed, the idea of a greenway on the WRC is reduced to an unconnected, dangling segment that nobody will want to build.
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