The Strategic Rail Review will consider how the rail network on the island can improve sustainable connectivity between major cities, enhance regional accessibility including to the North West and support balanced regional development.
When you say "one easy transfer", how does that work for pax/trains from Athlone, Portlaoise, Kilkenny?
Surely they must change twice?
Also one of the main reasons for it on that report is to provide a rail alternative to flying to other major cities in Europe. There will never be a better alternative to flying from Dublin to another European capital due to geography
● Passenger railway lines on the TEN- T core and extended core network shall allow trains to travel at 160 km/h or faster by 2040.
Would this actually work against efforts to open passenger rail on the Foynes line? I can't see that ever reaching speeds of 160km/h
The question would be if Metrolink would satisfy this requirement as it would allow for heavy rail passengers to get to the airport with one easy transfer.
No one disagrees that there should be rail to the airport. But Metrolink is rail!
It would be a big waste of time, effort and money to have to build a heavy rail line to the airport, when Metrolink can do 95% of the same.
I'm not saying there should never be a heavy rail link to the airport. But we have much bigger fish to fry before that, I'd want us to focus on building Metrolink and DART+ and future Metro lines over the next 20 years versus wasting time and money on a heavy rail link to the airport.
I feel the above requirement is easy for the EU to make as most big European cities already have comprehensive Metro networks and some just need to finish the job by connecting heavy rail to the airport.
We on the other hand are at least 50 years behind and we have higher priorities to work on first.
I have often stated on here that Dublin airport should be on the intercity rail network.
It should be a stop on the Dublin to Belfast line, with another stop in Swords.
Not many agreed with me on here.
Now, the European Commission, Parliament and Council agree that large airports should be on the intercity networks.
Provisional agreement on more sustainable and resilient trans-European transport network brings Europe closer together
The European Commission welcomes the political agreement reached last night between the European Parliament and the Council on the regulation underpinning the trans-European transport network (TEN-T). The co-legislators agreed to significantly step up efforts to build a sustainable and resilient TEN-T. This includes strong incentives to increase the use of more sustainable forms of transport, and to improve multimodality – the practice of combining transport modes for a single journey – within the European transport system.
The revised TEN-T will set mandatory targets:
The works Athenry to Claremorris are nothing, its a low cost tactical move to enforce ownership of the line to prevent adverse possession situations and to avoid the need for the Railway Works Order to reopen (which takes 2-3 years and a lot of €). If they can keep the slignment free of unauthorised development its a lot cheaper and easier to reopen if that was to be funded/approved which it is not at this time.
That's the main reason/excuse used, but definitely a passenger goal there also.
I agree 6tpdph is unrealistic - but likely 4tpdph is doable as it allows for a few minutes either side of trains arriving / departing. Within an hour, you could have Galway-Dublin, Galway-Limerick, Galway-Castlebar, and an additional Galway-Tuam/Gort commuter. Every other hour you could have direct Westport-Limerick and/or Ballina-Limerick via Athenry to supplement connections to Galway or Dublin.
Ideally, the double tracking will allow the intercity trains to skip Oranmore, Athenry etc. and allow quicker intercity, while being supplemented by commuter trains every 20-30minutes.
(1) The LC beside the railway station should be easy to remove, as that road climbs to meet the railway line which is on a ridge.
Simply run the road under the embankment.
(2) LC near Maldron hotel on Claregalway road = tricky, I think.
I presume the road has to be brought below the line?
(3) Two at Frenchfort, these are both rural.
(4) LC at Prospect, Athenry - I have to think about it.
Would love if they closed those for the speed gains. They wouldn't even necessarily be that difficult to close either.
Are they?
Maybe by that crowd WestonTrack.
But my main vision is to take hundreds / thousands of cars off the N17, etc.
Direct trains from Ballina to Galway, crossing the Westport-Dublin train in Claremorris.
Ballina pax switch trains to go to Dublin.
Westport/Castlebar switch in other direction to get onto Galway train.
Are current works toward reinstating athenry to claremorris not geared solely to freight traffic?
A doubling of trains, which would be great, means double the amount of barriers down on LC outside Oranmore.
That is a busy road.
OK, thanks for that.
Therefore, after the Oranmore 1km passing loop is built, the main constraint on growing services and pax numbers is DMU stock?
I doubt if 6 tph (10-minute frequency) will be possible with an Oranmore loop. Think about it: Traiins leaves Galway at 0.00, arrives Oranmore at 0.08, crosses a train whihc departs at 0,09, and arrives at Galway at 0.17. Next departure from Galway would be at 0.18or thereabouts. Realistically, to allow for making up for the occasional delay, a loop at Oranmore would be OK for a sustained 3 tph (20 minute interval). Double tracking gets you a multiple of this, depending on intermadiate signals.
Surely double tracking athenry to galway is a given in any case, its the only way to get decent speed, reliability and frequency on intercities
The Oranmore passing loop will allow for a doubling of trains on Athenry-Galway, and since it's not currently used at its full capacity, a tripling of current usage will be possible. Currently there are about 2 trains per direction per hour at peak times. After Oranmore upgrade this can increase to 6tpdph, or one train every 10minutes.
I'm fully supportive of double tracking, but the fact is it's not a prerequisite to open WRC.
Is there any chance the EU would first of all provide support for projects that will both help more travellers and help any possible re-opening of WRC phase 2?
Like doubling from Athlone to Galway?
Or even doubling from Galway to Athenry?
Trains on WRC phase 2, going/coming from Tuam and Mayo must use the mainline, as I presume all trains will go into Galway.
Their success depends on the mainline being able to carry them.
So it seems to me that doubling Galway to Athenry is a prerequisite for WRC phase 2.
Potential funding boost for 2 lines to reopen.
We'll be fairly old. You'll have a better chance of seeing a 'high speed' 200kmh train between Dublin and Cork. That's achievable with heavy investment and not much planning problems because the corridor already exists, the level crossings will be gone already and the bridges have already been raised along most of the route
Whatever it does, it'll take years of court cases for all the effects of it to work it's way through the courts, so we'll all be fairly old before we see those things.
Will the Planning and Development Bill help with building railways cheaper and faster? Or will I be truly doomed to being middle-aged before I can get a high speed train from Dublin to Cork or visit my parents on a train from Dublin to Letterkenny?
The Galway Prom is by definition on the sea, there is any amount of space between there an America to build cycle lane.
Some news on the WRC.
When you are trying to discuss 21st century rail infrastructure with someone who retorts with DeValera dancing at the crossroads policies as a counter argument you're kinda wasting your time.
That's country mindset. As long as public money isnt blown on billion euro bypasses and railways to nowhere then who really cares
But there are still proponents of the WRC (Athenry to Tuam) and the Galway City bypass.
Galway is a traffic disaster area. Galway City Council cancelled a planned cycle way along the Salthill prom because it would remove some parking spaces. They have refused to look at public transport requirements until after the Galway bypass is built as that will solve all of Galway's traffic problems. Meanwhile, the QCB still carries no public transport.
Now with that mindset, how can traffic problems be solved?
Finally. The capital has been particularly starved of infrastructure spending for decades so clearly its long overdue. The era of billion euro broadband to islands and ghost motorways in Tuam while the capital city falls apart might finally be over.
I first got the impression that the DeValera ruralization, dancing at the crossroads crap was coming to an end when the peat extraction nonsense stopped, further proof of long overdue change.
Sure 🤦♂️
![Photo of [Deleted User]](https://w6.vanillicon.com/v2/62877c35768f143f69acd7bb6cd43f3c.svg)