Galway Commuter Rail: Galway-Athenry

Geuze · 18-10-2024 11:57AM

Thanks.

So it may not look like this:

KrisW1001 · 18-10-2024 04:19PM

Sounds like it’s more like this:

LXFlyer · 18-10-2024 04:54PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122734416#Comment_122734416

Only one set of points would be there where the siding is - not a reverse set out of the siding.

Loops are signalled bi-directionally so no need for the second set of points.

It’s common at virtually every passing loop along the single track lines.

It allows for a train to be stored offline (be it a per way train or a failure).

Geuze · 19-10-2024 03:38PM

Okay, thanks.

I have seen a cul-de-sac siding in Athenry alongside the car park, that is only accessible from the Limerick branch, and I was wondering about that.

Maybe it has a similar purpose.

Geuze · 19-10-2024 03:48PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122734533#Comment_122734533

This seems to imply that a train could start from Oranmore in the morning, as in be parked there overnight in the siding, driver walks into station, revs her up, and the train starts from there?

Geuze · 20-02-2025 01:00AM

The passing loop got planning permission today.

p_haugh · 20-02-2025 08:10AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123190028#Comment_123190028

By the looks of it, just the bog standard conditions attached as well so that's good to see.

https://www.eplanning.ie/GalwayCC/AppFileRefDetails/2461261/0

spacetweek · 20-02-2025 11:52PM

Am I right in saying it took just over 5 months?

cooperguy · 20-10-2025 11:41AM

The underpass now installed at Oranmore, next job is the passing loop

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/iarnrod-eireann-irish-rail_all-in-a-weekends-work-in-oranmore-last-activity-7384859863337627648-R4Nn/

bikeman1 · 20-10-2025 09:05PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122734533#Comment_122734533

There is one other important signalling aspect for these headhunts / sidings at the end of a loop.

With signalling you have a “overlap”, this means that in the event of a train passing the signal at danger, it goes into the section of the train coming the other way. Having a siding, means the overlap goes into that siding.

This means that you can bring a train in faster than when it is not there and bring the one coming the other way closer to the station / crossing point. All in all it improves efficiency.

Similar ( but different) scenarios happen at various locations on the network.

spacetweek · 22-10-2025 07:37AM

Is that underpass wide enough for 2 tracks?

KrisW1001 · 22-10-2025 08:23AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123926853#Comment_123926853

Yes. The project includes 1 km of dual track at the station, in addition to the second platform to the north of the original track.

Summary here: Iarnród Éireann Projects and Investments

hans aus dtschl · 22-10-2025 08:23AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123926853#Comment_123926853

And if yes, maybe it would have made sense not to centre the existing track over the underpass. Still, very impressive job.

KrisW1001 · 22-10-2025 12:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123926973#Comment_123926973

It’s not centred, although it does run slightly further north than it should.

I suspect there’s a chicken-and-egg situation here: the track has to be doubled, but building the underpass should be done first, to reduce the amount of track that needs to be re-laid later in the project. But, the way the existing track approaches the station means it doesn’t neatly line up on its “proper” side of the bridge. Of course, you could fix that by re-aligning the track, but that means closing the line for longer as you’re lifting more track, and it’s also likely that doing this would require work that won’t be done until the doubling part of the project is started. But: the track doubling task must follow the underpass being put in place.

So, to break the cycle, you put the underpass in place with the track as-is, then come back and re-align it as part of the doubling.

spacetweek · 22-10-2025 10:27PM

Are we really waiting over two years for planning permission for the passing loop to be granted?

loco_scolo · 23-10-2025 05:40AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123929547#Comment_123929547

Plans were first announced in February 2019. Completion is now expected in the summer of 2027. So 8.5years.

Over EIGHT years for a passing loop and second platform, at a station surrounded by green fields. Not a single home constructed around this station since it opened 12 years ago.

This should be a case study of everything that is wrong in this country right now. It's actually embarrassing.

goingnowhere · 23-10-2025 09:53AM

What interesting is how fast Irish Rail got moving once approved.

The issue isn't really planning, its the byzantine nature of approvals with the DoT, NTA etc, for some reason everything happens serially not in parallel

Geuze · 23-10-2025 09:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123929547#Comment_123929547

The long delays were before the planning application and approval.

2019 = Passing loop first mentioned, by my records

2020 Sep = this thread starts

2024 Sep = actual planning application to two LA for 820m passing loop

2025 Feb = PP granted by two LA

2025 Oct = underpass built

2026 = construction due to start on main project

spacetweek · 24-10-2025 07:26PM

Sorry everyone, Sep 2024 is only 1 year ago not 2. Also I didn't know permission had been granted in Feb 2025.

Galway Commuter Rail: Galway-Athenry

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