Cross-border review of rail network officially launched

breezy1985 · 22-12-2025 07:53PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124089774#Comment_124089774

Again the major employment thing isn't a problem for the current Clare and Tipp commuters on well timed lines. And the motorway to Ennis didn't kill that line. 20-30 minute commute from Neneagh is also not true.

Cookiemunster · 22-12-2025 08:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124089798#Comment_124089798

On the contrary, 102,832 people used the Ennis to Limerick line in 2024. That's an average of only 281 a day.

43,000 vehicles a day use the N18 at Cratloe.

The rail numbers aren't even a statistical blip on the numbers of road users on that route.

No matter what the time tables are for Nenagh, the numbers would not increase by any meaningful level.

loco_scolo · 22-12-2025 08:56PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124089286#Comment_124089286

It could be said that most rail alignments were built to ferry cattle out of Ireland! The lack of any development around our existing stations (despite poor historical locations) is an indication of failed government policy.

It's not just Bird Hill, take any station in the country that isn't in (or near) a city/town center.... there is absolutely nothing but green fields around most stations. And, if anything, towns seem to develop in the opposite direction of a station.

Now is not the time to be closing stations or abandoning rail alignments. The cost of reopening later is far more costly than maintaining now.

breezy1985 · 22-12-2025 08:56PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124089876#Comment_124089876

Ennis to Limerick is Ennis to Limerick whereas x amount of cars use a particular junction is very different. For one it adds all the Limerick people who work in Shannon and a fair portion of the 10k people living in Shannon.

I'm not expecting magical numbers but the service is there so just do it properly.

Cookiemunster · 22-12-2025 09:52PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124089933#Comment_124089933

If you want to go down that road, not all passengers travelling on the Limerick to Ennis line are traveling to Limerick. You have to add all the Limerick people who are traveling to Ennis. Or to Galway for that matter as they'd be counted in the Limerick to Ennis figures.

At the end of the day the line you call a success has an average of 140 daily passengers each way. 3 buses each way would accommodate all of those rail passengers. Also Ennis (27923) is three times the size of Nenagh (9895) and it still attracts paltry figures. I've no idea where you think the extra passengers on the Nenagh line will appear from.

end of the road · 23-12-2025 01:02AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124090056#Comment_124090056

in fairness that's just a bad attempt at whataboutery and deflection because he successfully debunked your point.

SaltyJohn · 23-12-2025 02:58AM

(accidental post)

Cookiemunster · 23-12-2025 08:13AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124090384#Comment_124090384

😂😂😂😂😂😂 The whataboutery didn't come from me and he most definitely didn't debunk anything. The (paltry) figures speak for themselves.

ohographite · 23-12-2025 12:58PM

@Cookiemunster

Are you sure that the passengers travelling from Limerick to Galway are included in the Limerick to Ennis figures of 280 passengers a day? You can't assume that if you don't know for certain.

Cookiemunster · 23-12-2025 07:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124091121#Comment_124091121

What difference does it make though? I was making a counterpoint to the OP making assumptions about traffic patterns without anything to back them up. The simple fact is that 280 is paltry.

The OP said major employment thing isn't a problem for the current Clare and Tipp commuters on well timed lines.

Well the 2800 can seat 85 people (never mind the standing capacity). There are 9 return services a day, so 1530 available seats each day (again ignoring standing capacity). Yet only 280 people are using it. It does not point to a large demand for well timed commuter services to/from Colbert each day. And Nenagh is a much smaller town than Ennis.

Chris_5339762 · 23-12-2025 07:52PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124089876#Comment_124089876

The planned Cork - Galway through services will probably double that extremely small number, whenever they happen.

ohographite · 23-12-2025 09:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124092035#Comment_124092035

Well if the 280 a day figure is only those who are travelling from Limerick to Ennis, and no further north than Ennis, then it means at least that the demand between Limerick to Ennis isn't any less than that. Now, I understand that if the Limerick-Ballybrophy railway had the same standard of service as the Limerick-Ennis railway, there'd likely still be less people taking the train to Nenagh than to Ennis because Nenagh is smaller, but the Limerick-Ballybrophy railway wouldn't be used exclusively by people travelling from Limerick to Nenagh, so I'd say the passenger numbers on it could definitely be increased into something significant.

The Mathematician · 23-12-2025 10:06PM

I'm not sure where that figure has come from. Here are the 2024 boarding and allighting figures, respectively.

These figures do not count passengers that pass through Ennis, travelling from Limerick to Galway or vice-versa.

Note there is also quite good growth year on year. There will never be huge numbers, but the addition of all those extra cars into Limerick would not do anything for the traffic.

ohographite · 23-12-2025 11:29PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124092398#Comment_124092398

Perhaps the 280 passengers a day figure is strictly those travelling from Limerick to Ennis or Ennis to Limerick, and not those who are travelling to/from Ennis from/to Dublin for example (the passengers travelling all the way from Dublin would be counted as northbound alightings in Ennis and those travelling to Dublin would be southbound boardings).

Cookiemunster · 24-12-2025 12:27AM

The figure comes from IE responding to a request from Clare TD Joe Cooney in March.

Iarnród Eireann stated that passenger journeys increased by 20% between Limerick and Ennis (86,030 to 102,832)

https://clarechampion.ie/17-increase-in-passenger-rail-journeys-through-clare/

102,832 averages at 281 passengers a day.

The Mathematician · 24-12-2025 11:07AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124092702#Comment_124092702

That Ennis - Athenry figure seems a bit suspect. Surely there are not that many travelling between those two towns? Or maybe there is some specific commute that I am not aware of?

breezy1985 · 24-12-2025 11:20AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124092035#Comment_124092035

Well you wouldn't expect people to be commuting on all 9 services. The reality is that the pre 9am and post 5pm are very busy and middle of the day empty (and I really have seen them essentially empty).

That's pretty much all I was asking for on the Nenagh line was a post 17:30 train like Ennis has.

BestWestern · 30-12-2025 03:18PM

As a frequent user of the ennis to limerick and ennis to Athenry services to typically travel to Dublin, the morning and evening trains are standing room only. A significant number of wrc passengers are travelling on to Dublin.

road_high · 30-12-2025 03:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124103762#Comment_124103762

which is quicker? By limerick or athenry? Two changes on the limerick one but quicker once you reach the Cork mainline?

breezy1985 · 30-12-2025 03:49PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124103789#Comment_124103789

Via Limerick is roughly 3hrs and some services require only 1 change either at Colbert or LJ. It's a decent bit quicker according to Irishrail.

BestWestern · 21-01-2026 11:57AM

Via athenry in the morning is more comfortable a journey. Due to the poor frequency on the wrc, and the standing room only situation on the sole ex limerick evening rush hour service, I frequently drive to Athenry. It's also a lot cheaper than ex ennis or limerick

Glaceon · 10-02-2026 04:18PM

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/louth/drogheda-news/navandrogheda-rail-line-could-reopen-says-meath-td/a1095524692.html

Navan-Drogheda is back on the table because of the current commute times by road and the delays in getting the line extended from Dunboyne/M3.

Mr Tóibín said the NTA had previously argued the route via Drogheda would be too long for commuters, but the authority has now acknowledged that travel times would be far shorter than the current four-hour journey and at a "significantly” lower cost.

LXFlyer · 10-02-2026 04:28PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124223622#Comment_124223622

Except that there is no capacity available - northern line trains are full to the brim and there is no space for more trains.

Glaceon · 10-02-2026 04:30PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124223646#Comment_124223646

Exactly what I was thinking! Where would they go?

L1011 · 10-02-2026 04:32PM

Toíbín and his party don't live in the real world.

KrisW1001 · 10-02-2026 04:58PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124223646#Comment_124223646

There must be some space, as DART+ West is promising to double the frequency of services on this line from 6 tphpd to 12. Extending some of the M3 trains out to Navan would require no additional track capacity within Dublin, and I don’t think numbers would increase so much as to overwhelm the new services - a lot of the current P+R ridership would naturally shift northwards up to Dunshaughlin on the extended line to dodge the M3 toll.

L1011 · 10-02-2026 05:06PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124223738#Comment_124223738

With ETCS and changing Howth to a shuttle. And that'll be using all the available capacity before Four North.

edit: I missed that this post was confused and talking about the actual Navan proposal, not Toibin's dream

loyatemu · 10-02-2026 05:27PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124223738#Comment_124223738

this is about Navan via Drogheda using the existing freight line, whcih has be proposed a few times before but nothing ever comes of it.

bk · 10-02-2026 05:41PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124223738#Comment_124223738

The above article is about reopening the Navan to Drogheda line, not the Navan to M3 line. Navan to Drogheda would mean trains would end up on the northern line and LX is correct there simply isn't the capacity on the Northern line for that.

I suppose you could just extend some of the DART's terminating at Drogheda to Navan, you wouldn't need extra paths then, but the question then would be with many extra passengers getting on at Navan, would that end up just meaning that people south of Drogheda can't get on and end up being left behind!

As you rightfully say, the correct solution is to extend M3 Parkway to Navan, plenty of capacity with D+W.

On the other hand perhaps the thinking is that this could help make the quad tracking of the Northern line more attractive and push it over the line!

LXFlyer · 10-02-2026 06:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124223738#Comment_124223738

Read the post that I was responding to again.

Cross-border review of rail network officially launched

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