Foynes Line

Poxyshamrock · 22-07-2019 11:42pm

Works taking place at level crossing at Adare and Croagh. Anyone know what this is about?

https://www.limerick.ie/council/newsroom/road-notices/temporary-closure-roads-railway-crossing-adare

Itssoeasy · 23-07-2019 9:49pm

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

Works taking place at level crossing at Adare and Croagh. Anyone know what this is about?

https://www.limerick.ie/council/newsroom/road-notices/temporary-closure-roads-railway-crossing-adare

Are those crossings automatic or manual ones ?

L1011 · 23-07-2019 11:46pm

I think both are manual. There may be one automatic on the line and one on the closed Kingscourt line but they're relatively new an idea so most abandoned lines had very few

thomond2006 · 25-07-2019 10:50am

Adare will host the Ryder Cup in 2026. It would be good to have a line back up and running by then.

flyingsnail · 25-07-2019 10:59am

thomond2006 wrote: »

Adare will host the Ryder Cup in 2026. It would be good to have a line back up and running by then.

I don't think there are any plans or proposals to reinstate the line for passenger use, just freight.

flyingsnail · 30-07-2019 4:04pm

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

Works taking place at level crossing at Adare and Croagh. Anyone know what this is about?

https://www.limerick.ie/council/newsroom/road-notices/temporary-closure-roads-railway-crossing-adare

I took a spin out that way today, it looks like they just tarred over the level crossings and repainted the road markings. The tracks appear to still be in place.

andrewfaulk · 30-07-2019 10:31pm

flyingsnail wrote: »

I took a spin out that way today, it looks like they just tarred over the level crossings and repainted the road markings. The tracks appear to still be in place.

A bit of a waste of time if SFPC actually get the line re-opened!

L1011 · 30-07-2019 10:46pm

The track and level crossing bed would be relaid/replaced anyway. This would reduce potential liabilities until then.

J Cheever Loophole · 31-07-2019 8:02am

andrewfaulk wrote: »

A bit of a waste of time if SFPC actually get the line re-opened!

Am I missing something - are those road markings not there to take account of the possibility of a train crossing the road and yet the lines have been tarmacked over?

Isambard · 31-07-2019 9:09am

J Cheever Loophole wrote: »

Am I missing something - are those road markings not there to take account of the possibility of a train crossing the road and yet the lines have been tarmacked over?

How to display a ridiculous waste of money to the best effect.

Board Walker · 28-12-2020 8:47pm

I followed the line on Google maps just now, Never realised the Cement line came off the Foynes Line. It really is gone years! I do remember as a child at my cousins seeing the trains heading to the cement factory. I still cant see why they took the Cement off the rail and the Gypsum from Kingscourt. It put massive traffic on the roads IMO.

Or maybe they dont get Gypsum from Kingscourt anymore?

Isambard · 28-12-2020 9:07pm

Board Walker wrote: »

I followed the line on Google maps just now, Never realised the Cement line came off the Foynes Line. It really is gone years! I do remember as a child at my cousins seeing the trains heading to the cement factory. I still cant see why they took the Cement off the rail and the Gypsum from Kingscourt. It put massive traffic on the roads IMO.

Or maybe they dont get Gypsum from Kingscourt anymore?

not too many building sites are rail connected

Del.Monte · 28-12-2020 10:25pm

Isambard wrote: »

not too many building sites are rail connected

And they weren't back in the day when the cement and gypsum went by rail. Wasn't it the ILDA strike that finished off the cement traffic?

Isambard · 29-12-2020 10:06am

Del.Monte wrote: »

And they weren't back in the day when the cement and gypsum went by rail. Wasn't it the ILDA strike that finished off the cement traffic?

we didn't have the road system as it is today though.

Losty Dublin · 30-12-2020 2:22am

Del.Monte wrote: »

And they weren't back in the day when the cement and gypsum went by rail. Wasn't it the ILDA strike that finished off the cement traffic?

Probably a little bit from column A, a little bit from column B. When the strike took place, the ore switched to be carried by road. The mining company found that it was cheaper and quicker to do so than by rail. The contract was up for negotiation and Irish Rail needed 25% extra to keep it ticking over by rail.

Truth be told, the traffic levels had fallen from a few trains a day to just one a week. Also, the fees charged didn’t cover the cost of running, let alone maintaining the line which was in bits at this stage. It took over 2 hours to do the 19 miles from Kingscourt to Navan and almost 3 hour’s to get to Drogheda; long enough for an entire day shift for a train crew.

To give you an idea of how leisurely the track speeds were en route. A gatekeeper worked some of the level crossings en route. They could operate the gates at Kingscourt then drive down the road in time to attend to two more sets of gates along the way to allow the train to make some progress.

Board Walker · 03-01-2021 12:41pm

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Probably a little bit from column A, a little bit from column B. When the strike took place, the ore switched to be carried by road. The mining company found that it was cheaper and quicker to do so than by rail. The contract was up for negotiation and Irish Rail needed 25% extra to keep it ticking over by rail.

Truth be told, the traffic levels had fallen from a few trains a day to just one a week. Also, the fees charged didn’t cover the cost of running, let alone maintaining the line which was in bits at this stage. It took over 2 hours to do the 19 miles from Kingscourt to Navan and almost 3 hour’s to get to Drogheda; long enough for an entire day shift for a train crew.

To give you an idea of how leisurely the track speeds were en route. A gatekeeper worked some of the level crossings en route. They could operate the gates at Kingscourt then drive down the road in time to attend to two more sets of gates along the way to allow the train to make some progress.

Ya, that part i did wonder about. It must have cost a fortune to keep lines open with manual gates. There are so many between foynes and limerick! And i remember when i was at the Sant Gobain factory last year that there were quite a few manual crossings there too. I wonder why not have someone on board the train to jump put and open them?

tabbey · 03-01-2021 4:55pm

Board Walker wrote: »

why not have someone on board the train to jump put and open them?

That is what they generally do, Tara for example.

Isambard · 03-01-2021 6:04pm

tabbey wrote: »

That is what they generally do, Tara for example.

presumably takes forever. Stop train, open gate, drive through, stop again, close gates, walk back to loco, proceed.

tabbey · 03-01-2021 11:15pm

Isambard wrote: »

presumably takes forever. Stop train, open gate, drive through, stop again, close gates, walk back to loco, proceed.

In the case of Tara, It only has one public level crossing, at Beauparc, but a little used branch with lots of crossings would be slow progress.

91wx763 · 05-01-2021 9:20am

Isambard wrote: »

presumably takes forever. Stop train, open gate, drive through, stop again, close gates, walk back to loco, proceed.

Put a van on the back, driver opens gates and guard closes them with no walking the length of the train twice at each stop ?

annfield1978 · 01-08-2022 9:08am

https://irl.eu-supply.com/ctm/Supplier/PublicPurchase/219988/1

The overall objective of the Limerick to Foynes Line Track & Civils Project is to renew and / or rehabilitate the existing track and civil engineering infrastructure on the 42km Limerick to Foynes line. The proposed construction contract will include the installation of sleepers and rail, and also the maintenance of bridges, culverts and the road infrastructure at public road level crossings.

Paddico · 02-08-2022 2:49pm

So are we looking at a full re-opening or still in an examiner process?

Board Walker · 05-08-2022 9:35am

This is great to hear!

J Cheever Loophole · 06-08-2022 11:44am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119431614#Comment_119431614

I would have thought that too. This very thread is now seven and a half years old, and the line itself has been closed for much longer than that, so getting to this point has been a very long process. However, I'd have expected more comment on what appears - at least to a casual observer like myself - as a relatively momentous moment. Is the lack of comment here because others remain sceptical? Would love to hear the thoughts of the more regular posters who tend to have their fingers on the pulse.

91wx763 · 06-08-2022 12:43pm

"This very thread is now seven and a half years old, and the line itself has been closed for much longer than that"......

And in that time we've shaved with the locos and the wagons that we don't have to run any new services. While optimism in a case like this is good, realism has to enter calculations.

bikeman1 · 06-08-2022 1:43pm

I’ll believe it when I see it…

What locos and wagons will they use?

L1011 · 06-08-2022 1:48pm

Any new services will need new wagons / flats / pockets and either new locos or heavily renovated 201s. There's nothing else available.

Nor would it have been practical to keep 50+ year old locos in running condition for a decade+ in the hope they might be used - they were life-expired.

bikeman1 · 06-08-2022 1:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119436997#Comment_119436997

Exactly. It would be nice to see a plan for this in place. Our full wagon fleet maybe barring timber wagons, needs to be replaced.

L1011 · 06-08-2022 1:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437011#Comment_119437011

There was a scoping tender in 2021 to replace the zinc wagons, and replace/expand the container flats

https://irl.eu-supply.com/ctm/Supplier/PublicPurchase/186543/1/0

I suspect something to be done with locos soon-ish. If there's any movement on the Enterprise upgrade/replacement it would make sense to look at re-doing the entire loco fleet. Buy power cars for the Mk4s, the new Enterprise will probably be electric EMUs; and get an entirely new freight and departmental fleet, scrap the 071s and 201s.

J Cheever Loophole · 06-08-2022 2:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119436977#Comment_119436977

I simply don't know the answer to the question. I would hope if they could build a railway line, then they could also build rolling stock to go on it. But like I said, I have no insight to bring to the discussion.

MyLove4Satan · 07-08-2022 12:16am

A lot of people in Limerick seem to be under the impression that they are getting a DART or Luas on their Foynes line. There are pretty taken aback when I tell them it is only for goods trains.

L1011 · 07-08-2022 12:17am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119439402#Comment_119439402

Considering this has got virtually no media attention at all - who are you hanging out with?

91wx763 · 07-08-2022 10:24am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119439402#Comment_119439402

The Ryder Cup is the passenger angle being put on the situation, how much would the provision of passenger facilities subject to disabled accessibilty for just 4 days of golf cost.

MyLove4Satan · 07-08-2022 1:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119439405#Comment_119439405

I guess all the headline stories on Mid West papers and radio stations about it the other never happened because you didn't see them?

MyLove4Satan · 07-08-2022 1:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119439975#Comment_119439975

Oh do not get me wrong, would love to see passenger services on the line, but the public - going by the comments sections on social media - are under the impression they will be shopping in Limerick and commuting from Adare and Foynes by train soon.

Tiernster7 · 07-08-2022 8:40pm

Very soon is a stretch. New stations Adare and wherever will be the real signal of something happening. I do believe there will be a passenger service for 2027 though

91wx763 · 08-08-2022 12:12am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119442393#Comment_119442393

AAARGH.

Single line, where's any loop in the plan, pax train needs 70mph minimum to wipe out the road transport stopping equivalent, passenger rail will be point to point so anyone for a huge carpark in Askeaton or Adare or Patrickswell to find you'll be delayed by the way more sustainable, realistic and useful freight train, "it's a scandal Joe"............

Board Walker · 08-08-2022 8:43am

When i visited this line last year i didnt see much passing loops at stations?

MyLove4Satan · 01-09-2022 11:57pm

Just announced a new road between Limerick and Foynes. The railway is dead in the water now and I don't it was ever anything more than politicians spoofing.

L1011 · 02-09-2022 8:11am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119557472#Comment_119557472

The motorway upgrade that has been in planning for a decade and very well publicised has not been "just announced"

Board Walker · 21-09-2022 12:50pm

So.... there is a lot of prospering of Zinc going on in a certain area of Limerick close to the Foynes line. A guy in college with me works in Aughinish and he reckons 30 years worth is looking to be mined and its being kept on the downlow for the moment. Ties in with the rail restoration and the huge Irish Rail tender for ore wagons.

Board Walker · 26-10-2022 9:31am

Significant clearing of the line began this week.

GM228 · 26-10-2022 1:03pm

https://twitter.com/hassardS/status/1584880758195638272?t=OOjSreP5PmIZqj19siKt3Q&s=19

..

Pete_Cavan · 02-11-2022 9:49pm

Has there been any formal announcement on what customers thave for the line? I mean, they can't be going to this expense without a worthwhile customer signed up...

Board Walker · 07-11-2022 10:57am

I see the semaphore in Raheen has been whipped already

Geuze · 08-11-2022 1:43pm

My apologies for not reading this thread in full, but the line is being re-opening for the carrying of what type of freight to/from Foynes port?

end of the road · 08-11-2022 10:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119849028#Comment_119849028

it's for a mine i think.

Glaceon · 14-11-2022 11:47am

Made the news today.

https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2022/1114/1335959-foynes-limerick-rail-line/

p_haugh · 14-11-2022 5:22pm

I was wondering, after reading the article above - what extra work would be involved to bring this up to spec for passenger services?

Obviously stations would need to be re-established and I assume passing loops put in place as well, but would there be anything else significant required?

pigtown · 14-11-2022 7:26pm

I imagine the speed for freight will be quite low so works to increase the speed I suppose. Closing level crossings, strengthening bridges etc

Foynes Line

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