Western Rail Corridor / Rail Trail

Here, it's very easy to say " I'm supportive of WRC provided mainline improvements are a prerequisite".

Instead you seem to be making a very substantial effort to oppose it.

Facts remain are:

• Tuam is Galway's largest town and should be connected to rail

• A sub 40minute journey time to Galway city is possible which is faster than bus / car.

• Tourists like trains. Tourists bring in lots of money.

• Trains are greener than cars. People like trains. Not all train services in the world are financially viable.

Supportive or not like?

I agree 100% with improving the mainline first.

Double-tracking from GY to Athenry helps all users: current, future, Dublin, long-distance, commuters, everybody.

Here is my proposal, I welcome criticism:

• double-track, leaving provision for future elec
• eliminate all LC - I think there are five? The Oranmore LC would be tricky.
• new station at Roscam
• new station at Renmore, Ballyloughnane road

To me, a proper discussion of train infrastructure requirements would place WRC phase 2 so far down the the priority list as to render any further discussion on it moot.

The only question is whether such a proper discussion would ever take place - after all we spent over 100 million building WRC phase 1, and yet we still have a bloody single track going all the way from Portarlington to Galway. Had a proper discussion taken place then, WRC phase 1 would never have been built.

It depends on what the goals were defined as.

Cater for most amount of passengers? Obviously mainline upgrades win out.

Cater for greatest region/area? WRC 1 makes sense, connecting 2 large regional cities and providing rail connectivity to Clare and south Galway.

Really though, if WRC1 hadn't happened, do you honestly believe that Galway to Athenry would be double tracked? I don't.

But the point being made is that these upgrades should be targeted at where the will have the greatest impact. Reopening old lines should be well down the list of priorities given the scale of investment the existing network requires. As was said, there is very limited capacity to accommodate new branches. WRC Phase 1 was a case of a headline grabbing reopening winning out over less glamorous but extremely beneficial upgrades to the mainline, this needs to be avoided in future investments.

I don't mean to be rude, but I don't understand what you mean when you're telling me to be careful with the figures in the census. Can you explain it a different way, please?

I do however agree that the section of railway from Galway to Athenry should be double tracked. I even think it should be double tracked if the railway north of Athenry is never reopened.

I think if Galway-Athenry is double tracked, there should be local trains running only from Athenry to Galway, stopping at Oramore, every hour. Another thing that I think should be considered is building two new stations between Oranmore and Galway, one beside Ballyloughane Strand and another one at Roscam, and stopping the Athenry to Galway trains that I suggested in those new stations, so they would serve Athenry, Oranmore, Roscam, Ballyloughane and Galway. Then, I think these trains should be timetabled to depart Athenry for Galway just after trains from Limerick or Dublin have departed Athenry for Galway, and then the trains from Limerick and Dublin should continue to Galway non stop. This would allow people coming from the direction of Dublin or Limerick to quickly change trains to get to Oranmore, Roscam or Ballyloughane, and then it would speed up trains from Dublin and Limerick to Galway, as they'd no longer have to stop in Oranmore.

It could be interesting there regarding the N17. The government has to seriously commit to one of these projects for the West / North-West.

They can't renege or drag their heels on both projects. I think the WRC would have a better chance?...

It's only the absolute WRC fundamentalists who are still going on about a line north of Claremorris. As posted further upthread, Eamon Ryan himself suggests Greenwaying the line north of Claremorris.

That just leaves the SF cranks like Gerry Murray who claim that are going to: build a couple of thousand houses a week, fix the health service, fully fund and build all the planned road infrastructure, fully fund and build all the planned rail infrastructure (and even some unplanned stuff) etc. etc.

It's industrial-scale lying as befits Fianna Fail Nua. I'd have more respect for them if they tempered expectactions even a little, but no, they're going for the full sun, moon and stars which will in the end only leave the electorate more cynical and less likley to vote when they fail to deliver.

Also, apart from a 3km section between Miltown and Ballindine, the N17 between Tuam and Claremorris is a fairly decent road.

Miltown and Ballindine are tiny villages and I don't think they suffer from major traffic issues. They won't be bypassed.

IIRC that bad section north of Milltown is currently out to tender. I don't think the tender includes a bypass of Milltown.

Once that bit is done, the N17 will be a decent road from Tuam to Curry (except for the section just south of Charlestown).

North of Curry though, it's a terrible and dangerous "National Primary Route", which town bypasses alone will not fix.

"Probably" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence.

If that was the case, how come there are still Level Crossings in Oranmore and Craughwell?

And if bridges are going to be built, what is that going to bring the total estimated cost up to?

The "Burma Road" is 47 miles from Claremorris to Collooney, with 48 level crossings....

Semantics. The point is it's strategic investment in major population centres, such as the Greater Dublin area, versus regional investment.

It's like saying a Metro to Tallaght is different to a Metro to Swords, therefore both projects deserve funding. That's simply not the reality.

Funding for regional investment is severely limited and the balance has majorly tipped towards rail and public transport.