Foynes Line

You would think these would be designed in now. Especially speeds and bridges but most infrastructural work really.

Is there an actual customer on board to use this line?

I'd say the Ryder Cup will ensure it's done to a good standard at least to Adare, sure that's why the N7 was built as it is now.

13 road crossings and 50+ accommodation crossings

Generally. There's been huge efforts to close them on all lines in recent years - buy out the field it connects to or group a few together to build one bridge or whatever else works for each case. I'd hope they are doing that here - they are a significant safety risk and there have been a few incidents in recent years

What stations are people thinking? Adare has a population of just over 1000. Not many towns of that size can justify a train station.

Foynes Line Reconstruction

Work is due to commence on reconstruction of the Limerick to Foynes for freight traffic in the coming weeks. In advance of phase one of the project, vegetation clearance is already underway and it appears that the route has been fully cleared. The last train operated over the route in 2001 and the line has gradually fallen into disrepair over the last 21 years. The current phase of work that is about to begin and the subsequent phases will facilitate rail freight services, but will not preclude the possibility of passenger services being reintroduced on this line in the future, but this would require further infrastructure upgrades and funding. The Ryder Cup Golf tournament is to be held at Adare, which the railway passes through in 2027 and it is mooted that a passenger service will be reinstated for this between Adare and nearby Limerick City. 

I undertook a photographic survey of the route on Sunday 27th November from Limerick City to Foynes. With the route being upgraded to modern standards no doubt many of the features of the route at stations and level crossings will vanish over the next three years.

Click https://bit.ly/3UhlSGj to view all the images.

There are stations in Ireland with way less. And also it's about growth potential.

Patrickswell would be an important one with the amount of commuting from there to Limerick or as a park and ride. Also a station in Raheen Industrial Estate would be vital.

Well what would happen in bigger cities would be big housing projects around the stations. No good just building the stations you would need to plan both together.

Those towns would become handy places for anyone working in the industrial estate or hospital who was looking for a place.

My dream would be for a few Oranmores around Limerick. Its doable on the Foynes and Dublin lines if the will is there.

I can't see the point of the Moyross one. It will suit me on a few jaunts out to Ennis so personally not complaining.

Looking forward to walking a few sections of track over christmas before its taken up! I wonder would any construction crews give me an X sign from the old gates when being removed :D

So i believe. I was down there today. Crazy clearance work done. It seems only 2 Semaphore signals are left on the line just outside Raheen.

I was looking at the line on Google Maps. Just west of the old Ballingrane station there are 3 LCs within 1km, it should be fairly straightforward to close all three by building one bridge and linking up the existing roads. How would the cost of that compare to three LCs?

They got rid of a few manual crossings too and installed bridges in cork

There is not enough space for this, some of the route passes through narrow cuttings. It cannot be widened without blasting through solid rock, which costs money. The wanting something for nothing brigade strikes again.

They already have a lengthy greenway running from Ardagh to Listowel and looks likely to extend on into Tralee, surely that is enough for the kiddiwinks on their training wheels??

If there is space at this stage of reconstruction to allow for a Greenway In the future then it makes sense to ,

Obviously if it's difficult, costly or will significantly delay the reopening then it's not really a goer ..

Incidentally name one line that either closed because of a Greenway or wasn't reopened because of a Greenway ?

I'd say you're right. The line was never abandoned. Limerick County Council tried to declare the line as a protected structure in the mid 2000s to force Irish Rail to maintain it but it was blocked on the grounds that any upgrade work would require planning permission.

Maybe they should pay for it if they want it that badly?

They got the course of the former north kerry for a nominal fee, ie next to nothing.

There is no dispute of that, it seems you are the one who is struggling to deal with it. The railway is being upgraded and brought back into use which is apparently exactly what you want yet you still act as though cyclists pissed in your cornflakes.

Greenways are great if the line is a clear non runner.

Its building greenways on the likes of the Youghal line that grinds my gears.

in fairness it is a runner but there is going to have to be more development in the areas.

IE don't do plans for anything so that's irrelevant really, most of what they have done has been forced upon them rather then being done off their own back, the introduction of maynooth services in the 80s, reopening of the phoenix park tunnel to passengers, introduction of higher frequencies on lines in the mid 2000s as examples of where they have been forced to do things they wouldn't have done off their own back.

any of the closed lines that have been reopened have had their services end in the 60s or 70s, so that's irrelevant really, as if we aren't going to reopen anything because it lost it's services in 63, 67 or 76 then we will never reopen anything or should never have reopened anything, meaning the midleton branch which is part of the youghal line would never have reopened which would have been a stupid decision if it wasn't reopened.

navan lost it's services in 1958 as well as another example.