Nenagh group rails at lack of commuter service

[comcor]

A NORTH Tipperary lobby group yesterday took their campaign for a new commuter service between Nenagh and Limerick ‘on line’.

More than 100 supporters packed two carriages on the 11am service from Nenagh to Limerick’s Colbert Station.

The train usually has one passenger carriage, but Irish Rail added a second to accommodate the group, whose members each paid the e6.50 return fare.

Irish Rail operates two Nenagh/Limerick trains - one at 11am and the other at 7.50pm.

The Nenagh Rail Partnership group wants Irish Rail to begin a 7.30am commuter service to Limerick to facilitate workers who mostly travel by car.

A recent survey carried out for the group by University of Limerick lecturer Sean Reidy revealed that 360 people commute each day from Nenagh to Limerick and most would avail of a morning commuter train service if it was available.




Over 90% said they travel alone by car each day to work in Limerick.

Nenagh Town Councillor Virginia O’Dowd, who led the protest, said an extended schedule between Limerick and destinations such as Nenagh and Ballybrophy would benefit Irish Rail, commuters and tourism interests.

Ms O’Dowd said: “My husband has been travelling to work each day for the past 15 years by car on his own. He is one of hundreds who would jump at the chance of availing of a morning rail service.”

She said they had received a positive response from Irish Rail management, but the issue came down to funding.

“We have a commitment that they will look at a commuter service between Nenagh and Limerick in 2007. The line needs some upgrading as there are speed restrictions on parts of it. The carriages are very good and our survey has quantified a significant demand,” she said.

The Nenagh group said they want to develop the concept of a Lough Derg line and market it as a tourism asset as well as a commuter facility.

Ms O’Dowd said the Lough Derg line could link with Castleconnell, which has a station on the Nenagh/Limerick line and is famous for its fishing.

Ms O’Dowd said: “We could work with Irish Rail to improve the railway station at Nenagh on the lines of a Tidy Towns committee by placing shrubs and flower beds there. We would also like to see Tipperary North Riding Council appoint a railway officer to help develop business on the Lough Derg line.”

Irish Rail mid-west business development manager Jim Galvin said they do not have carriage capacity to expand the Nenagh service.

He said: “New inter-city carriages are due to be brought into service later this year and this will give us more flexibility regarding the carriages we currently use on commuter services such as the Limerick to Limerick Junction service.

“Our chief executive, Dick Fearn, met the Nenagh group last September and assured them we will reassess the situation at the end of this year.”

http://www.irishexaminer.com/pport/w...q-nXlDAyFE.asp

It starts quite well until they go on about the Lough Derg line. I fear a group that isn't focusing on its priority.

[Mark Gleeson]

They got all happy last year when IE moved the timetable around

http://www.platform11.org/news/news....2005&no=5.html

It is still impossible to commute to Limerick from Nenagh. It not possible to reach Limerick before 9am nor is it possible to leave Limerick at the end of a business day. The line is in such poor shape that it would still be quicker by car anyway

You get this bull**** political add on of Lough Derg, that line is closed for years and built on. This is why politicans are not the right people to campaign as they have no clue about the realities or the bigger picture

[Thomas J Stamp]

Well I work in Nenagh and I see the line twice a day and it is in ashocking state However, and yes, here we go again, what the hell is it with IE? It is a fact they have a commuter car and so they have a driver for it. What does he do all day? Does he swan around limerick all day waiting to drive the damned thing back to ballybrophy? Surely it could start off early morning from either terminus and they could run it back and forth all day with breaks for the driver built in. This sort of thing drives me mental.

[Mark Gleeson]

The story is there is no stock available to operate a morning service, I get the feeling it is tied up on the Ennis Limerick Junction run, the new 5:50am Limerick Limerick Junction for instance.

It would be pointless to even run a morning service out of Nenagh as things stand as it would be faster by road. You need a integrated plan, you need more stations around Limerick, you need to deal with the fact Limerick Colbert is not the centre of the universe, you need the Cork direct curve reopened, you need the line to Foynes as far as Raheen reopened. Ask any of the local politicans and they have no clue about what is needed the I want a train approach isn't really productive

If you know Nenagh you will know the station ain't in the best location its on the Thurles Rd before the hospital and Nenagh is great fun to get through in a car.

You would need a full relay of the line, reinstatement of the passing loop at Nenagh and new signalling, Ballybrophy would need to go and a direct curve put in facing Port Laois

[Kevin K Kelehan]

I agree that it is not as simple as re-routing existing stock and that Raheen would be the Jewell in the Crown, but in fairness to the Nenagh group; I personally would regard a Nenagh to Limerick service as more regionally important in planning terms than an early chariot to whisk Shannonsiders off to An lar

[Thomas J Stamp]

You're both correct. The track is due to be relayed and as I drive past the station every day it's clearly in really bad shape. However we're a bit further down the road then a few years ago where there were genuine fears that it was going to close. The station isnt in a great spot but there are many worse which are used quite a lot. I think if the service is converted from Limerick to Ballybrophy and back as a pure commuter run on a decent track it would serve a really useful purpose. I'm not sure that going as far as portloaise is a good idea as the new timetable already has commuter trains going to and from Ballybrophy to Hueston and the Limerick Ballybrophy run should be kept as simple as possible. A two railcar set would do the job from the start and if there's a toll put on the motorway...............