[article] Western Rail Corridor

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by Irish Times

Off the rails

The Government should stop trying to fool the people of the West and tell them bluntly that their promise to reopen a western rail corridor, as a driver of economic growth, will not be viable for the foreseeable future. In spite of potential political repercussions, it would be the decent and honourable thing to do. Rather than persevere with this project, funding should be switched to the inadequate road network and the urgent development of a north/south dual carriageway.

Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats promised to re-open a western rail corridor linking Sligo, Galway and Limerick in their election manifestoes of 2002. Since then, nothing has been done. But the Government has kept its commitment alive - following intense local pressure - through the establishment of two strategic rail reviews. The first exercise, by professional consultants in 2003, omitted the project from a 20-year priority rail investment plan on the grounds that the benefits would not justify the cost. In the following year a new study, involving local interests, was undertaken. It also found the idea of a western rail corridor to be impractical at this time, but recommended the phased development of commuter services in the Limerick/Galway region and the reopening of the rail link to Claremorris. The link to Sligo was dropped. Capital costs for the revised scheme, at €168 million, were significantly lower than those estimated in the earlier study.

Promises to drain the Shannon have been significant vote-getters in the past. But they involved a cruel deception of tens of thousands of small farmers who were struggling to make a living. And when those undertakings could not be kept, the ensuing public despair was all the greater. People lost confidence in politics and in politicians. The same negative reaction could re-emerge in the west because of political fudge, unrealistic promises and a failure to invest in effective regional development.

A full-scale western rail corridor is not absolutely necessary for economic development. But investment in public transport, in roads, in education, in broadband and in high voltage electricity for industry is desperately needed.

The rail corridor has been a smoke-and-mirrors exercise, designed to distract public attention from the larger economic picture and to retain credibility as a general election approaches. The Government parties made promises they could not keep in 2002. That happens. Spending €200 million on a section of track in a depopulated and under-developed area could not be justified. People would understand that. After all, it is their money. But they deserve to be told.

© The Irish Times 2006
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/opi...AWESTRAIL.html

[James Shields]

The only parts of the WRC that seem viable are Ennis to Galway and Galway to Tuam, but from a commuter perspective, even those seem doubtful. Galwayis widely dispersed, with very little high density housing, and what little there is seems to be mainly concentrated around the ring road, away from the railway. Employment centres are also quite dispersed, and again largely away from the railway.

I certainly think there's an immediate case for a station at Oranmore, but as many Galway commuters neither live nor work near the reailway line, the number of cars the line will take off the road will always be limited.

[Mark]

Galway needs to get it's act together. A 'Galway Area Strategic Plan' akin to Corks with Commuter services as far as Oranmore, intermediate stations etc and a revamped and integrated bus service. Read Mark Gleesons excellent report and look at the CASP report. Galway is probably the better suited city to go that way next but is the will there?

[Mark Gleeson]

The Limerick report is nearly done. Kevin got Galway rolling last year, the trigger the IDA and Oranmore.

Planning is key, while Mayo and Sligo CC continue to allow crazy development and indeed condone the paving over and use of a thrid parties land without there permission there is no hope

[Navan Junction]

12/06/2006

We need a well integrated and connected transport network to counter the concentrated economic activity on the east coast, writes Lisa McAllister.


Last Wednesday's Irish Times article by Frank McDonald argued: "The Government ignored doubts over the Western Rail Corridor" and implied there was no case for its reinstatement or that its potential viability had not been properly scrutinised.

This is simply not true - in fact, the opposite is the case. Nor is it the case that money earmarked for the corridor should be spent on the roads. Quite simply it is not either/or - the western region badly needs both.

Putting the region in context, there is a population of 742,877 in the seven counties served by the Western Rail Corridor (Census 2002) mostly in the immediate catchment area.

Add to this the Central Statistics Office's population projections which indicate that the west will be the second fastest-growing region, increasing its population by 35 per cent by 2021. The border population is expected to rise by 26 per cent and that of the midwest is expected to rise by 20 per cent by 2021. If these people are not catered for, they could always add to the gridlock in Dublin.

The Government set up an expert group that was independently chaired by former chief executive of Jurys Hotel Group Pat McCann.

Its task was to examine the case for reopening the Western Rail Corridor and this group recommended its immediate reopening on a phased basis.

As part of this group, the Western Development Commission agrees that investment in the corridor makes economic sense. Unlike many major capital investment programmes, the basic infrastructure for the Western Rail Corridor is already in place - the land is in public ownership and there are no planning issues.

Iarnród Éireann was a full member of the expert group that asked internationally respected consultants FaberMaunsell to study the capital cost estimates and the potential demand for the line. FaberMaunsell put the capital costs of restoring the line from Sligo to Ennis at €365.7 million, or just 1 per cent of the total budget of the transport investment programme - Transport 21.

Phase one - from Ennis to Claremorris - would cost €168.3 million, less than half of 1 per cent of Transport 21's total budget.

Public transport spending in the Border, Midland, West (BMW) Region under the National Development Plan was just over half of that forecast for 2000-2005.

This compares with a 7 per cent overspend in the South and East region. Phase one of the Western Rail Corridor could be completed for a fraction of the €2.5 billion-plus underspend in the BMW region at the end of 2005 and it could be completed in 18 months unlike many other measures proposed under Transport 21.

Services on the corridor will link existing rail lines emanating from Dublin, improving rail connections and integrating the rail network more comprehensively.

We believe this will generate additional demand with many new commuting services possible.

Also the Western Rail Corridor would provide much needed improved connections to Knock airport, the only international airport in the BMW region. This airport is growing rapidly with passenger numbers rising 42 per cent in 2004-2005. The rail corridor will also provide improved access to Shannon International Airport.

As well as having thousands of small and medium enterprises, the region also has major clusters of big international businesses ranging from medical devices to IT.

To compete globally these firms need a serious upgrade of the region's transport infrastructure as the movement of people and knowledge is essential to them.

Also, tourism, an important element in the region's economy - where the trend is to shorter more frequent holidays, needs much better transport access to and within the region.

There are two million bus passengers and over seven million cars travelling the Sligo-Limerick route annually. The N17 route at Claregalway is one of State's busiest. Providing a rail service will in itself generate demand. This has been the experience with the opening of the Limerick-Ennis line. Passenger numbers in the first year of operation exceeded all expectations.

Currently there are no plans for the reintroduction of services as far as Sligo, which is experiencing exceptional growth, and will be the only gateway town whose rail link to other gateways is via Dublin.

This strategic rail line, when reopened, will link Limerick, Galway, and Sligo, with onward connections to Cork and Waterford. It will also link these cities to Ennis, Tuam, Castlebar and Ballina via a public transport network as advocated in the National Spatial Strategy.

Furthermore, in linking Sligo to Limerick, 14 smaller and medium towns along the route will reap direct and almost instantaneous benefits. The reopening of the Western Rail Corridor is stated Government policy.

A well integrated and connected transport network is what the country needs to grow in a more sustainable regionally balanced manner, providing a counter attraction to the concentration of economic activity on the east coast.

Improved accessibility will help the region to capitalise on the advantages of living and working in the west - as does the the message of the Western Development Commission's Look West campaign that encourages people to move there.

Lisa McAllister is chief executive of the Western Development Commission.

© The Irish Times

[Navan Junction]

Letter to the Editor, Irish Independent, 12.06.2006

Recent media coverage has highlighted how provision of railway infrastructure in Ireland seems to be based on political expediency rather than merit.

It is ludicrous that the Western Rail Corridor (WRC) is expected to attract only 750 passengers per day, considering that the project to reinstate the 234km long line from Sligo to Ennis is expected to cost in the region of €550m.

750 passengers is only enough to fill half of a single eight-car 29000 railcar set of the type which currently operates the Dublin Sligo line.

Effectively, the railway project which has been dubbed "the biggest railway reopening in the State's history" will not see enough passengers per day to fill a single Intercity train.

Before the Minister for Transport wastes more than half a billion Euro to move 750 people from Limerick to Sligo daily, I would ask him to reconsider another project that could move thousands of commuters in and out of Dublin within months and which would cost less than one tenth of the cost of reinstating the Western Rail Corridor.

An upgrade of the Navan railway line to Dublin via Drogheda would cost only €54m.

The line is 17 miles long, and only half the distance of the first 36-mile Ennis-Athenry stretch of the Western Rail Corridor which will be reopened by 2008 under Transport 21, and would have a 65 minute journey time to Dublin.

If the Minister cannot see the need to reinstate the Navan Clonsilla line immediately as a priority under Transport 21, then maybe he could at least reconsider a Navan Drogheda line upgrade to facilitate passenger trains from Navan by mid 2007.

PROINSIAS
MAC FHEARGHUSA,
NAVAN,
CO MEATH

[Mark Gleeson]

One point to note here, the money is not the problem its a resource problem. Navan will be held up as Irish Rail's civil crew will be trying to figure out why everything is sinking

If all Irish Rails engineers are knee deep in a bog in the back end of Mayo they won't be in Navan

[comcor]

Is it not possible to get subcontractors to do the work? Or at least to build the embankments, bridges, cuttings etc. before Irish Rail lay the final track?

[Mark Gleeson]

Thats the problem not enough of anybody, big push between now and 2012 in London which eats up resources that would normally be hired in add that to mix and things are not looking so good

[Thomas J Stamp]

Interesting you should mention the London 2012 effect, I was just thinking the same thing.

Also, I honestly dont understand why people would want this railway anyway. If it does bring housing, factories, more housing, more factories and the rest (which after all is what WOT want, isnt it?) it'll wreck the west. Who wants to see Galway and Mayo become a carbon copy of Kildare and Meath anyway?

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by Irish Times

Madam,
I wish to respond to the criticism of the article by Frank McDonald and of your Editorial which raised the issue of the sustainability of the proposed Western Rail Corridor.

Frank McDonald has been criticised by Lisa McAllister of the Western Development Commission and by Fr Micheal McGreil. Ms McAllister and Fr McGreil, however, were both unable to address the central issue which is the viability of the railway. Nobody has yet made a convincing business case for the reopening of the line.

I walked the entire rail line between Collooney and Claremorris in the mid-1990s while researching its potential use as a linear park. What is immediately obvious is that there is a level crossing every two miles. This would mean either significant additional costs or speed restrictions. The line also runs to Athenry, so a train switch would be needed if one were travelling to Galway. This would mean that a train journey from Sligo to Galway would take between three and four hours, minimum.

Both Bus Eireann and Feda O'Donnell operate excellent bus services between Sligo and Galway.

Feda O'Donnell's buses take two hours for the trip and charge 10.

Why would anybody in his/her right mind choose to travel from Sligo to Galway by train when they could get there in almost half the time by travelling by bus?

My belief is that Frank McDonald, who is very pro-rail, is correct in his questioning the need for the Western Rail Corridor.

He is certainly correct in asking that a solid business case be made before a decision is made to proceed with the project. - Yours, etc,

FELIM O'ROURKE, Lecturer in Economics, IT Sligo, Ballinode, Sligo.

Hmm

[weehamster]

From www.irishtrucker.com

Western rail corridor a top priority for John O'Mahony

Mayo Fine Gael candidate John O'Mahony has committed himself to fighting tooth and nail for the re-opening of the Western Rail Corridor. If elected to Dail Eireann the newly nominated Fine Gael candidate will make the reopening of the rail service one of his top political priorities.

"Of all of the projects in the Government's multi-billion euro Transport 21 initiative, the Western Rail Corridor is the most ready-to-roll and economically sound proposal. The basic infrastructure is in place, the land is in public ownership, the track, albeit run-down, is intact and the required planning permission would most likely be granted. The capital cost of the restoration and re-opening of the line from Sligo to Ennis is E365 million or a meagre 1% of the total cost of the proposed infrastructural investment in Transport 21.

As the Western Development Commission has pointed out, the completion of Phase One of the corridor from Ennis to Claremorris could be done and dusted in 18 months. Unlike many other projects in Transport 21 there is no reason why the Claremorris to Collooney section couldl not be completed within another two years, given the fact that the mileage is much shorter.

The statistics and arguments in favour of reinstating the rail line could not be more compelling. The negative socio-economic impact and devastating effect on our environment are reason enough to begin work without delay. Over seven million cars use the N17 route from Sligo to Limerick every year. The daily log-jam at Claregalway is a nightmare for commuters - road journey times are increasing all the time.

As both the McCann and Faber Mansell reports have confirmed, the project is economically viable. So why are we waiting? The reopened line would dramatically cut journey times, reduce the number of road traffic accidents and make sound environmental sense. It will make a significant contribution to redressing the economic imbalance between the Western region and the rest of the country by attracting investment and breathing new life into towns such as Claremorris, Kiltimagh, Swinford and Charlestown. It could also provide a major boost to Ireland/West Airport, Knock offering passengers a speedy and efficient alternative to car hire, taxis or relying on friends and family. Last but by no means least, it will greatly enhance the attraction of the west to tourists.

The Western Rail Corridor belongs, in the first instance, to the people of the West. Its re-opening will herald the beginning of a new era in the whole of the Western region. If I am elected to the Dail at the next General Election I can assure the people of Mayo that the reopening of the Western Rail Corridor will be a major priority for me."

[PaulM]

Mr O'Mahony seems to be another one of the many people who thinks a railway is simply laying two tracks and your done.

If half these politicians had any idea how a railway works I would imagine things would be different.

[Thomas J Stamp]

If I am elected to the Dail at the next General Election

And they're off!!!!!

[Kevin K Kelehan]

The Irony of this is that John O'Mahoney has been brought in to unseat Michael Ring who is equally parochial but is a very nice guy

[Derek Wheeler]

..........as they round the first bend, John O' Mahoney is just in front, from Micheal Ring and West on Track, closely followed by the Fine Geal parlimentary party. At the rear of the field is the Fianna Fail Parlimentary Party and the Progressive Democrats who look to be in trouble in the early stages of this race..........

[Kevin K Kelehan]

Mayo is facinating as a contest and a more parochially minded constituency does not exist in the state. More than any other it is not a question of national policy it is a question of County policy and delivering the largess whether the projects stick or not in the medium term.

That is why Michael Ring has been great he has not at any time stuck his neck out on what he may perceive to be a giant white elephant. An example of a Michael Ring play was getting a water supply extended from Ballinrobe to Westport to save a factory employing 600 people because they had threatened to pull out if they hadn't enough fresh clean water. It has also enabled the town to grow in recent years.

Can anyone point to one instance between Tuam and Colooney where employment will be boosted by three trains a day?

[leithreas]

Indeed I can;

The boys working the level crossings.

[Derek Wheeler]

Originally Posted by leithreas

Indeed I can;

The boys working the level crossings.

Articulation at its best.