Nenagh-Limerick journey times

Tadhg17 · 15-04-2008, 22:18

Will there be reduced journey times from Nenagh to Limerick come this September's commuter service or will there only be an improvement after the 5 year track improvement scheme IE are on about?

http://www.nenaghguardian.ie/frontpa...t-1331604.html

Nenagh commuter rail link on track for September start

Saturday March 29 2008

Last week Deputy Lowry quizzed Transport Minister Noel Dempsey on progress on the Limerick-Ballybrophy line, and was given a commitment that by September 2008 effective morning and evening commuter services will be introduced between Nenagh and Limerick city.

The minister also told Deputy Lowry that Iarnród Éireann is currently engaged in a programme of track work to reduce the number of severely speed restricted sections of track along the line. At present there are significant portions of the track that are severely substandard and the present work is aimed at bringing these sections up to a standard that will allow for considerably reduced journey times between Nenagh and Limerick.

Deputy Lowry said he would continue to push the minister to ensure proper upgrading of the line.While I am delighted with the minister?s commitment, I will continue to be in contact with him and Iarnród Éireann with a view to ensuring that all commitments are implemented fully?, he stated. ?This line is an integral piece of infrastructure for North Tipperary, and it has long been neglected. I would like to commend all the parties involved in moving this initiative but it is vital that work continues to ensure that the improvements are replicated on the Nenagh to Dublin line?, Deputy Lowry said.Further services are needed to be put in stream to enable that North Tipperary towns such as Nenagh, Roscrea and Cloughjordan have the top of the range infrastructure that they require to attract industry and tourism to their areas.Effective levels connectivity to both the cities of Dublin and Limerick will enhance the attractiveness of these important towns?, Deputy Lowry concluded.

However Nenagh Rail Partnership Chairperson Cllr Virginia O?Dowd has this week taken issue with Deputy Lowry over his comments on the new commuter service from Nenagh to Limerick.Last week Deputy Lowry was telling the people of North Tipperary on Tipp FM that he had received word from the transport minister that the service was going ahead in September?, Cllr O?Dowd said.I don?t mean to steal Deputy Lowry?s thunder, but, I regret to tell him that he is months behind in announcing the new commuter service,? she said. ?In fact, I have a letter from Dick Fearn, chief executive, Irish Rail, dated May 2006, saying that Irish Rail was committed to a commuter service from Nenagh to Limerick.The partnership has worked with Irish Rail since it was set up, and following a survey that we carried out to demonstrate the need for a commuter service, Irish Rail changed the times of the trains to make the service more commuter-friendly,? she said. ?This change came about in December 2006. Irish Rail is 100 per cent behind the new commuter service.Dick Fearn met the partnership in October 2007 and told us then that the new commuter service would be going ahead from September 1, 2008. In fact, the service is already included in this year?s timetable, which was introduced last December.

dermo88 · 16-04-2008, 15:18

Hes not exactly qualified to talk, considering he was transport minister for 3 years. What happened during that period?

Shall we have a look?

The track was rotten on almost all the radial main lines from Dublin, with little or no improvement. The network had an uncertain future.
No new signalling.
The Nenagh branch was not even important. It was earmarked for closure. It barely survives today, and even so, its only surviving for political reasons.
Dodgy pathetic outdated loco hauled trains bouncing their way down this very line, providing a very expensive arcade ride at taxpayers expense for trainspotters.....thats exactly what was going on while Mr Lowry was transport minister.
The loop at Cloughjordan was declared unfit for use by the permanent way inspector, while Mr Lowry was transport minister.

I could say a lot more unpleasant and unsavoury things about Mr Lowry, especially in the light of his treatment of management in CIE and Iarnrod Eireann after his appointment in 1994, amongst other semi state companies. His motives were questionable, and he was the new kid on the block, impatient, in a hurry, trying to go too far too fast. But like a lot of new kids, learning new tricks, this one got caught.

In return, I would like to ask Mr Lowry some questions, but this forum, is not the place for that. I'd stay very quiet and keep my head down in the back of the class, if I were Mr Lowry.

As an independent TD, he is grasping at straws here in order to maintain and retain some form of credibility. Its amusing more than anything else.

dowlingm · 17-09-2010, 21:42

According to the Nenagh Guardian the relay from Killonan to Nenagh will mean higher line speeds in the near future when the current phase is completed.

Mark Gleeson · 18-09-2010, 09:03

Its not going to be anything magical. They need to get Nenagh Limerick down to 40 minutes or less, as it was in the 1970's. At most we are going to see 10 minutes off.

This of course was promised 2 years ago.

The line is on the hit list for closure, Irish Rail might deny it but it is and unlike Waterford Rosslare it lacks any kind of unique selling point, its neither faster nor is it cheaper

dermo88 · 18-09-2010, 15:13

Hammer, nail, head. Its a miracle that its lasted this long, the only thing keeping it alive being the political considerations.

There will be the usual protests, but unless the junction at Ballybrophy is realigned to the North (towards Portlaoise), it will die.

dowlingm · 18-09-2010, 23:54

Closing a line through Nenagh and Roscrea will cause more (politically sensitive) yelling than one through Campile and Wellingtonbridge. If they successfully kill the entire line as opposed to cutting it back to Roscrea or Nenagh that will be an indication that the costcutters are overruling the panderers.

Even if it is merely reduced to Roscrea or Nenagh, that means either basing a crew or deadheading/low volume service up the line in the morning.

dowlingm · 20-09-2010, 17:59

I've been looking at the timetables and looking at movements in and out of Limerick Station. Since I don't have access to anything inside IE I'm just going on the printed timetables.

arr ex LJ 0829
arr ex Sixmilebridge 0839
arr ex Nenagh 0842
dep to Ennis 0845

At present, the Nenagh service having split departs north at 0728 and south at 0740. Let's assume there's a reason why it has to wait for the northbound train to get half-way to Cloughjordan.

At present the line is timetabled for 24mins ex Castleconnell rather than 20 on the other two daily SBs so presumably there is a hold for four minutes to let the Sixmilebridge train into Colbert ahead of it, but a combination of that few minutes faster down from Nenagh on CWR and letting the train slipstream the LJ service... not sure how close in time they could operate between Killonan Junction and Ennis Junction but maybe 0836 is doable?

That extra six minutes might take a lot of pressure off someone with a 9am start given that most of the big offices are a decent walk from Colbert. If it worked, it might permit something completely crazy like using the Nenagh train for the 0845 departure to allow same-train Nenagh-Ennis journeys.

At present, the poor current track condition might not permit adequate reliability on those timings so perhaps IE have preferred to hold back until now - I seem to remember them changing the timetable not long after launch for that reason.

15-04-2008, 22:18	#1
Tadhg17 Regular Poster Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 49	Nenagh-Limerick journey times Will there be reduced journey times from Nenagh to Limerick come this September's commuter service or will there only be an improvement after the 5 year track improvement scheme IE are on about? http://www.nenaghguardian.ie/frontpa...t-1331604.html Nenagh commuter rail link on track for September start Saturday March 29 2008 Last week Deputy Lowry quizzed Transport Minister Noel Dempsey on progress on the Limerick-Ballybrophy line, and was given a commitment that by September 2008 effective morning and evening commuter services will be introduced between Nenagh and Limerick city. The minister also told Deputy Lowry that Iarnród Éireann is currently engaged in a programme of track work to reduce the number of severely speed restricted sections of track along the line. At present there are significant portions of the track that are severely substandard and the present work is aimed at bringing these sections up to a standard that will allow for considerably reduced journey times between Nenagh and Limerick. Deputy Lowry said he would continue to push the minister to ensure proper upgrading of the line.While I am delighted with the minister?s commitment, I will continue to be in contact with him and Iarnród Éireann with a view to ensuring that all commitments are implemented fully?, he stated. ?This line is an integral piece of infrastructure for North Tipperary, and it has long been neglected. I would like to commend all the parties involved in moving this initiative but it is vital that work continues to ensure that the improvements are replicated on the Nenagh to Dublin line?, Deputy Lowry said.Further services are needed to be put in stream to enable that North Tipperary towns such as Nenagh, Roscrea and Cloughjordan have the top of the range infrastructure that they require to attract industry and tourism to their areas.Effective levels connectivity to both the cities of Dublin and Limerick will enhance the attractiveness of these important towns?, Deputy Lowry concluded. However Nenagh Rail Partnership Chairperson Cllr Virginia O?Dowd has this week taken issue with Deputy Lowry over his comments on the new commuter service from Nenagh to Limerick.Last week Deputy Lowry was telling the people of North Tipperary on Tipp FM that he had received word from the transport minister that the service was going ahead in September?, Cllr O?Dowd said.I don?t mean to steal Deputy Lowry?s thunder, but, I regret to tell him that he is months behind in announcing the new commuter service,? she said. ?In fact, I have a letter from Dick Fearn, chief executive, Irish Rail, dated May 2006, saying that Irish Rail was committed to a commuter service from Nenagh to Limerick.The partnership has worked with Irish Rail since it was set up, and following a survey that we carried out to demonstrate the need for a commuter service, Irish Rail changed the times of the trains to make the service more commuter-friendly,? she said. ?This change came about in December 2006. Irish Rail is 100 per cent behind the new commuter service.Dick Fearn met the partnership in October 2007 and told us then that the new commuter service would be going ahead from September 1, 2008. In fact, the service is already included in this year?s timetable, which was introduced last December. __________________ Check oot http://www.underthekitchensink.com/

16-04-2008, 15:18	#2
dermo88 Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 136	Hes not exactly qualified to talk, considering he was transport minister for 3 years. What happened during that period? Shall we have a look? The track was rotten on almost all the radial main lines from Dublin, with little or no improvement. The network had an uncertain future. No new signalling. The Nenagh branch was not even important. It was earmarked for closure. It barely survives today, and even so, its only surviving for political reasons. Dodgy pathetic outdated loco hauled trains bouncing their way down this very line, providing a very expensive arcade ride at taxpayers expense for trainspotters.....thats exactly what was going on while Mr Lowry was transport minister. The loop at Cloughjordan was declared unfit for use by the permanent way inspector, while Mr Lowry was transport minister. I could say a lot more unpleasant and unsavoury things about Mr Lowry, especially in the light of his treatment of management in CIE and Iarnrod Eireann after his appointment in 1994, amongst other semi state companies. His motives were questionable, and he was the new kid on the block, impatient, in a hurry, trying to go too far too fast. But like a lot of new kids, learning new tricks, this one got caught. In return, I would like to ask Mr Lowry some questions, but this forum, is not the place for that. I'd stay very quiet and keep my head down in the back of the class, if I were Mr Lowry. As an independent TD, he is grasping at straws here in order to maintain and retain some form of credibility. Its amusing more than anything else. Last edited by dermo88 : 16-04-2008 at 15:38.

18-09-2010, 09:03	#4
Mark Gleeson Technical Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coach C, Seat 33 Posts: 12,669	Its not going to be anything magical. They need to get Nenagh Limerick down to 40 minutes or less, as it was in the 1970's. At most we are going to see 10 minutes off. This of course was promised 2 years ago. The line is on the hit list for closure, Irish Rail might deny it but it is and unlike Waterford Rosslare it lacks any kind of unique selling point, its neither faster nor is it cheaper __________________ Unhappy with new timetable - let us know

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17-09-2010, 21:42	#3
dowlingm Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,371	According to the Nenagh Guardian the relay from Killonan to Nenagh will mean higher line speeds in the near future when the current phase is completed.

18-09-2010, 15:13	#5
dermo88 Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 136	Hammer, nail, head. Its a miracle that its lasted this long, the only thing keeping it alive being the political considerations. There will be the usual protests, but unless the junction at Ballybrophy is realigned to the North (towards Portlaoise), it will die.

18-09-2010, 23:54	#6
dowlingm Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,371	Closing a line through Nenagh and Roscrea will cause more (politically sensitive) yelling than one through Campile and Wellingtonbridge. If they successfully kill the entire line as opposed to cutting it back to Roscrea or Nenagh that will be an indication that the costcutters are overruling the panderers. Even if it is merely reduced to Roscrea or Nenagh, that means either basing a crew or deadheading/low volume service up the line in the morning.

20-09-2010, 17:59	#7
dowlingm Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,371	I've been looking at the timetables and looking at movements in and out of Limerick Station. Since I don't have access to anything inside IE I'm just going on the printed timetables. arr ex LJ 0829 arr ex Sixmilebridge 0839 arr ex Nenagh 0842 dep to Ennis 0845 At present, the Nenagh service having split departs north at 0728 and south at 0740. Let's assume there's a reason why it has to wait for the northbound train to get half-way to Cloughjordan. At present the line is timetabled for 24mins ex Castleconnell rather than 20 on the other two daily SBs so presumably there is a hold for four minutes to let the Sixmilebridge train into Colbert ahead of it, but a combination of that few minutes faster down from Nenagh on CWR and letting the train slipstream the LJ service... not sure how close in time they could operate between Killonan Junction and Ennis Junction but maybe 0836 is doable? That extra six minutes might take a lot of pressure off someone with a 9am start given that most of the big offices are a decent walk from Colbert. If it worked, it might permit something completely crazy like using the Nenagh train for the 0845 departure to allow same-train Nenagh-Ennis journeys. At present, the poor current track condition might not permit adequate reliability on those timings so perhaps IE have preferred to hold back until now - I seem to remember them changing the timetable not long after launch for that reason.