Western rail corridor (WRC) - Capital Plan

[Goods]

https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/...ght-track-uic/

"By 2050 it is expected that the majority of medium-distance passenger transport will be by rail". Thats the reason why the current generation should not make the same mistake as some of the previous political generation in IRE in dismantling rail infrastructure. The ideas that are coming for rail in the future are lighter and greener but having the permanent way in place is a huge advantage which in IRE is already the case like the Western Rail Corridor.

[Thomas Morelli]

Does anyone know if other European countries have railways to specifically link together cities that are the sizes of Limerick and Galway?

[Goods]

Many examples of rail connections to similar cities in Portugal which like the Galway Limerick example is a coastal West European area.

[Thomas Morelli]

Originally Posted by Goods

Many examples of rail connections to similar cities in Portugal which like the Galway Limerick example is a coastal West European area.

Which cities are they?

[ACustomer]

Goods: you are wrong about Portugal. Like Ireland, and with roughly twice the population in a similar area, the Portuguese rail network is almost entirely focused on lines radiating from the capital, and also from Porto. Where services exist between provincial cities of comparable size to Limerick and Galway (50,000+) they are generally on part of an intercity route, e.g. between Coimbra and Aveiro on the Lisbon-Porto main line. South of the Tagus river, the main cities of Faro, Evora, and Beja are all linked to Lisbon by rail, but direct connections are between them are virtually non-existent. I could go on...

What we can learn from the Portuguese is (a) their impressive electrification of most main lines, (b) their big investment in suburban services around the two main cities and (c ) the Porto metro which is like a souped-up version of LUAS and crucially uses tunnels in the city centre (thus avoiding any College Green debacle).

[Thomas Morelli]

Originally Posted by ACustomer

Like Ireland, and with roughly twice the population in a similar area, the Portuguese rail network is almost entirely focused on lines radiating from the capital, and also from Porto. Where services exist between provincial cities of comparable size to Limerick and Galway (50,000+) they are generally on part of an intercity route, e.g. between Coimbra and Aveiro on the Lisbon-Porto main line. South of the Tagus river, the main cities of Faro, Evora, and Beja are all linked to Lisbon by rail, but direct connections are between them are virtually non-existent.

So, does this mean that a railway linking only a city with 100, 000 people with one that has 80, 000 is not something other European countries have?

[ACustomer]

I don't know what about other European countries. The question was asked about Portugal versus the WRC, and I thought I answered it.

[comcor]

Not wanting to get sidetracked, but there is definitely a train from Faro to Lagos as I have used it.

In many ways, it has a lot in common with the WRC. The service is infrequent and it's slower than traveling by bus.