[article] Western Rail Corridor

[Navan Junction]

Government ignored doubts over Western Rail Corridor
Frank McDonald, Environment Editor, Irish Times, 07/06/2006

The Government proceeded with plans to reinstate much of the Western Rail Corridor (WRC) despite forecasts that it would attract only 750 passengers per day and could require an annual subvention of up to €10 million,The Irish Times has learned.


The Government also discounted an appraisal by the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) in February 2005 which noted that the WRC's catchment is characterised by low population density with no "critical mass". The RPA also said there was "no formal demand modelling" to underpin the project.

The WRC extends 234km from Sligo to Limerick. The only section to be reopened so far (in 2003) is the 40km stretch between Limerick and Ennis, Co Clare, with eight trains a day. Much of the remainder between Ennis and Collooney, Co Sligo, has been closed since 1976.

Documents released by the Department of Transport under the Freedom of Information Act show that Pat McCann, chairman of the working party set up in 2004 to look at the viability of reopening the rest of the line, initially took a sceptical view of its viability.

In his draft report, dated March 2005, he said: "I have not heard any economic, commercial or social arguments that would justify the complete restoration of the line as one project and I would not support such a proposal." This was omitted from the final report.

Mr McCann, who stepped down last week as chief executive of Jurys Doyle Hotels, said his recommendation for reopening the line was "contingent on the restoration of the WRC being undertaken on a phased basis", with only one section being done at a time.

"It would be prudent to postpone consideration of a second section for restoration until the first section proves to be successful and similarly for the third and fourth sections," his draft report said. This was also omitted from the final version, dated May 2005.

The total cost of reopening the WRC was put at €365.7 million and broken down as follows:

Ennis to Athenry (58km): €74.7 million (€1.3m per km);
Athenry to Tuam (25km): €34.7 million (€1.4m per km);
Tuam to Claremorris (27km): €58.9 million (€2.2m per km);
Claremorris to Collooney (74km): €197.4 million (€2.6m per km).
The latter section was built originally in 1891-2 as a light railway, with no less than 290 level crossings along its route.

Mr McCann said: "It is clear that this section would be extremely expensive to restore. It accounts for 54 per cent of the restoration costs of the entire line.

"Expenditure of this order would be very difficult to justify and I have to say that the case for its restoration, as things stand, is weak," his report said bluntly. He was also "not convinced" that Knock shrine and Knock airport would have a major positive impact on its viability.

Mr McCann was more upbeat about reopening the line between Ennis and Athenry. "This section would appear to be one of the more viable as things stand and I am recommending that a full feasibility study be undertaken on the section with a view to reopening it," he said.

"I am also recommending that, following the successful introduction of commuter services on the [ existing] Athenry-Galway section, the prospects for extending Galway rail commuter services to Tuam should then be examined," according to both versions of his report.

The earlier draft said the feasibility of extending the line to Claremorris should be considered "in the medium to longer term" if the section to Tuam is restored, while the final version noted that this would link the WRC with the Mayo "hubs" of Castlebar, Westport and Ballina.

The draft report also mentioned that rail freight might make a "marginal" difference to the viability of the Tuam-Claremorris section of line and recommended a "thoroughgoing study" to quantify the potential for rail freight in the region "before a decision is made".

In the final version of his report presented to Minister for Transport Martin Cullen in May 2005, Mr McCann added a paragraph to the conclusion suggesting that connections to Knock and Shannon airports "could add significantly to the economics of the line".

Asked by The Irish Times if these amendments were made at the behest of the Department of Transport, Mr McCann said: "That's not the case at all. The final version was done in conjunction with the working group itself, and the department had no hand in it." He acknowledged that he "couldn't see anything in it" when he was first appointed as chairman of the working party and only came round to the view that the WRC could be reinstated in phases after a lot of discussions with the West on Track group and others.

Asked if he was happy that the Transport 21 package included a phased reinstatement of the WRC from Athenry to Claremorris, with the remainder of the line to be "protected", Mr McCann said: "That was their decision. I felt it would happen at some point."

© The Irish Times

[Navan Junction]

The latter section was built originally in 1891-2 as a light railway, with no less than 290 level crossings along its route.

Is this correct? Surely there could not be that many on it??? Over 74km that is almost an average of 4 per kilometre? I know about the drive ways obviously but a level crossing every 250m?

[Mark Gleeson]

Finally the facts have surfaced and yes we had it exactly right.

The WRC is a no go, the McCann report was censored by powers that be, in fact this could turn out to be a national scandal where a government report was falsified for political ends

750 a day, more people were on board the train I took to the office this morning, 300,000 a year, or €33 per passenger per journey it requires €10 million subvention.

Cork Midleton will make a profit, Dublin suburban costs only €1 per passenger carried and is set to drop to 25¢ by 2015, thats value for money

[Mark Hennessy]

€33 per passenger per journey it requires €10 million subvention.

So Taxis would nearly be cheaper
This is going to run I think. And what of the people of Navan, well they need a study to get their line open.

[Thomas J Stamp]

Actually Mark he says this:

Asked by The Irish Times if these amendments were made at the behest of the Department of Transport, Mr McCann said: "That's not the case at all. The final version was done in conjunction with the working group itself, and the department had no hand in it."

So we cant say it was censored by the powers that be. Look, we've said this before and will say it again, and now we have been backed up by this article: Phases = method of shunting this thing off till after an election. Phases are easily sold, eventually "Dublin" and maybe even our goodselves will be mentioned when the thing is finally abandoned.

Should FF/PD's lose the next election and Labour get in do you think for one second they'll spend money on this? Not a hope in Hell. This is a non-issue.

[Mark Gleeson]

Well talk about a U turn, its clear now that the report is not a fair and independent assessment of the situation.

Thats all there is to say

[Mark]

Comparing the WRC with the DART is not quite comparing like with like Mark.

Comparing the WRC with Cork or Galway commuter or maybe the Sligo line might be better. Congrats to Frank once again on the initiative to FOI that infomation about the draft reports. He has a good nose for smelling a rat.

I still think phases 1 and 2 will get the go ahead. Later than usual but it'll happen and hopefully in conjunction with provincial local authority cooperation and proper strategic planning.

[Mark Gleeson]

Cork Commuter will be profitable, Dublin Commuter won't be, thats interesting, its down to Cork County and City Councils getting the act together

€33 a head subvention is nuts plain and simple no taxpayer can be expected to shell out that level of cash

The facts are undeniable, and I'm sure there is a lot more to come out

[Thomas J Stamp]

The logic is revealed.....

290 level crossings = 290 gate keepers, with cottages and the like.

this means jobs for the west.

it means that the drivers, guards, ticker checkers who may fear displacement by the new intercity dmu's will have jobs.

[ccos]

Why is Cork commuter profitable and Dublin commuter costing a euro per passenger? especially when peak trains in Dublin are as full as ticks.

[Kevin K Kelehan]

BTW

There is a very serious point in the article and that is that Midleton is being held up as a great new paradigm in Irish LUTS planning.

Can anyone tell me that planners in Mayo know what the Expression LUTS means, let alone have the political backing to draft and implement one on the ground?

[philip]

Originally Posted by Kevin K Kelehan

BTW

There is a very serious point in the article and that is that Midleton is being held up as a great new paradigm in Irish LUTS planning.

Can anyone tell me that planners in Mayo know what the Expression LUTS means, let alone have the political backing to draft and implement one on the ground?

The planners probably do know what it means but the councillors can't reconcil LUTS with votes so it never happens. Parochial narrow minded nonsense at its very worst.

[Mark]

WRC campaigners take note, this is why Cork will get a profitable rail reopening - LUTS planning:







Source: Cork Area Strategic Plan

[Mark]

Tuam is viewed as a possible version of Midleton in Galway but because the rail line takes a roundabout route via Athenry I cant see it taking off in the same way. Would the road (bus) be faster?

[Kevin K Kelehan]

New N17 dual carriageway Tuam Galway Delivery c2010 direct route

Rail has a commuter role in Galway but to the East and South of the County more than the north

[Kevin K Kelehan]

http://www.nra.ie/RoadSchemeActivity...mesinPlanning/

[Navan Junction]

Madam, - May I comment on the article by Environment Correspondent Frank McDonald on the report of the expert working group chaired by Mr Pat McCann and the Government's decision to include the Western Rail Corridor as part of Transport 21?

In our view the Government is to be commended for taking a national view of the development of infrastructure and looking to the future in terms of planning for the whole country.

It is generally accepted that the western region has lagged behind in terms of infrastructural investment. For years now, the IDA, Ireland West Tourism and many others have been pointing out that a lack of basic infrastructure is severely hampering the region's development.

Reopening the Western Rail Corridor will help greatly to redress this imbalance, but it can achieve its full potential only when the entire route is reopened. The strength of this railway is that it is the sum of all its parts.

That is why linking Sligo and Galway by rail to Limerick and Cork makes perfect sense, especially since the basic infrastructure is already in place and the property already in State ownership. In the light of rising oil prices and motoring costs, it also seems extraordinary that anyone could doubt that the linking of Galway and Limerick, the third and fourth largest cities of the state by rail would not deliver value for money. This is, after all, the busiest bus route in the state.

Talk of "low critical mass" and "low population densities" will bring wry smiles to the faces of those making the 30,000 car journeys a day on the N17 between Tuam and Galway (NRA statistics). Just how much critical mass do the cities and towns of the west require before they can be deemed worthy of the level of infrastructure made available to them in the 19th century by a foreign government?

The figures showing "very modest demand", quoted by Mr McDonald, were roundly rejected by practically every member of the working group, and the report in question was not made available to the group's members for analysis. West on Track subsequently had the figures evaluated privately by another firm of transport consultants and was told that they seriously understated the potential passenger traffic on the WRC.

A more instructive example for potential passenger use might be the reopened Ennis-Limerick section which is actually part of the WRC, and which has carried huge numbers of passengers since 2003. In its first year of operation it carried more than 140,000. Crucially, there are seven trains each day and modern rolling stock, an essential element of any successful service.

While Mr McCann felt the demand was weaker on the section north of Claremorris, he explicitly stated in his report that this section could be reopened on the grounds of balanced regional development.

As far as subsidies are concerned, no one would sensibly suggest that the Dart, though heavily subsidised, is a waste of money. Rather it is an essential piece of national infrastructure. It is a fact that all modes of transport require subsidy. What parameters are used to measure the value for money delivered by roads? It should be remembered that building one mile of railway is significantly cheaper than one mile of road.

In Transport 21 the Government has chosen to develop rail transport in a way not seen since before the foundation of the State. The entire Western Rail Corridor project comprises a tiny fraction of that whole plan.

Balanced regional development and the implementation of the National Spatial Strategy are the cornerstones of Government policy and the logical basis for the reopening of the Western Rail Corridor.

I respectfully suggest that it was in that context that Mr McCann recommended the phased reopening of the WRC. - Yours, etc,

COLMÁN Ó RAGHALLAIGH, West on Track, Claremorris, Co Mayo.

[Derek Wheeler]

As predicted, it didn't take long and how guilty the Times must feel, to allow such a lengthy response on the letters page.

I could dissect it all night long, but I won't because it contains nothing new. How unfortunate that Mr. O'Raghallaigh has made no attempt to shed new light on the worthiness of this project.

References to British rule in Ireland, only further my belief that some in the west of Ireland still believe that they are holding out and Michael Collins is on the way to rescue them. This kind of commentary is a perfect example of why people view those in the west as Gombeens. Mr. O' Raghallaigh's, "propaganda", (and thats what it is) about the DART subsidy and roads is so wide of the mark, its laughable. His secrecy about who actaully carried out the "favourable" evaluation for West on Track should be questioned. The WRC has been evaluated by two different, independent and professional companies (Booze,Allen,Hamilton and Fauber Maunsell) Both found it to be an unfavourable prospect. The latter may not have been made available to the working group and Mr. O'Raghallaigh's admission that it wasn't precludes him from making some of the wild claims made in his letter. This is probably why he cannot question the estimates of 750 passegers a day and by the end of his letter, falls back on the tired and worn out reasons of "balanced Regional Development" and "the National Spatial Strategy" for reopening the WRC.

The McCann report was doctored by someone. Thats a fact. But by who? I have in my possession two different versions that I received in Castlebar last May.

[Gobdaw]

Second editorial in today's IT makes interesting reading

[Mark Gleeson]

The average subsidy per rail passenger journey is €4.63, the Dublin suburban division moves roughly 26 million per year and receives a subsidy of €26 million or €1 per passenger journey, the per passenger figure is falling as numbers continue to increase.

There are three reports, Booze Allen Hamilton, Fauber Maunsell and some internal report from the RPA, three independent reports 2 of which are from very well respected transport consultants, the RPA one appears to be a quick evaluation but its independent which is key

The put context on all this

Cork, they are looking at 8.2 million journeys per year by 2020 thats a 10 fold increase through nothing more than good planning and modest development. And by chance it will run at a modest operating profit.

Navan Pace Clonsilla Dublin by 2016 could be carrying inexcess of 10,000 a day not accounting for the Clonsilla Dublin section, ballpark 3.5 million a year.

If Galway and Limerick followed Cork's lead they could achieve similar if only on a slightly smaller scale. I've spent a lot of time hamming out a solution for both Limerick and Galway but it all depends on the planning context

The fundamental problem in the West is a total lack of any planning strategy, its once off bungalow central, thats not sustainable development