May 02, 2005
Are you right there, Martin, are you right?
No way back for this line - Droichead Cluain Bheag (Cloonbeg bridge) on the old Galway to Clifden line
Will the pressure pay off? Last week, the long-awaited report on the Western Rail Corridor was liberally leaked to the press - it appeared to recommend the re-opening of the Ennis to Sligo line, in stages - first, Ennis to Claremorris and later, from Claremorris to Sligo.
The Corridor is a rail route, over two hundred kilometres long, that will ultimately link Sligo to Limerick (whether either destination will welcome the connection is another thing). The first stage is already open since last year, linking Limerick to Ennis. However, that route is, to a large extent, already served by motorway (one which will be completed next year) - the real benefit will occur when people can commute into Galway from it's ever increasing and sprawling hinterland.
The best thing about the corridor is that the most difficult and expensive part of the work is already done - i.e. building the rail line, which has been sitting idle (save the odd goods train) since the mid-Seventies. Returning the line to operation should therefore be achieved in a relatively short period of time - the stations need to be refurbished and the line wil have to be upgraded in places to ensure the trains can travel at a reasonable speed . That's good news for everyone - the long suffering commuters, particularly the tens of thousands living in and around Tuam that waste hours of their lives daily, inching their way through Claregalway daily, and also the government politicians, who should be cutting ribbons on clean, shiny stations and new rolling stock just in time for the next general election.
That this rail line exists at all is a bit of a miracle. Many of the rail lines that crossed the country disappeared over the years. And the reason ? For the most part, because of the actions of Iarnród Éireann (formerly CIE [Córas Iompar Éireann]), the state company in charge of the railways. When Ireland gained independence, it took possession of a substantial rail network, that connected most towns. (This wasn't as a result of any great philanthropy - rather, it was a badly misjudged investment by the rail companies. They spent a fortune building the network, but the level of heavy industry required to make them profitable never materialised.) When CIE was created after World War II, it had responsibility for all state transport infrastructure - buses, canals and trains - and began replacing steam trains with diesels. However, despite being set a goal of being profitable by the mid-Sixties, the rail network has never made money, even after it was hived off to form Iarnrod Eireann. Since It cost money to operate each line, CIE (and later IE) began closing lines to save money. Unfortunately, rather than just leave them sit there, they also pulled up the rails and sold off the ground, meaning that they could never be reinstated (even last year, there was a story that Iarnrod Eireann was going to pull up the rails along part of the Western Corridor). It's hard to imagine more shortsighted decisions.
The rail service in general has improved immensely - in fact, it is a tribute to the current workforce that so many trains do leave and arrive on time (ok, they haven't reached Scandinavian or German standards yet, but they are getting there). Punctuality is made more difficult to achieve because so many of the trains travel along single lines of track. This means that, for example, the train from Dublin, must wait in Athenry or Clara to let oncoming Galway trains pass by. If one train is late, they are all affected, since there are very few passing spots.(It wasn't always so - there used to be double lines, but they were yanked out to save money years ago. If you look at the rail bridges that cross the rivers Shannon or Suck, each more than 150 years ago, they have space for a second set of tracks).
Since the reports last week, there has been no further comment, either from Martin Cullen (Minister for Transport) or An Taoiseach. Given the flak that both of them are getting over the second terminal at Dublin airport, a bit of good news in the west might be a useful distraction. The estimated cost is over 300 million euro - the Ennis to Claremorris section should cost about half that. The overall cost is roughly the same as the amount estimated to 'buy back' the West Link toll bridge. Priorities, priorities…
Posted by Monasette at May 2, 2005 09:03 AM