Setback for Irish Rail reopening plan

ACCOUNTANCY firm EY was commissioned by Irish Rail in 2019 to investigate the cost of reopening more sections of the Western Rail Corridor. The report has now been published and it states that reopening the Athenry to Claremorris section would represent poor value for money.

The cost of reinstating the 32.5mile (52km) single-track line is estimated to be €264 million. The report states that reopening the line for passenger and freight traffic would have little impact on reducing carbon emissions and easing road traffic congestion.

EY forecasts that, if the line was operational from 2026, passenger journeys would increase over the following four years to 575,000 per annum. But around 67% of those passengers would have transferred from bus services, while only 23% would be car users. Annual revenue was estimated to be €2.2 million, but operating and maintenance costs would be higher at around €3.6 million.

Spreading the investment over two phases was also investigated. Phase 1 would see the Athenry to Tuam section reopened specifically for commuter traffic; however, the report claims that rail could not compete with road services because of the longer distance from Tuam via Athenry to Galway.

Pro-rail lobby group ‘West on Track' has criticised the report. One of the many flaws the group has identified is the estimated cost of reopening the line, which it claims is excessive. The benefits that a reopened line would bring nationally as well as locally have also been discounted.

However, the report has been welcomed by the pro-cycling/walking lobby group ‘Western Rail Trail', which wants the line converted to a greenway.