Track upgrade on course

Iarnród Éireann confirms plans for double track to Limerick and reopening to Foynes.

IARNRÓD Éireann (IE) chief executive Jim Meade confirmed to the Irish Parliament’s Joint Oireachtas Transport and Communications Committee on February 19, that plans to redouble the 17¼ mile single track from Killonan to Limerick Junction, singled in 1929, was advancing.

Mr Meade told the committee: “We currently have some funding from the National Transport Authority to get all designs and studies done and to get planning permissions, although we believe we will need very few because the work is on our own footprint.”

He confirmed that when delivered it would allow journey times to be cut and line speeds to be increased from 80 to 90mph with the aim of reducing the direct Limerick to Dublin Journey times from 2hrs 16 mins to 1hr 40/45mins. Mr Meade expected the work to start within two years and be delivered within five years.

The committee was told that plans to reopen the mothballed Foynes Line was on track and passenger services would be reintroduced as far as Adare in time for the 2027 Ryder Cup.

Peter Muldon, IÉ director of capital investment said: “We are proposing to start off on the freight line and get it up to freight line standard.

“We are hopeful we do not have to go through a railway order process but that will be determined. While we are doing that, we will go through the railway order process necessary for it to open for passenger lines. All going well, we believe we can do that in time for 2027.”

Mr Meade told the committee that reopening the line for freight was part of the overall IÉ plan to expand rail freight by 2040. He said: “We believe there is a great opportunity for freight and added: “In some ways it is a no-brainer. We are looking to reconnect to the ports, which is part of our overall plan.

“It dovetails with the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy for the Shannon Foynes Port Company. That is a port that has a lot of capacity and it will have further capacity in the future once we reconnect.”