View Single Post
Unread 07-08-2012, 21:29   #62
Inniskeen
Really Regular Poster
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 951
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp View Post
never said you were.

and you are right in that the current, low, patronage is heading towards dublin, but thats because the chance of the branch actually getting the most out of itself has been lost with the M7 opening all the way to Limerick. I have long said that what needs to be done in the morning is to have a train from Ballybrophy to Limerick which will arrive there at around 8.30. The only reason this was not done was down to staffing organisation. With portlaoise depot this is gone. It doesnt mean that the potential is in the dublin direction. It plainly isnt, there is a train getting into dublin for 8.30-ish (in fact it has been in that early and held up for being so) and the numbers using it are in the region of, lets be charitable, 6.
The 0505 from Limerick service, like all the other 05xx services from various locations do little or no business until they get close to Dublin. While an 0830 arrival might be attractive, a departure in the early hours of the morning is not. For this service to be in any way attractive it needs to have a later departure and a significantly shorter journey time. It should run as an express from Ballybrophy serving at most Portlaoise and Portarlington.

The only long term future for the Nenagh line requires at least the restoration of the previous 70 mph speed restriction, a direct curve at Ballybrophy and a decent frequency. The bulk of the line's potential is undoubtedly to Dublin - why would this route be different to almost any other in the country ? Given a decent journey time and a useful timetable, I am sure there is also some potential for local traffic into Limerick, but this would almost certainly be secondary in volume and importance to traffic to Dublin.

For the immediate future the best that can be hoped for is that the line can be sustained until the economic tide turns and there is again an appetite for investment in rail transport infrastructure.

The next few years will be extremely challenging for the railway generally and it is more than possible that there will be little or no investment in the system, let alone game changing investment in the Nenagh line.
Inniskeen is offline   Reply With Quote