[Destructix]

By Peter Glesson
Doubts over the future of the Limerick-Ballybrophy rail line continue to persist despite an apparently strong political will in North Tipperary to ensure the service remains. A report published in a national newspaper earlier this week suggested that the line looks set for closure. However the Minister for Public Transport and Commuter Affairs Alan Kelly told The Guardian this week that the closure of the line was not something he was planning. He was responding to a report in last Monday’s edition of the Irish Examiner newspaper which said Iarnród Éireann is expected to seek permission to close all rail services between Limerick and Ballybrophy in the near future due to falling passenger numbers on the route. The report stated that the line, which includes a commuter Limerick-Nenagh service, is widely seen as the least-used in the rail network. The report stated that passenger numbers using rail services between Ballybrophy and Limerick are believed to have fallen further following the opening of the full stretch of the M7 motorway between Dublin and Limerick. Quoting from Iarnród Éireann figures, the report stated a total of 14,000 people travelled on the line between January 1st and September 11th last year--- a daily average of just 55 passengers. Under existing rules, Iarnród Éireann requires approval of the National Transport Authority (NTA) for the closure of any services. The report stated that the NTA has not received any proposal from Iarnród Éireann to close the Limerick-Ballybrophy route however, the newspaper said it understood that the rail company had, in the past year, notified Transport Minister Leo Varadkar, that it is considering the closure of some lightly used rail lines. The line runs through the constituency of the Labour Party Minister Alan Kelly who told The Guardian on Tuesday that he was hoping to sit down with the rail company to look at options of improving services on the line. He said the line needed substantial investment as well as better marketing of the service and higher train speeds. Nothing had been received by his department proposing closure. The minister said his own efforts to improve services on the line where signalled last year when he announced funding for improvements in four railway stations on the line in North Tipperary. The chairperson of the Nenagh Rail partnership Virginia O’Dowd said reports about the possible closure of the line were speculative but stressed that actions would have to be taken to ensure the future of the service. Ms O'Dowd was speaking on Tuesday, on the day she organised for a group of 100 people from North Tipperary to use the service to travel to an ice skating event in Limerick. “We are always trying to prevent this [closure] from happening by organising things like this today.” The Regional Manager of Iarnród Éireann Jim Gallivan said no proposals to close the line had been presented to him. “I heard nothing about it. It has not come up at our regional meetings.” However the doubts about the future of the line persist. Last year the director of New Works in Iarnród Éireann Don Cunningham was quoted as saying the line currently needed €25 million to increase speeds on a 31-mile section

They had 5 years to promote/market it Alan. More money is going to be wasted now with him trying to be a hero.