Back on track

EDITORIAL

A MAJOR advancement in the transport infrastructure of the West of Ireland was delivered this week with the relaunch, after 34 years, of a direct passenger train service between Limerick and Galway.
The first phase of the Western Rail Corridor was launched on Monday by the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey following a €106.5 million investment by Iarnród Éireann in rebuilding the Ennis to Athenry line.
The Limerick to Galway service, which will operate five times daily (return), Monday to Saturday, will include stops at newly constructed stations in Gort, Ardrahan, Craughwell, as well as Sixmilebridge. This is an important step in restoring connectivity between smaller communities and larger urban centres where they must travel to shop or conduct personal business.
There was further good news on launch day for Crusheen rail station campaigners when it was announced that a platform is to be built at the North Clare village within the next two years. Further along the line, Oranmore is also to be served by a new station next year.
The reopening of the Western Rail Corridor (WRC) from Ennis to Claremorris was included as a priority project under Transport 21. The next step will be for Iarnród Éireann to undertake a detailed evaluation of phases 2, Athenry to Tuam, and phase 3, Tuam to Claremorris, with a view to calculating costings.
Hopes are high that the Limerick/Galway service will prove every bit as successful as the commuter rail link that was restored between Ennis and Limerick a few years ago. The only downside to this has been the problems caused by long-term flooding at Ballycar, Newmarket-on-Fergus, which meant that commuters had to travel by bus instead.
It is expected, however, that improvements to the track will eliminate this difficulty.
In the Mid West, there has been almost universal approval for the new Limerick/Ennis/Galway line – especially with all the stops in between – although there has been some criticism that the schedule is very restrictive for those who would consider using the train as a means of transport to work in Galway.
However, Iarnród Éireann has indicated that the schedule will be customer-driven, so it is important for the travelling public to embrace the service.
Minister Dempsey also highlighted the importance of supporting the new service. “I cannot overstate the critical importance of local support for phase 1 of the Western Rail Corridor in promoting the development of further phases of the corridor,” he said.
The new line also presents opportunities for tourism promoters to come up with ideas that might encourage passengers to disembark at stations between Limerick and Galway. Guided tours of villages or places of interest nearby, for example, would be one way to get passengers visit.
In addition to offering an alternative to bus travel for non-car owners, motorists could well be tempted to take the train and leave the stress of driving behind.
With huge emphasis on the need for us as a nation to reduce carbon emissions, availing of the new public transport service would also help in this regard.

Bail out figures shock
IT’S mind boggling for the ordinary person on the street to try to come to terms with the magnitude of the cost of rescuing the Irish banking sector as part of the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) process.
In what’s already been dubbed “Bail-out Tuesday” by the Opposition, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan confirmed in the Dáil that it could cost the taxpayers in the region of €75 billion before everything is fully sorted out.
This is a slap in the face for the general public, who are watching the worst excesses of the Irish financial system’s old boys’ network unfold while unemployment rises, wages are cut and other recession-induced problems undermines our social fabric.
It’s quite obscene to think that Anglo Irish Bank alone could leave the hard-pressed citizens of this country with a tab of over €40bn from the €75bn total.
Mr Lenihan’s ears must have been burning with the level of frustration being vented by ordinary people as they learned how the Government plans to recapitalise each of the banks. He did take a swipe at the bankers and previous regulators for allowing the situation develop.
The Government had already pumped €11bn of capital into Anglo, Bank of Ireland and AIB Bank. Now winging its way to EBS is €100 million, effectively nationalising the institution; €8.3bn to Anglo and €2.6bn to Irish Nationwide, with the State taking ownership. Anglo may yet need a further €10bn to offset future losses and NAMA could pay up to €18bn to acquire loans from the bank.
AIB Bank needs to raise €7.4bn by the end of the year but if the bank fails to deliver, the Government will move.
In the case of the Bank of Ireland, it is confident that it will raise the €2.7bn needed to avert problems there.
The Government believes NAMA will eventually achieve a profit on the loans it is taking over, while the shareholdings in the banks will also yield money to the State. The Opposition, however, has pointed the finger of blame at the Government’s economic policies for fuelling the property boom that led to the bank crisis. There are well-founded fears that the burden of debt to the taxpayers will be inherited by the next generation.
No matter how things pan out in the long term, the immediate impact of the banks’ bail-out details is one of utter shock and disgust on the part of the majority of people. It’s seen in terms of more for the big guy and nothing for the little guy.