The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
THE country’s newest train station at Oranmore opened on Sunday. Oranmore, the 144th station on the Iarnród Éireann network, will be served by 23 trains on weekdays and 15 trains on Sundays.
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar officially opened the station, which sets in place another important piece of the framework for a strong rail network in the West of Ireland. Together with the car park facilities, the project spend is in the order of €4.8m.
Mr Jim Meade, director, Rail Undertaking and Mayor of County Galway Liam Carroll along with a number of other public figures were in attendance for the historic occasion.
The station opened in time for the Galway Races and will be served by a mixture of Galway/Dublin and Galway/Athenry/Limerick services. The journey time from Oranmore to Galway is just seven minutes, and customers can travel to Limerick, Dublin and a range of intermediate stations also.
Some time changes to the Galway/Dublin and Galway/Limerick timetables have been introduced to accommodate the new station and to improve punctuality further on the route. Customers are advised to check all departure times before travel.
The station will feature a platform and ticket vending machine, with help points for those with mobility and sensory impairments Bicycle parking and car parking facilities will be provided, with a 140-space car park at the station owned and operated by Galway County Council.
“We warmly congratulate the Government and Iarnród Éireann on continuing the development of western rail infrastructure and we expect that the new station will add to passenger numbers on both the Galway-Dublin and Galway-Limerick routes as well as boosting commuter numbers into Galway city. We also look forward to the opening of Crusheen station in Clare for which planning permission has recently been granted to Iarnród Éireann,” a spokesperson for The West on Track Community Campaign said.
The original Oranmore station was opened in 1851 by the MGWR on its route from Dublin to Galway. The station was open until the rationalization of the railway network by Córas Iompair Éireann saw it closed in 1963, with the building sold as a private residence.
