MORE flooding at Ballycar means the Ennis-Limerick railway line has closed once again, potentially for the next couple of months. Local councillors this week slammed the long standing failure to tackle the flooding issue. “If it was outside Dublin, it’d be fixed,” said Councillor PJ Ryan (Ind) at Tuesday’s Shannon Municipal District meeting.
Councillor Pat McMahon (FF) said a government minister had visited the area nearly 40 years ago, and it was anticipated that something would be done at that time.
Several of the councillors said that they had received a huge amount of calls about the issue, with many people who rely on the service annoyed at the disruption.
In a statement on Monday, Iarnród Éireann said, “Flood waters have risen significantly at Ballycar on the Limerick to Ennis railway line in recent days. As a result, the line between Limerick and Ennis is now closed, and services are suspended, until further notice.”
It said that bus transport will replace the train service for the duration.
“Bus transfers are in operation between Limerick and Ennis in both directions for all services, meaning: Limerick to Ennis and Ennis to Limerick services are replaced by bus Limerick to Galway and Galway to Limerick involve a bus transfer between Limerick and Ennis, and train between Ennis and Galway,” said a spokesperson.
It acknowledged that the flooding issue is a long standing problem.
“While this is the first time in four years that the line has closed due to flooding, the railway track at Ballycar Lough has flooded on a number of occasions in recent years. The flooding occurs due to the cumulative effect of rainfall, and the slow drainage associated within Ballycar’s geological and hydrogeological environment,” said a spokesperson.
“As a result, the line is expected to be closed for many weeks. Iarnród Éireann will monitor flood levels which are continuing to rise, and advise customers on likely service restoration dates when flood levels begin to recede.”
It also gave a synopsis of why the area floods.
“Ballycar Lough and its environs lie within a geological and hydrogeological environment where the underlying limestone rock and thin covering of soil and bedrock exposure combine to produce a shallow network of springs, turloughs and disappearing streams,” they said.
“The causes of flooding at Ballycar Lough are mainly the prolonged sustained rainfall in Ballycar Lough catchment coupled with the natural constriction to the outflow stream of Ballycar Lough located between the swallow hole and the spring.
“Flood waters rose to a maximum height of 1.60m above the railway track during some flood events, despite works which saw Iarnród Éireann has previously raised the track level by 60 centimetres at Ballycar in 2003 to mitigate against the effects of flooding.”
It also said a solution has been identified, but fixing it won’t be cheap and it isn’t clear what organisation should carry out the work.
“A report on flood relief options at Ballycar was undertaken by Consultant Engineers RPS for Iarnród Éireann and stakeholder representatives from Clare County Council, the Office of Public Works, the Geological Survey Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Services,” said the spokesperson.
“This study recommends a new preferred option of a technically viable drainage scheme that would prevent flooding of the railway occurring whilst also, including any flood mitigation measures downstream that would be necessary either directly or indirectly with this option.
“Iarnród Éireann believes the report meets the desired objective to identify the most appropriate technically feasible drainage solution to address the flooding at Ballycar.
“The indicative costs for the proposed solution is €16.7M including VAT, and for this project to proceed a funding source will need to be identified by the Exchequer, and – given the works are away from railway property – a responsible agency nominated. The report has been issued to the relevant State department and agencies for their consideration.
“When a funding source is identified this will permit the project to progress with the steps involved including the appointment of a consultant and the progression of the project through preliminary and detailed design.”
Speaking to The Clare Champion, Councillor Alan O’Callaghan (FF)called on Transport Minister Eamon Ryan (GP), a firm advocate for public transport, to do what is required.
“The Minister needs to step up here and write a cheque for it, and get the works done ASAP,” he said.
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.