Free parking deemed an a-track-tive addition

The lobby group, West on Track has welcomed a series of new developments on Western Rail Corridor including the announcement of free car parking at Gort, Ardrahan and Craughwell stations.

Iarnród Éireann last week announced that car parking at these stations will be free from Monday next until the end of the year as part of a promotion for Western Rail Corridor customers.

The company has said the traditional seasonal boost to passenger numbers on the line from the summer tourist months has once again been demonstrated, with numbers up by 50% during the summer months over the rest of the year.

Iarnród Éireann also announced that students can avail of monthly commuter tickets along the line allowing them to travel daily to the major third-level institutions in Galway and Limerick, saving the cost of renting.

Unlimited travel for a month between Ennis and Galway is now just under €200, according to the company, the equivalent to a per journey cost of a little over €4.50 for a student commuting daily Monday to Friday. Adult commuter tickets are also available, through the Taxsaver scheme.

Key services on the route – the 06.20 Galway-Limerick, 18.05 Limerick-Galway, 18.30 Galway-Ennis and 20.15 Ennis-Galway – are now equipped with free wi-fi, enabling customers to use laptops or mobile devices for work or entertainment while travelling.  The regional fleet operating the remainder of Western Rail Corridor services will also be equipped with free wi-fi during September, meaning all WRC services will have wi-fi.

A spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said “we are working continuously to improve the quality and value of travelling by rail and this range of improvements to Western Rail Corridor services is in response to customer feedback and demand. We hope to welcome new customers to the service and will be promoting these changes across the route.”

The West on Track community campaign has welcomed the announcements by Iarnród Éireann and what it called “the positive engagement by Iarnród Éireann with the community groups along the line”.

“Iarnród Éireann is now working closely with the community and further positive developments are in the pipeline. We are confident that the construction of an important new station at Oranmore as part of Phase 1 of the ongoing Western Rail Corridor project will lead to further strong growth across the route in the near future with increasing numbers of customers availing of both commuter and inter-city services,” said a West on Track spokesman.