Western line right on track

THE West on Track campaign has warmly welcomed Iarnród Éireann’s new range of developments on the Galway-Limerick section of the Western Rail Corridor. The group has also expressed satisfaction at the healthy passenger levels for its first year of operation,
Over 250,000 journeys have been made across the Limerick-Galway route, including the Limerick-Ennis and Athenry-Galway commuter services, since it opened on March 30, 2010 and Iarnród Éireann has expressed confidence that service changes now in place will continue to attract more customers to the route.
Following a successful trial period, the current online promotional fares of €10 each way on selected services between Limerick and Galway are to be extended until further notice.
Iarnród Éireann has also said that new services introduced last month will give a boost to customers in the Galway area and along the Western Rail Corridor line from Galway to Limerick. New and changed services include a new Galway-Ennis evening commuter service departing Galway for Ennis at 6.30pm and departing Ennis for Galway at 8.15pm (the latter providing a new evening link from Limerick to Galway).
There are additional Athenry/Galway services from Galway to Athenry at 8.40am and 4.30pm and from Athenry to Galway at 9am and 5pm.
There are also three services in each direction daily connecting directly from the Western Corridor to Galway/Dublin services. These include a connection to 7.35am Galway – Heuston service at Athenry departing Gort at 7.14am, Ardrahan at 7.24am and Craughwell at 7.33am.
Iarnród Éireann has also applied for planning permission for a new station in Crusheen and permission has been received for Oranmore Station. The rail company plans to have both stations open during the first half of 2012.
A spokesman for West on Track said the announcements by Iarnród Éireann are very welcome and that the success of the railway over its first year is a tribute to the hard work of many people in the company who had achieved excellent results despite having to operate during the most serious economic downturn in Irish history.
“We particularly welcome the news that a quarter of a million passengers have travelled on services on the Galway-Limerick route in its first year, availing of commuter and inter-city services. We are confident that the additional new and improved services and connections together with two new stations will lead to continued strong growth across the route, leading to further expansion and development in the near future,” said the spokesman.