Limerick-Galway Train has been found!

lasno

The 25 min delay in Ennis only applies to the 0600 ex Limerick.
Even without that delay the journey time is too long.

Raiser

That's going to be one very lonely Train Driver.

- Hope he brings a Cat or something, just for a bit of company.....

Raiser

Just saw this news story - Which ominously enough will almost certainly mean that the earnest plans for the whole of the Western Corridor are doomed to fail because this initial step has been so poorly and impractically implemented.

ALL aboard, or else. Commuters will have to make use of the new Limerick-to-Galway rail line if the plans to extend the Western Rail Corridor are to go ahead, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey warned yesterday.

The line re-opened yesterday for the first time in 34 years.

Despite promising his "absolute commitment" to the opening of the next phases of the Western Rail Corridor -- from Athenry to Tuam, Co Galway, and to Claremorris, Co Mayo -- Mr Dempsey said that commitment was dependent on getting the money at Cabinet.

And he said the best way supporters of the re-opening of the rail corridor could help was to use the new service between Limerick and Galway. The Tuam and Claremorris extensions are due to open in 2011 and 2014 respectively.

Mr Dempsey said: "I cannot overstate the critical importance of local support for phase one of the Western Rail Corridor in promoting the development of further phases."

goingpostal

Found out today that a 7 day return ticket from Sixmilebridge to Limerick is 33.50euro. Seems a bit steep to me, I can almost fill the car for that much. Only two trains before 9am is a bit weak too.

zuroph

only time this will be used is on a boozy trip to galway for the weekend. Can down the cans on the train, and use the jacks

goingpostal

Yep. I can only see myself using this on very rare occasions, like when my banger catches fire or something. It says a lot that it is still cheaper to use a car than take the train, even when petrol is at a record high. A missed opportunity, unfortunately.

Poxyshamrock

goingpostal wrote: »

Found out today that a 7 day return ticket from Sixmilebridge to Limerick is 33.50euro. Seems a bit steep to me, I can almost fill the car for that much. Only two trains before 9am is a bit weak too.

Use the train back and forth for 7 days and it works out less than 2.50.

How cheap do you want it to be?

concussion

zuroph wrote: »

only time this will be used is on a boozy trip to galway for the weekend. Can down the cans on the train, and use the jacks

Pfft, Jagie is the alcohol of choice for trains

goingpostal

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

Use the train back and forth for 7 days and it works out less than 2.50.

How cheap do you want it to be?

Well 30euros covers all my driving for the week, including my weekend driving, so Irish Rail will have to do a bit better than that. Incidently I was stopped at the level crossing in Cratloe just now, and a brand spanking new train went by, completely empty. A bit spooky, maybe it should be called the Ghost Train.

Raiser

Give the People what they want - they will show their approval.

- Give the People only what suits your own blinkered, stunted agenda - they will shun you and all of your endeavours.

Aidric

I had to laugh when I saw the schedules listed. Over two hours of a trip when you could drive it in half. The Bus is no doubt half the cost if not less also. So I'm left wondering where is the incentive?

rubensni

OAPs will use it: they're crazy about trains (mainly because the freeloaders don't check the prices, just hop on).

source

rubensni wrote: »

OAPs will use it: they're crazy about trains (mainly because the freeloaders don't check the prices, just hop on).

They have free travel passes once they get over a certain age, so they don't have to check the prices.

dr.fuzzenstein

timesnewroman wrote: »

A station in Moyross/Longpavement would have appeal/use on match days (or concerts) in Thomond Park I would have imagined. People could travel from all over the country to pretty close to the ground - busses could then be laid on to carry patrons directly to the gound.

A station there could also have a benefit to LIT. LIT has lots of students in Ennis and Sixmilebridge etc. As it stands, any potential students using the service have to go directly into town and then back out to Moylish.

But would you want to get out and walk into town through Moyross?

zuroph

surely the concert crowds could get the train to sixmilebridge and organise buses from there back IN to thomond park, thus avoiding the traffic. :pac:

timesnewroman

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

But would you want to get out and walk into town through Moyross?

Indeedin I wouldn't. Anyone wanting to go to town would get off in Colbert Station I would have thought. Anyway, what I was getting at was, that for events in Thomond Park, special trains could be laid on that terminate in (Moyross/Longpavement) - without perhaps stopping in town.

Whether it would be economically feasible or eventually profitable is a different question....but bearing in mind that Iarnrod Eireann reckon that the Limerick - Galway service won't make a profit for years maybe they wouldn’t be too put out by that:D. T'would be a fine and handy service all the same though!!

Aidric

There's an article in today's Times about the journey.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2010/0402/1224267546081.html

Raiser

Aidric wrote: »

There's an article in today's Times about the journey.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2010/0402/1224267546081.html

Go on Ben Hannon and Louise X - A love borne of Iarnrod Eireann!!!!

Aidric

I think the article had to reach for a romantic angle realising it could never sell the service on a practical level.

Raiser

Aidric wrote: »

I think the article had to reach for a romantic angle realising it could never sell the service on a practical level.

There's a number of mentions of the cold carriages too - That's a bit worrying?

- Are they transporting frozen foods also?

bush Baby

goingpostal wrote: »

I'm sure someone has already pointed it out, but it bears repeating. Irish Rails website is utter, utter RUBBISH. It looks like it was designed in 1996 and hasn't been changed since. It is impossible to find basic information like train times and ticket prices. Bus Eireann's website must have been designed by the same blind chimpanzee. I did managed to find the frankly breathtaking cost of travelling between Dublin and Cork and Dublin and Limerick, though.

I completely agree - bunch of knuckle dragging Neandarthals

goingpostal

Raiser wrote: »

Go on Ben Hannon and Louise X - A love borne of Iarnrod Eireann!!!!

I read that one. It is a very good article, Kathy Sheridan is a good writer. But it skims over the prohibitive cost of the journey and the time it takes. Still though, I will have to try it out once at least I suppose.

Icky Thump

ok firstly can anybody please confirm how much a ticket costs return limerick to galway???

RonMexico wrote: »

I cannot think of a single reason as to why I would get a train to Galway instead of a bus.

1) you can get up and walk around to stretch your legs.
2) toilets
3) shop
4) not cramped into a tight space in a random bus. yes sometimes(and i mean sometimes) you can get a top quality bus with the free wi-fi and air conditioning which i do actually enjoy but other times your stuck in an old half run down bus which is over heated, over crowded, no toilet, a bus driver who is up his own arse and will NEVER stop for a toilet and worst of all i usually get to sit down early only to have some over-weight unclean extremly smelly chatter box sitting beside me telling me the cost of a ticket back in the day.

so yea trains are alot better than buses

Kess73 wrote: »

I cannot think of a reason why I would not take my car instead of the train. I would probably be able to drive to and from, plus leave the car in a car park for the day for the cost of the rail ticket, plus would have the advantage of driving right back to my front door.


It is madness that it is so much dearer than the bus and slower.

yea your so right. who needs public transport:rolleyes:

why would they waste our tax money on such an abomination:P

freyners

Icky Thump wrote:

1) you can get up and walk around to stretch your legs.
2) toilets
3) shop
4) not cramped into a tight space in a random bus
. yes sometimes(and i mean sometimes) you can get a top quality bus with the free wi-fi and air conditioning which i do actually enjoy but other times your stuck in an old half run down bus which is over heated, over crowded, no toilet, a bus driver who is up his own arse and will NEVER stop for a toilet and worst of all i usually get to sit down early only to have some over-weight unclean extremly smelly chatter box sitting beside me telling me the cost of a ticket back in the day.

you can leave that behind, took the sunday train at 12 weekend before last. train was one of those railcars they use between limerick and limerick junction, same seating in most in that as in a bus, besides of course the complementary piece of plastic not wide enough to rest a pencil on between two seats in the middle of the carriage, thing was filthy too:mad: that was the first,last and only time im using it.
on the ticket prices its 14.40 for a student ticket to ballinasloe by bus eireann, 23.50 for same by train and thats not including my cheek to actually use a credit card to book it too. Only thing ill give them on it is that the discounts for a student is massive compared to bus eireanns 80c less than full price

Kess73

Icky Thump wrote: »

yea your so right. who needs public transport:rolleyes:

why would they waste our tax money on such an abomination:P

Where did I say that public transport was not needed? Where did I say it was a waste of tax money? Maybe read what a person says before braying like a jackass.

I said that it was expensive for the length of the trip compared to trhe cost of driving there or getting the bus.

Icky Thump

Kess73 wrote: »

Where did I say that public transport was not needed? Where did I say it was a waste of tax money? Maybe read what a person says before braying like a jackass.

I said that it was expensive for the length of the trip compared to trhe cost of driving there or getting the bus.

awh kess dont be like that:D

Raiser

After a 34 year hiatus the rail service between Limerick and Galway was returned to a suspicious and non-enthused Public in March 2010.

We had a look and most People rejected it outright on the grounds of its comparatively very expensive fares, impracticality, poor scheduling, discouragingly long travel time, convoluted needlessly long route including a likely 30 minute stopover in a Provincial Town.

Even though the route could meander as far off course as some obscure Town by the name of Athenry, they didn't have the foresight or competence to include a Station for a place called Shannon which just so happens to have an International Airport, a huge Industrial Estate and a sizeable commuting population.

Those that did travel did so in spite of a Website that only Uri Geller could interpret and found it to be as expensive as was threatened, cold, noisy, empty and dirty but most were happy that Jan O'Sullivan hysterical demands for it to lap Moyross were soothingly dismissed.

We were then told that the building of the rest of the "Western Corridor" depends on whether the public actually uses this first step - This is clearly a signal of their intention to not have to build any more of this project simply by making this "first step" so abysmally unpopular, thus allowing them to delay real, actual public transport improvements by another 34 years.....

Aidric

Raiser wrote: »

Even though the route could meander as far off course as some obscure Town by the name of Athenry, they didn't have the foresight or competence to include a Station for a place called Shannon which just so happens to have an International Airport, a huge Industrial Estate and a sizeable commuting population.

Such a numbskull move.

topper75

A Shannon spur would have been great. Chance missed.

I'm going to give it a try for novelty's sake on Sunday for the Connacht/Munster game, and go back to Limerick the following Friday as I work up in Galway.

Normally, IÉ website designers don't help by hiding info or presenting it in a convoluted form.

This page, in fairness, is clear though. Timetables and fares:

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=686