Ennis Limerick rail line

seekers

does anyone know what works are taking place at the lower Fergus railway bridge near clarecastle?

seekers

ennis line today

Deedsie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118064456#Comment_118064456

Great to see that there is a good bit of rail infrastructure being upgraded.

Dont know if you use twitter but @TipperaryRail will be putting up some photos and videos of the track upgrade being carried out near Cloughjordan station next month. Interesting to see how the process is done.

The success of the Limerick - Ennis line is a great motiviation for other "rural" railways to keep campaigning for improvements.

nigra

I commute from Limerick to Galway daily, mostly by train. The works in Ennis have made a long journey even longer, for what is not a huge distance (110km). Since last weeks timetable changes, the evening direct train from galway to Limerick takes 2 hrs 25mins which makes an average speed of 45 km/hr!!!

And this is going to go on until next May. There is no way this level of service is going to attract anyone to rail transport, quite the opposite i'd say

does anyone know what the works in Ennis are, that are causing the delays?

Jamie2k9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118119080#Comment_118119080

I think its just platform re-construction to bring it up to modern standards. Guessing one platform will be closed at a time and they cannot cross and trains at the station for the duration of works.

It does appear slow unless they are complexly replacing platforms.

Board Walker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118119080#Comment_118119080

How long does it usually take?

nigra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118141302#Comment_118141302

The same Galway-Limerick evening service was 1hr 58minutes until a couple of weeks ago.

Board Walker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118143068#Comment_118143068

How come it takes so long???

Poxyshamrock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118145191#Comment_118145191

Speed restrictions on the line. Think its mainly due to amount of level crossings. The service should be no more than 1hr30, considering the car can do it on a good day in 1hr 15m.

seekers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118134157#Comment_118134157

I thought all this work was to have been done when they reopened the line to Galway a few years ago. I know Ennis didn't have much work done but I presume it would have if it was needed that badly?

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118119080#Comment_118119080

As posted above, the platforms at Ennis are being rebuilt, meaning that during the works two trains cannot pass one another in service there.

So the timetable had to be adjusted to allow the trains to pass at Gort.

Quite simply it's impossible to deliver a decent end-to-end timetable while this is ongoing, particularly in the evenings, due to the constraints of the single track between Galway and Athenry being full in the evenings, so retiming departures was not possible, and the desire to maintain the existing Limerick-Ennis timetable for local commuters.

seekers

I just visited Ennis Station this evening and the buffers are fitted on the loop and the ballast has been taken from under the track and the loop platform is gone.

seekers

Poxyshamrock

On the topic of passing loops, is there any further updates on the installation of a loop at Sixmilebridge? It would certainly allow for an increase in the number of services between Limerick and Ennis.

seekers

yes, the journey has gotten longer from Limerick to Galway. the afternoon train stops in Gort for about 20 minutes.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118180842#Comment_118180842

Not at the moment sadly.

thefallingman

If the person beside me coughs one more time with no mask or even into their elbow I might actually murder them !

seekers

Has anyone got any info on the engineering works on the Limerick to Gort line this weekend?

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118932594#Comment_118932594

Presumably it is the ongoing works at Ennis station and the engineers need a full possession.

seekers

I checked and the turnout at the north side of the station are being worked on

TranslatorPS

due to the constraints of the single track between Galway and Athenry being full in the evenings

It doesn't help that the shortest Galway-Athenry running time is, I believe, 18 minutes (and that's without stopping in Oranmore), meaning that the most frequent service possible on that section - if we assume an alternating down and up train - is every ~38-40 minutes each way at best...

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118957377#Comment_118957377

There is a split signal in each direction near Oranmore station (i.e. a signal that splits the single track section between Galway loop and Athenry in two), which does allow two trains to follow one another, plus Galway loop at the far side of Lough Atalia, so it’s not quite that long.

A Limerick train leaving Galway is typically allowed 19 minutes to get to Athenry.

The split of that is 2 mins to Galway loop, 8.5 mins to the split signal (including a 30 second stop at Oranmore), and a further 8.5 minutes to Athenry.

Tiernster7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118943305#Comment_118943305

What is the impact of this turnout being worked on ?

Larger turnout = larger train? This turnout always existed right ?

Losty Dublin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118959949#Comment_118959949

It's a full replacement of same.

seekers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118960410#Comment_118960410

I think they used the same turnout but just put in new base stones

TranslatorPS

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118957428#Comment_118957428

Which is good, but that's if you have two trains following each other. Galway Loop is really just used to clear the platform for an incoming train (no matter how you play around it, while it may look like Galway overall has capacity for three trains on mainline movements, it can ever make use of two max). Even with there being realistically three signal blocks between Galway and Athenry it doesn't change the fact that the lowest one-way frequency possible is about 10-11 minutes, and the lowest alternating frequency is, as I'd mentioned earlier, in the ballpark of 40 minutes. It'd be a completely different story if there was a passing loop in Oranmore, but considering IE's attitude towards tracks (i.e. reducing their numbers), I can't see that happening any time soon.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118962291#Comment_118962291

The passing loop at Oranmore is definitely happening. Funding has been committed towards it.

TranslatorPS

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118962415#Comment_118962415

Colour me positively surprised.

Poxyshamrock

i have noticed the platform currently under construction now has a step/ramp down from the door to the platform whereas before it was step/ramp free. Does this mean the new platform is much lower than the previous version?

Photo: @FearghaloM on twitter

nigra

Today's Galway Advertiser reports that work is to start on the Oranmore loop in the autumn. There is to be one kilometre of double tracking and the addition of a second platform with lift etc

Building works are due to take 18 months with an early 2024 completion date.

Among other things it should knock some time off the galway-limerick train, thank God!

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119084924#Comment_119084924

I’m afraid that the passing loop won’t really have any impact on journey times, but it will make it easier to schedule more trains between Galway and Athenry by allowing them to pass at Oranmore.

nigra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119085589#Comment_119085589

Hmmm... Yes and no.

Obviously it won't greatly affect the majority of direct train times ,but the evening train I take home to Limerick from galway leaves the station at 17.50 and goes 200 metres down the track where it waits at least 10 minutes for an incoming train from Athenry to pass (thanks to the single track from Athenry to Galway) before going on its merry way.

Hopefully this particular painful delay will end when the Oranmore loop arrives.

Is there any funding for double tracking of this stretch? I have heard at various times that it's planned, but I never heard anything concrete

LXFlyer

Galway loop will still need to be used - it’s a function of the lack of more than two platforms at Ceannt Station.

Until the station is refurbished and the number of platforms expanded, some trains will need to use that loop especially if frequency increases. Irish Rail have applied for changes to that refurbishment plan and news of when it may start is awaited! https://www.galwaydaily.com/news/transport/irish-rail-submits-further-plans-for-opening-up-ceannt-station/

FYI the 17:50 train is scheduled to wait six minutes at the loop from 17:52 till 17:58, but if it were passing another train at Oranmore, one of the trains will still have to have a wait like that built into the schedule to allow for the potential impact from delays. That's how single track railway lines need to be scheduled.

The Oranmore loop is the only investment planned and approved right now. Doubling tracks along the entire section would be something that may follow on from it but not in the immediate future.

Pete_Cavan

Is just 1km of double track right? 18 months for 1km of track and a new platform doesn't sound right, even allowing for restrictions due to working beside a live rail line.

If correct, would almost all be to one side of the station or 500m either side? Presumably the double tracking will run through either the LC to the east or across the narrow looking bridge to the west, or both.

TranslatorPS

"leaves the station at 17.50 and goes 200 metres down the track where it waits at least 10 minutes for an incoming train from Athenry to pass (thanks to the single track from Athenry to Galway) before going on its merry way."

I had to dig out the thick WTT book, and then I ended up cursing IE for not having normal graphical diagrams instead of a book that probably easily weights a kilogram. Anyway. A489 leaves Galway at 17:50, is in the loop from 17:52.5 to 17:56.5, then Oranmore 18:02-18:03 and arrives in Athenry 18:13.5. The train it crosses in Galway Loop is the A708, the 15.35 Heuston/Galway, which is in Athenry from 17:36.5 to 17:40.5, passes Oranmore at 17:49.5, the Galway Loop at 17:54.5 and arrives in Galway at 17:58.

The only way for A489 to not sit in the loop would be to have it leave Galway at 17:40 and cross with A708 in Oranmore around 17:50. That's keeping in mind that A709 crosses A717, the 17.20 Galway/Heuston, in Athenry.

Very crudely done in Excel, it amounts to something like this.

The current timing of A489 out of Athenry also makes A788 wait for it in Ennis, a 26-minute wait from 18:43 to 19:09 (A489 is a stop-and-go 19:07-19:08). Sure, moving A489 ten minutes earlier could make it be able to leave Athenry sometime closer to 18.04, cutting about 12-13 minutes out of A788's wait in Ennis... if not for the fact that A788 then waits in Gort (19:30.5-19:35.5) for A491 (19:32.5-19:33.5), the 18.40 Galway/Ennis - so realistically all we're doing is splitting the wait further along, unless we move A491, etc. etc. etc. etc.

Disclaimer: these are all I believe 2016 timings, but I think the basic structure of crossings has remained stable since even with minor adjustments here and there.

Jamie2k9

The 13.25 (3/4) splits on arrival, one half does the 17.20 (4) to Heuston, second 18.40 to Ennis. The 15.35 usually arrives on the bay platfrom and forms the 18.10 to Athlone.

In theory the 15.35 (4) could arrive into the main platfrom and the 17.50 departs the bay at 18.00. I'm sure it could find 3-4 minutes enroute to stop it interfearing with the timetable enroute down.

Is this just IE taking the safe option to scheduling? I guess the direction of the 13.25 might be pre planned to have 3 leading out of Heuston or preahps this might be one reason for the current schedule.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119103779#Comment_119103779

The 15:35 has to pass two other services en route at Tullamore and Athenry with very little recovery time, as well as the Galway-Limerick service at Galway loop.

Combining that with comparing the overall running time with other services would suggest little or no scope for accelerating it, so I can't really see your idea working.

Jamie2k9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119103961#Comment_119103961

I was refering to the 17.50 to find a few minutes enroute if needed to compensate for an 18.00 departure but that could proablly be made up at Gort without any material impact on the ex Limerick it crosses

Equally I can see some rational in having the current timetable and there is potential to improve the current Galway and all timetables within the severe limitations on the network.

TranslatorPS

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119104654#Comment_119104654

Thanks for highlighting that - it turns out that the entire paragraph under the graph in my previous post can now be thrown into the bin, as I was calculating under outdated timings and crossings. It would appear that the 18.05 Limerick/Galway crosses with two southbound trains in Gort - ridiculous imho...

Geuze

Jesus Wept, just double the track from Galway to Athenry, if we are really serious about modal shift and reducing emissions.

We have 400bn GDP, nearly 100bn tax revenue, I'm sure we can somehow afford to expand the passing loop from 1km to the full stretch from Galway to Athenry.

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105135#Comment_119105135

There is currently a temporary timetable in place between Limerick and Galway due to Ennis station being rebuilt. During this period only one platform is in actively in use and two trains cannot pass there, which results in the situation you mention above, as they try to keep the Limerick/Ennis and Galway/Athenry sections as close to normal as they can.

Tiernster7

How long till Ennis station is complete? I thought I read May previously

TranslatorPS

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105384#Comment_119105384

Damn, I keep on forgetting about all the tidbits that lead to this. Again I have to bite my own words back, which then makes the paragraph under the graph valid again, should that timetable be reinstated. But yes, @Geuze has a point, just double-track as much of it as possible, this section of the network would well warrant from the double track (notwithstanding the few bridges here and there).

LXFlyer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119106909#Comment_119106909

Absolutely but that’s a political decision! When politics gets involved then things are never straightforward.

Poxyshamrock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105683#Comment_119105683

Apparently it should be ready for the June weekend, which ties in nicely with Munster Final Day. Guaranteed to be a busy day at the station.

TranslatorPS

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119099477#Comment_119099477

I only opened now the 19 May issue of Galway Advertiser, which includes a rather crude depiction of an area development plan. According to that, the platforms would form the eastern end of the loop (points as close to the Up end of the station as possible), and the loop would otherwise be entirely on the Galway end.

Both screenshots are taken from the online edition of the aforementioned Advertiser at >> https://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=a2fc81f2-0ccf-4dbf-aca1-00bedf4bde35

nigra

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119068451#Comment_119068451

Well the works have finally come to an end at Ennis Station . Yes, it is a little lower as you might be able to see from the picture. To give you an idea as to how far they lowered the platform, there is now an extra step on the end of the footbridge which can be clearly seen below.

The place is looking quite well really, which makes a change. I took these shots this morning from the 5.55 service from Limerick to Galway. On return this evening the Gort stopover is finally gone so its back to a 2 hr trip each way. With diesel at the price it is , the €14.98 return is substantially cheaper than driving and the fact that i am writing and uploading this post on the 17.50 evening return train is a testament to the good wifi on board!

dowlingm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119105218#Comment_119105218

There are a couple of tricky level crossings west of Oranmore which might be easier to deal with by putting a new road in between them. In any case, as someone else noted, without more capacity at Galway station platforms, probably better off with a loop there and fixing other bottlenecks east and south of Athenry

p_haugh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119170803#Comment_119170803

My mate was on the Shades of Grey tour and had a look when passing through, and he noticed they didn't replace the platform displays with the new spec - are they rolling them out in the Dublin region first before going further afield?

cgcsb

At this stage Ennis to Limerick and Athenry to Galway should be fully double tracked, as should Portarlington to Athlone, Maynooth to Mullingar and Bray to Gorey. Absolutely chronic delays on all these services, a bit of investment and we'd have a great rail service. Spend a few euros closing level crossings also.

end of the road

agree but that would require us growing up as a country so won't happen.