Categories
Greenways

Once a greenway, never a railway

Advocates of greenways argue that an advantage of ripping up railway lines and converting them to greenways will allow for a railway to be put back at some future point as a greenway will allow preservation of the alignment for such a future use.

I would argue that once a greenway, a railway is not coming back as those that make use of the greenway, especially if they have developed a business around it, will absolutely oppose the closure of the greenway to allow rail based transport to resume.

This example from Edinburgh is a case in point. Proposals to extend the tram network in Edinburgh, which involve the restriction of use of a “travel corridor” by cyclists, are being opposed due to the aforementioned restriction.

Categories
IH News 2024

Automation of the Barrow Bridge

The Barrow Bridge on the mothballed Waterford to Rosslare Strand railway is an opening bridge, allowing for shipping access to/from New Ross.

The bridge is currently inoperable (academic due to the mothballing of the line) due to a maritime bridge strike. Irish Rail have stated that as part of the repair/re-opening of the bridge, they plan to automate the opening of the bridge, allowing for control to switch to the National Train Control Centre in Dublin.

One wonders why there are not similar plans for the canal lifting bridge at Newcomen Junction in Dublin.

Categories
History IH News 2024

Poulaphoca Tram Station

In 1888, a standard gauge tram line opened between Dublin (Terenure) and Blessington in Co. Wicklow. At the Dublin end of the line, this connected physically to the Dublin tram network.

Realising the tourist potential of Poulaphoca, the line was extended (by a separate legal entity) from Blessington to Poulaphoca in 1895, with a station building and depot at the Poulaphoca station (as this was north of the River Liffey, it is in Co. Kildare). The extension closed in 1927 and the full line in 1932, having been excluded from the GSR merger in 1924/5.

The station building at Poulaphoca is currently for sale – however, as it has been on the market for some time, I would suggest that the asking price is too high.

Categories
IH News 2024

Up North, they do things differently

The BBC has reported on the successful prosecution of a landowner in Northern Ireland, for the demolition of a protected historic monument – 19th Century limekilns at Moneybroom. The verdict came with a £50,000 fine.

Republic of Ireland, take note.

Categories
Western Suburban

DART style service for Cork

Breakingnews.ie reports on the Taoiseach promising a “DART style” service for Cork within a decade.

Leaving aside the semantics of the statement (I suspect that this is akin to Irish Rail’s attempt many decades ago to brand the entire Dublin Area commuter service as DART, notwithstanding that most of it was/is unelectrified), I wonder will the DART be extended to Kilcock in a similar timeframe.

A 3km extension of OHLE from the proposed depot at One Mile Short to a new station adjacent to the Musgrave depot west of Kilcock would fulfil multiple environmental objectives.

Categories
Site Updates Western Suburban

Western Suburban railway services

Irish Rail are currently seeking approval for a Railway Order to extend the DART to Maynooth or, more correctly, to 1 mile short of Kilcock.

For the uninitiated, the depot location included in this proposal is, for all intents and purposes, in Kilcock, being 1 mile short of the present Kilcock station. In fact, part of the plans for the depot include an emergency access onto Connaught Street in Kilcock, yet Irish Rail have been referring to this depot as the “Maynooth Depot” (having said that, in the actual Railway Order material online, the term “Depot” is used and not “Maynooth Depot”).

I have created this category, both to allow for posts about the progress of this project, construction updates (if authorised) and to advocate for service improvements to Kilcock and Enfield.

Categories
History

The Grand Canal in Co. Offaly

The Offaly History Blog has announced that they will be publishing a series of 50 articles in 2024 about the Grand Canal in Co. Offaly.

Categories
General

RAIU Report – Self-detrainment of passengers between Shankill & Bray, 24th July 2022

Readers of the site may be aware of an incident that took place last year where a number of DARTs were delayed in the vicinity of Bray, Co. Wicklow, leading to passengers taking the initiative to exit the train.

Due to the safety aspects of this, the Railway Accident Investigation Unit (RAIU) of the Department of Transport conducted an investigation into same and its report was published today.

Normally, I wouldn’t comment on these – the investigations are fact gathering in nature (not being a trial) and as a result, tend to be very anodyne affairs. However, one line in the report, under “Systematic Factors” (on Page 5) caught my eye:

IÉ standards and training refer to “customer-friendly” communications; however, this “customer-friendly” approach to dealing with passengers, in particular, passengers in distress (where it is of utmost importance) was not evident on the day.

RAIU Report – Self-detrainment of passengers between Shankill & Bray, 24th July 2022

As comments in an RAIU report go, this is a slap for Irish Rail.

Categories
IH News 2023

Clones “marina” – invitation to waste money

Northern Sound have reported on a call by Waterways Ireland, Monaghan County Council and Failte Ireland, who are collectively seeking “to engage with those who might be interested in delivering a high-quality visitor experience with a focus on both on-water and land-based activities, from a new facility being developed in Clones.” (read: to encourage businesses to destroy their capital ).

It is time for a reality check here. What is being developed in Clones is a half mile long open air swimming pool with the potential to become a floating halting site. It will be unconnected to anything else for the foreseeable future (and with any luck, for ever).

Even if the WI and Sinn Fein wet dream of a “restored” Ulster Canal came into existence, Clones will be the terminus of a long branch line at the end of the network. No-one is going to base a boat there long term as based on maximum speeds on the canals to prevent wash damage, half a day of each journey will be wasted getting to/from Clones to the rest of the network.

As such, anyone putting money into any such business venture(s) may as well just take cash out of the bank and burn it.

Categories
Events

Athlone Bridges

The Westmeath Independent reports that an exhibition on the bridges of Athlone will be launched on Tuesday 19th December 2023 at 18:30 in Athlone Library

The exhibition will run until 8th January 2024.