Rubbish, the case can never be made for the line and the bulk of freight will still operate via the UK irregardless of Brexit and Rail Freight will never be substantial in Ireland.

Any further mention of freight will result in thread lock

Knock killed both Galway and Sligo airports.

WRC
 

http://npf.ie/wp-content/uploads/201...compressed.pdf

WRC is not about now its about a future Ireland. The reason we are so poor at planning in Ire is that we plan only within the 4yr term of a Govt whereas in more successful economies there is a long term planning process. Dublin is an example of the short term plan mess up. Hydrocarbon fuels are disappearing diesel will be a no go in 5yrs which is why electric rail will be an answer.

I would imagine that you would save as much in addressing waste and inefficiecies on DART as in closing the WRC. You would have to imagine that Irish Rail have done a sweetheart deal on the price of electricity given the amount of empty space being dragged around - eight car trains are rarely required outside the morning and evening peak periods on monday to friday yet are to be found at other times rattling around with barely a hand full of passengers for most of the trip. Revenue protection on DART is none too hot either with some of the busiest stations in the country unmanned most of the time.

Unmanned stations and large lightly loaded trains increase the incidence of antisocial behaviour and vandalism which deters other passengers as well as generating expenditure on repairs.

Another inefficiency that has defied resolution for years is crew changing at Fairview which slows journeys and disrupts other services. What is the cost this represents in lost capacity ?

WRC future option
 

http://npf.ie/wp-content/uploads/201...compressed.pdf

Connectivity and future population growth are items that raise the importance of the invaluable infrastructure that is the Western Rail Corridor. A country with ready made infrastructure like WRC route has an advantage that should be exploited for the public good. Rail developments in the future will probably see single track systems that are lighter and less expensive to maintain which is why the WRC permanent way is so essential to open up

WRC future option
 

https://www.globalrailwayreview.com/...ght-track-uic/

"By 2050 it is expected that the majority of medium-distance passenger transport will be by rail". Thats the reason why the current generation should not make the same mistake as some of the previous political generation in IRE in dismantling rail infrastructure. The ideas that are coming for rail in the future are lighter and greener but having the permanent way in place is a huge advantage which in IRE is already the case like the Western Rail Corridor.

Does anyone know if other European countries have railways to specifically link together cities that are the sizes of Limerick and Galway?

WRC future option
 

Many examples of rail connections to similar cities in Portugal which like the Galway Limerick example is a coastal West European area.

Which cities are they?

Goods: you are wrong about Portugal. Like Ireland, and with roughly twice the population in a similar area, the Portuguese rail network is almost entirely focused on lines radiating from the capital, and also from Porto. Where services exist between provincial cities of comparable size to Limerick and Galway (50,000+) they are generally on part of an intercity route, e.g. between Coimbra and Aveiro on the Lisbon-Porto main line. South of the Tagus river, the main cities of Faro, Evora, and Beja are all linked to Lisbon by rail, but direct connections are between them are virtually non-existent. I could go on...

What we can learn from the Portuguese is (a) their impressive electrification of most main lines, (b) their big investment in suburban services around the two main cities and (c ) the Porto metro which is like a souped-up version of LUAS and crucially uses tunnels in the city centre (thus avoiding any College Green debacle).

So, does this mean that a railway linking only a city with 100, 000 people with one that has 80, 000 is not something other European countries have?

I don't know what about other European countries. The question was asked about Portugal versus the WRC, and I thought I answered it.

Not wanting to get sidetracked, but there is definitely a train from Faro to Lagos as I have used it.

In many ways, it has a lot in common with the WRC. The service is infrequent and it's slower than traveling by bus.

Comcor. I agree let's not get side-tracked, but the line you mention runs along a heavily-populated coastal strip linking several large towns (Lagos, Portimao, Faro, Olhao, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo Antonio). There is no analogy with some big investment to link Limerick and Galway and the line has loads of small halts which probably account for a large proportion of its traffic.

Looking at other countries from which to draw a lesson for Ireland can be a difficult business.

Rail census 2014 has the data on usage though the Galway Limerick data was fairly new at that point. To my knowledge the usage has passed the estimate given before it opened. The key point is that a line like this attracts other development and helps a region grow. Dublin is growing out of proportion and the West is stagnating so such a rail line can be a multiplier. Rail is about the long term which is why it is going through a revival all over Europe except in IRE.

Is the recently opened motorway likely to have a significant detriment on the usage of Ennis to Athenry?
According to Google Maps, the journey times by car have only dropped by around 5 minutes, and Citylink had already been operating express bus services from Galway to Limerick(and on to Cork) before this motorway opened, and when I consider these points, I am unsure whether the motorway is going to make the trains as good as empty or not.

Western rail corridor
 

http://ec.europa.eu/research/press/j...et_s2r-web.pdf
Rail is the longer term option that Ireland will eventually follow as is happening in the rest of Europe. The road building lobby in Ireland is sufficiently powerful still to ensure that the bulk of investment goes into roads which is why ther is an imbalance. This is the reason that you have high rise car parks at Dublin airport without a rail connection even though when the M50 was being developed it would have been easy to run a spur from either the Belfast line or the Sligo line. The western rail corridor is a vital piece of infrastructure that is owned by the state which could never be put in place today and should be developed to reconnect the west particularly to Rosslare port. Rail links to our ports have been gradually severed, the truck lobby was more influential.
Today rail links are operating from Europe to China making that option faster that the sea routes on the One Belt One Road corridors. This is the future.

Open Tuam and Castlerea
 

https://irishrailwaydevelopments.wor...-what-matters/

Well timed piece about the fallacy of tearing up rail lines and what preserving them meant to places like Ballina and Westport. The lines are a bridge to the west that otherwise will not be there. Cycle lanes are great but the people in rural Ireland need connectivity and industry so that the place doesnt turn into a nature reserve in the future.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/envi...idor-1.3450236
Western elected politicians were asleep at the wheel not to be able to promote the western rail corridor when this was part of EU long term thinking. Action to obstruct the development of the rail corridor was short termism and failed to recognize the strategic value of this rail connection along the western corridor at a time when Rosslare will become an important export hub after Brexit. Having an alternative route by rail to Rosslare is an important future option for rail development supported by EU