I'd often thought that the early morning Dublin train should have started in Cobh, so Midleton would be an alternative on that.

Neither Cobh nor Midleton have platforms sufficient in length to take a full length intercity service, Cobh you might be able get away with but Midleton is a non starter

Don't even start with the union issues it would cause

The Midleton timetable is well planned, departures on the xx:45 arrive Cork with a good 20 minutes or so to make the connection into the Dublin bound services at xx:30

If you are serious about getting to Dublin early you would be on the 5:05 or 6:30

Why dont they make the platforms long enough to handle any train type.

Sick of all this health & safety rubbish lately, shortening of platforms etc.

In theory any train type should be able to go anywhere and thats what it should be like in practice

Is there any point really?

It makes the construction of stations more expensive and makes it more difficult to site them.

There are stations all over the network that will never need to take a CDE or Enterprise.

I'm a bit surprised that Cobh can't. It's a pretty substantial station dating back to the time when Cobh was the Dublin Airport of the 19th century (except of course that it had a railway station...).

Usually for geographical reasons; there may not be enough room, or the curvature of the line may not be suited to a longer platform. I'm not sure there's much of a point in spending substantial amounts to equip a station to handle a size of train which it's never envisaged will reach it.

*puts away the crayon box*

giving people the option to get on a train @ either 06:30 or 07:30 is quite realistic. Alternative, as I said, is the 08:30 with a change @ Mallow = Two changes, not very appealing to anyone!

Don't get me wrong, the timetable is really well planned and offers a good service to the people of East Cork. A connection into either the 06:30 or the 07:30 to Dublin from Midleton/Carrigtwohil would allow people to leave there cars closer to home (or even walk from home) instead of having to drive into the city.

Also might get me to work earlier :D

Fin

I didn't mean every station platform!! Certain stations.

Cobh could handle a Mk3, Mk4 and 6 piece 22k. IE are probably just not interested in extending the Cork enterprise for the reasons Mark gave

Its far cheaper send a 2 coach railcar out to Cobh or Midleton, it doesn't have any union, technical or safety problems. As it stands you can get from Cobh to Cork in time for the 6:30 to Dublin, from Midleton the best is the 8:30 which isn't really useful.

There are 3 platform lengths,

90m Cork-Cobh-Midleton + WRC + Ballybrophy (some will take longer) + Limerick - Rosslare
174m all Dublin suburban stations + Sligo line + Rosslare (Rathdrum excepted)
210m all Intercity stations from Heuston

Longer platform costs more money and also require greater exit capacity. Midleton line platforms can be extended to 174m length. A Mk4 or Enterprise set is 203m in length

Will Midleton and Carrigtwohill stations be staffed, I wonder?

Nope, but they will have TVM's, with the exception of Little Island and Cobh all the Cobh line stations are unstaffed, Cobh isn't staffed after 2pm. Little Island is the only station currently with a TVM.

Hi Mark,

will they be staffing Little Island again? I thought they would continue to keep Glounthaune staffed as they will require a signalman there for another while.

Finbarr.

Little Island was a strange location, bit of a strange staffing issue down there.

I'd say it will be a totally unstaffed operation and few if any checks onboard

It continues

in today's printed version of the Irish Examiner (24.06.2009) the IDA are funding a station at Carrigtwohill West, which is situated in the middle of the Carrigtwohill industrial estate at Kilacloyne

The cost is estimated at 1 million Euro, it is to be a 90m platform + a carpark. Its has the backing of Iarnrod Eireann and is due to be complete by Christmas / early 2010.

Could they not have built this while building the line?!

Also in the article Barry Kenny said trial trains on the Midleton line would start next week.

The proposal for a second station in Midleton was shot down because the extra stop would add too much time onto the journey. Midleton is a substantially bigger town than Carrigtwohill.

Next question, will there be a passing loop in the new station. If so, does this mean they'll pull up the recently laid lines. If not, does it not introduce an unwelcome bottleneck on the single track line?

On your map, it looks like it's only about 1200m from the other station in Carrigtwohill.

It shouldn't really be a problem, I think the trains will pass at Glounthaune which is roughly half way

It won't require any track changes, yes it should have been done as part of the project. You will probably discover that its been on the table for ages except that Irish Rail said you pay

Their argument about the existing Carrigtwohill station is that it is about 3 miles from the IDA park/Killacloyne (via road).

With the passing loop at Carrigtwohill and the distance from Glounthaune/Cobh Jctn to Carrigtwohill (~4.5km), I cannot imagine they would put in a passing loop at Carrigtwohill West - otherwise they should have just double tracked the line from Glounthaune to Carrigtwohill. The rough distance of the "proposed" new station is about 3.5km from Glounthaune.

Will the new station be equal distance between Carrigtwohill and Glounthaune?

According to finnyus, it will be 3.5km from Glounthaune and 1km from Carrigtwohill. So I'm guessing not :)

does anyone know if there is going to be a change to public transport routes in the East Cork area? At the moment we have the bus commuter routes:

• 240 Cork - Midleton - Cloyne - Ballycotton
• 241 Cork - Midleton - Whitegate - Trabolgan
• 260 Cork - Midleton - Youghal - Ardmore
• 261 Cork - Midleton - Ballinacurra

Anyone know if these will serve Midleton station? Or should I just be grateful that we have a train station (and currently no train) from Midleton now :D

I think you'll find that Midleton-Cork expresses will be decimated, with the "all around the parishes" routes kept. I imagine most Youghal, etc. services will remain.

I don't think there were many Midleton-Cork & vv expresses to begin with. Route 40 (Tralee-Rosslare Harbour) is pickup only eastbound and dropoff only westbound on most of its services.

Well, they could save costs by having the bus routes terminate at Midleton Train Station and selling a ticket through from Cloyne, Whitegate etc. to Cork with the rail leg added on.

But that might be a sensible way to save costs. Slashing services is a lot easier.

Multi-modal ticketing? Can't be having that now.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland...ine-94185.html

The extra station is at Fota Retail Park at the existing industrial estate near Cobh Cross, where Youghal Carpets used to be. http://www.fotaretailpark.com/location.html

Midleton
 

When it comes on stream it must be used by people, but it will be mostly people going to cork in morning and returning in evening.

The Cork BHAA "Stryker" road race was on in Carrigtwohill last night, the route took us passed Carrigtwohill Station:

All signage on the station platform is up and noticed that there are also "next train" electronic displays up as well: I suppose that will be for when we have "Youghal express" trains, "Mogeely Ploughing Championship" trains, etc... :D ...seems a bit mad like when there is a basic timetable in operation.

Must check if they are up in Midleton as well.

There will be some traffic in the opposite direction.

A lot of secondary school pupils in Carrigtwohill go to school in Midleton. Although, unfortunately, of the four secondary schools in Midleton, only one (the Church of Ireland school) is near the station.

And there are some jobs in Midleton. Clearly, there won't be as many doing the reverse commute as there would have been had Amgen opened, but it won't be unknown.

I wouldn't imagine the situation would be any worse than outbound DART services beyond Dun Laoighaire.

Still no word on the date for the opening

All I know is it won't be anytime soon, August at this stage looks likely provided Irish Rail can provide sufficient trains and staff to operate them

I have unconfirmed word of the end of July.

Midleton
 

Will the new shiny silver trains go to Midleton? I was going to work the other day and saw a train with a yellow coach in Cobh, after 10clock. What was that?

It won't be a silver train, same commuter train as Cobh

Anything yellow is maintenance

Long-awaited rail line to finally open this month
 

Long-awaited rail line to finally open this month
By Sean O'Riordan
Friday, July 10, 2009

AFTER months of speculation Iarnród Éireann has announced it will open the €75 million Cork-Midleton rail line on Thursday, July 30.

A spokesman for the company said to mark the launch of its new service, travel on trains operating on that day will be free.

From July 30 to August 3 inclusive, trains will operate on an hourly basis only.

The full schedule of services - 21 trains in either direction on weekdays - will come into effect on Tuesday, August 4.

During weekdays trains will run half-hourly at peak times and hourly off-peak. A total of 17 trains will operate each way on Saturdays, and eight trains will operate each way on Sundays.

Iarnród Éireann has put the infrastructure in place to expand services in the future to every 15 minutes, if the demand exists.

Drivers started testing trains on the line yesterday. Two drivers were involved and further drivers will be trained on the track right up to the opening day.

The journey time will be less than 24 minutes each way and all trains will serve the new stations at Midleton and Carrigtwohill, as well as Glounthaune, Little Island and Kent Station, Cork.

Each train consists of two-carriages, with capacity for 320 passengers, including seating for 129 passengers. Platforms have also been built to accommodate future expansion to four-carriage trains.

As well as offering a strong commuter service, the new Midleton timetable will provide excellent connections to the Cork-Dublin Intercity service.

The company has revised its timetable from Midleton after it was noticed that the first train leaving there wouldn't connect with the first train leaving Kent Station for Dublin.

Midleton-based TD David Stanton spotted that the first train leaving his home town would arrive seven minutes after the Cork-Dublin train had departed.

A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann said an alteration had been made to the timetable so the first train would now leave Midleton at the earlier time of 6.45am to allow for connectivity.

The last train will depart Midleton for Cork at 10.45pm.

The first train leaving Kent Station for Midleton will depart at 6.15am and the last will go at 10.15pm.

The company also announced ticket prices: a single adult fare will be €4.40, while a return ticket is €6.50.

Adult weekly tickets cost €26, a monthly ticket comes in at €92, while the annual ticket is €920. "Monthly and annual customers are reminded that employees of companies registered with the Taxsaver scheme are entitled to tax relief on the cost of commuter tickets of up to 51%. Full details are available on www.taxsaver.ie," the Iarnród Éireann spokesman said.

Car parking charges will be introduced at both Midleton and Carrigtowhill station.

The charges will be €2 per day, €8 per week and €30 for four weeks.

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, July 10, 2009

We shall see, the date keep slipping, was June, then July 27th and now 30th and even then its without the full timetable.

I can see all the usual problems, there won't be enough trains, Cork is struggling to meet the current timetable. Will there be enough staff?

Went to have a look at the station in Carrigtwohill yesterday. Seems all ready to go just for a bit of tidying up etc.

Charging for parking though won't encourage people out of their cars I'm afraid.

Midleton line to open on July 30th by Corporate Communications
 

Midleton line to open on July 30th by Corporate Communications

Iarnród Éireann has confirmed that the new Cork-Midleton line will officially open to the public on Thursday 30th July.

A day of celebration is planned, involving the local community and businesses, and travel on the new service will be free on that day.

An initial introductory service will operate from Thursday 30th July to Bank Holiday Monday 3rd August inclusive, before the full commuter service begins on Tuesday 4th August.

Physical work on the new line has been completed, following a €75 million investment in the infrastructure under the Government’s Transport 21 programme, part of the National Development Plan 2007-2013. Finishing works on station facilities are continuing, and driver training on the line is underway.

A total of 21 trains each way will operate daily between Cork and Midleton, with services running every 30 minutes at peak times, and every hour at off-peak times, Monday to Friday. Seventeen trains each way will operate on Saturdays, and eight trains will operate each way on Sundays.

Monday to Saturday Timetable

From Cork: 06.15, 06.45*, 07.15, 07.45*, 08.15, 08.45*, 09.15, 10.15, 11.15, 12.15, 13.15, 14.15, 15.15, 16.15, 17.15, 17.45*, 18.15, 19.15, 20.15, 21.15, 22.15

From Midleton: 06.45, 07.15*, 07.45, 08.15*, 08.45, 09.15*, 09.45, 10.45, 11.45, 12.45, 13.45, 14.45, 15.45, 16.45, 17.45, 18.15*, 18.45, 19.45, 20.45, 21.45, 22.45

* = Mon-Fri only



Sunday Timetable

From Cork: 08.15, 10.15, 12.15, 14.15, 16.15, 17.15, 18.15, 20.15

From Midleton: 08.45, 10.45, 12.45, 14.45, 16.45, 17.45, 18.45, 20.45



Journey details – Commuter service, and Intercity connections

Journey time between Midleton and Cork will be 23-24 minutes, and all trains will serve the new stations of Midleton and Carrigtwohill, as well as Glounthaune, Little Island and Kent Station Cork.

As well as offering a strong commuter service, the new Midleton timetable will offer excellent connections to the Cork-Dublin Intercity service, maximising the benefit of this new infrastructure.

The infrastructure also offers the potential to expand services in the future to every 15 minutes, as demand increases.

Each train will be a two-carriage commuter train, with capacity for 320 passengers, including seating for 129 passengers. Platforms have also been built to accommodate future expansion to four-carriage trains.

Fares for Midleton customers to Cork will be:

Adult Single: €4.40

Adult Return: €6.50

Adult Weekly: €26.00

Adult Monthly: €92.00

Adult Annual: €920.00

Monthly and annual customers are reminded that employees of companies registered with the Taxsaver scheme are entitled to tax relief on the cost of commuter tickets, of up to 51%. Full details are available on www.taxsaver.ie

Car park charges at Midleton and Carrigtwohill Stations will be:

€2 per day

€8 per week

€30 per 4 weeks



Midleton line project

The €75 million investment in the Midleton line includes:

- upgrading track on the previously disused Glounthaune to Midleton line, through provision of a single track with a passing loop at Carrigtwohill

- providing a new signalling system

- provision of two new stations at Midleton and Carrigtwohill, including extensive car parking facilities (340 spaces and 180 spaces respectively), lifts and footbridges

- the replacement of a range of level crossings with bridges

- other infrastructure work including bridge, boundary and drainage works

Maybe it's just the pessimist in me but I think the capacity being offered will be vastly in excess of traffic offering. A train from Midleton station (not exactly conveniently located) will land you at Glanmire Road in Cork (also not conveniently located), whereas the bus will bring you from Midleton Main Street to Parnell Place bus station much closer to the city centre and while the reopened line may generate some additional business for Dublin/Cork intercity services its value as a commuter line is dubious. The unmanned stations will soon succumb to vandalism and the whole project will become yet another white elephant. A full re-opening to Youghal could have been undertaken years ago, for a fraction of the price, and would have been a more worthwhile project altogether. I genuinely hope that I am proved utterly wrong!

I'd say the bus service will be substantially scaled back once the railway opens.

Also, Parnell Place isn't that much closer to the city centre than the Horgan's Quay side of Kent Station - if only they'd open an entrance onto Horgan's Quay.

The price of commuter tickets is actually substantially cheaper on the train. The bus prices are €158.00 monthly and €1,896.00 annually.

I'd be interested to know how much a rail-bus weekly commuter ticket costs. On the Cobh line, it only adds about €5 per month to get a city bus add on, so hopefully it will be similar for Midleton.

Midleton
 

Well Lads, full steam ahead. Drove over to Midleton today and the barriers were down across the Mill Road. Then a little orange engine appeared. Went in to station and went back out a while later. Had no film in my camera to snap it.
Dave.