Numbers using re-opened western rail link still low

PASSENGER numbers using the first phase of the €106 million Western Rail Corridor (WRC) are still quite low.

A Freedom of Information Act document shows that customers using the Ennis-Athenry route halved in its first 12 months.

The line — which connects Limerick to Galway — was re-opened at the end of March last year after years of lobbying from groups in the west. However, figures confirm the number of passengers in April of this year only reached 2,800, compared to 7,000 for the corresponding period in 2010.

Irish Rail chief executive Dick Fearn said the 7,000 figure “reflected the immediate novelty impact of the re-opening of the line”.

He said “the real local demand by people who use the service on the Ennis- Athenry section for their day-to-day commuting has begun to settle at a number between 2,000 and 3,000 per period”.

He added: “Unfortunately, the numbers on the central section of the route between Ennis and Athenry are quite low, Gort being the only community of any size on this section.”

Mr Fearn said he hoped timetable improvements would encourage more people to use the route.

Corporate communications manager with Irish Rail Barry Kenny said yesterday the new services on the route with improved marketing resulted in the numbers on the Ennis-Athenry route increasing to just under 4,500 journeys between July 18-August 14.