Shannon and Cork port rail links form key elements of plan to grow rail freight

Iarnród Eireann said it plans to establish the rail connection at Marino Point in Cork Harbour. Picture: Denis Scannell

Re-establishing rail connections to Foynes Port in Limerick and Marino Point in Cork are key elements of Iarnród Éireann’s Rail Freight Strategy that will support the creation of up to 8,000 new jobs, mostly in the regions.

The strategy document aims to see a five-fold increase in the number of rail freight services, to more than 100 new weekly services across the rail network by 2040. It states that reconnecting the port of Foynes on the Shannon estuary to the rail network will drive growth in bulk and intermodal traffic and support opportunities with mining and offshore wind power generation.

The Port of Cork plans to redevelop the former IFI fertiliser plant in Cork Harbour for a range of uses. The facility is considered a key infrastructural asset as it sits alongside the Cobh to Cork railway line. Iarnród Eireann said it plans to establish the rail connection to allow for the movement of bulk commodities by rail to and from the port.

The new Port of Cork Chair Michael Walsh has said the development of bulk cargo trade was a significant plan for the port company utilising the existing rail link. "Thus reducing the carbon impact of this trade by moving freight from road to rail, allowing bulk trade to leave Cork city quay and free up the Docklands for commercial and community development," he said.

The document also targets the Dublin-Tipperary-Cork road network for future potential rail freight growth. The route currently accounts for 428,000 articulated heavy goods vehicle movements per year, which is expected to increase to 658,000 by 2040.

"The development and operation of facilities in Limerick, Sligo, Galway and Cork, as well as Dublin will generate 5,000 new jobs in primary logistics-related industries," the strategy document states. "Implementation will also result in up to 3,000 secondary related jobs (associated with new retail shops, restaurants, coffee shops and gyms for example) which would open to service the staff and the families of staff now working in the freight terminals and adjacent logistics parks."

Jim Meade, Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann said: “We are ambitious for our rail freight services to become a key part of Ireland’s freight sector. Rail freight’s time is now – we need to decarbonise, we need to address congestion and we need to provide alternatives to industry.”