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

THE €106 million Western Rail Corridor was given a boost yesterday when a new station on the route got the green light.

YOUR news item (June 10), on the Western Rail Corridor, states that although the Western Rail Corridor had a “creditable year” passenger numbers are “well short” of the anticipated numbers.

PASSENGER numbers on the long-anticipated first phase of the Western Rail Corridor are falling far short of the projections made for the route.

The Transport Users Council of Chambers Ireland has welcomed the Government's newly revised capital investment plan of €39bn.

Transport Minister Noel Dempsay has said that the Navan to Dublin rail link and the Western Rail Corridor will go ahead as planned.

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey has today insisted that the Dublin to Navan rail line will still go ahead.

THE Limerick to Galway rail gateway has been hailed as a huge boost to tourism and commerce in the West of Ireland.

The West of Ireland was back on track today with the reopening of a rail line almost 34 years after the last scheduled passenger train.

Direct trains will run between Galway and Limerick for the first time in three decades from next month, it emerged today.

IARNRÓD Éireann has confirmed that the Ennis-Limerick railway line has reopened after it was closed for almost eight weeks due to flooding.

Desperate homeowners across south Galway were at crisis point tonight as floods continued to run off hills leaving farms, villages and towns marooned.

HUNDREDS of job losses coupled with significant reductions to some bus and rail services are under active consideration by CIÉ as the state transport company is facing serious losses due to falling passenger numbers.

SIX major road projects due to get under way over the next two years have been postponed due to budget cutbacks.

IARNRÓD Éireann is considering court action and dismissing staff in order to remove an unofficial picket, which has stopped track-laying on the €105 million Cork-Midleton commuter line.

TRANSPORT is one of the biggest beneficiaries in the Government’s budget with Finance Minister Brian Cowen announcing an overall investment package worth €2.7 billion.

Direct rail services between Galway and Limerick will begin in 2009, transport chiefs vowed today.

Work is due to get underway today on the first phase of the Western Rail Corridor.

IRISH RAIL has ruled out the reopening of the Crusheen railway station, within the planned Western Rail Corridor, as the population of the area does not support such a move.

A total of €1bn is to be invested in Galway's transport system, it was revealed this afternoon.

Tourism, transport and alternative employment are key to developing rural areas, the Green Party claimed today.

Regional development must be prioritised in the new National Development Plan, according to the chief executive of Ireland's only regional development compan, Shannon Development.

Waiting lists for driving tests will drop to eight weeks in a year’s time, it was claimed today.

AS the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) continues talks with unions and workers to finalise a business plan for the airport, a business leader yesterday called on everyone involved with Shannon to pull together in the interests of the airport and the entire West of Ireland.

A high speed Atlantic Corridor will link the key cities in the west under the Government’s 10-year transport strategy, it emerged tonight.

The plan to delay the full re-opening of the Western Rail Corridor for nine years is totally unrealistic, it was claimed tonight.

The biggest infrastructure plan in Irish history was announced today with a €34.4bn upgrade package for roads, railways and metro lines over the next 10 years.

Tourism authorities are calling on the Government to address the serious lack of trains in the west of Ireland.

THE Government is set to give the green light to the Western Rail Corridor from Ennis to Sligo after a report yesterday recommended it be re-opened on a phased basis.

The Western Rail Corridor which runs from Ennis to Sligo should be re-opened on a phased basis, a report recommended today.

Transport Minister Martin Cullen is under pressure to announce funding for the Western Rail Corridor at a conference in Co Mayo today.

A major section of a disused railway line in the West of Ireland is to be reopened, it emerged today.

The Minister for Transport has said the Western Rail Corridor will only be re-opened if a convincing value-for-money case is put forward.

The Western Rail Corridor will only be reopened if it provides value-for-money, Transport Minister Seamus Brennan warned today.

The Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has said the Border, Midlands and West Region is losing out under the National Development plan.

THE re-opening of a Western Rail Corridor (WRC) is a leap of faith that cannot be rushed, according to Transport Minister Seamus Brennan.

IT will be political suicide for the Government if the Western Rail Corridor is not reopened, the West On Track group has warned.

POOR roads and railways are holding back the economic growth of the West, according to the Western Development Commission (WDC).