Slow take-up for new rail link

A NEW Nenagh-Limerick commuter rail service isn’t attracting the numbers expected after its inaugural week.

But Irish Rail remains confident there will be a significant increase in customers, following further promotions.

The morning train, which leaves Nenagh at 7.55am, is averaging 20 customers after stops at Birdhill and Castleconnell. The initial start up target was 35 each morning.

“The numbers for the first week are not bad as we still have to do major promotion of the service,” Jim Gallivan, business development manager with Irish Rail, said: “We will be doing a mail shot in north Tipperary of around 8,000 homes and we expect to yield an improvement.”

Mr Gallivan said it took up to eight months to build up numbers for the Ennis-Limerick service which commenced in December 2003. It now has around 100 daily commuters. “You are talking about towns with significantly different populations. Ennis would have three times the population of Nenagh,” he said.

Market research carried out by the Nenagh Rail partnership projected that the service had potential to develop a customer base of between 60 and 70.

Mr Gallivan said: “If we had 50 or 60 arriving in Limerick each morning we would be happy,” he said. Initial feedback from customers indicates they would prefer an earlier arrival time.

At present the train gets into Limerick at 8.45am. The track has a number of speed limits which means that the train cannot exceed 40mph and, on some sections, 25mph.

Meanwhile, Irish Rail in Limerick said yesterday there will be a special to Dublin using one of their new super trains on the All-Ireland football final day on Sunday week.

It will depart at 8am, arriving Heuston at 10.15am with the return from Dublin at 7.20pm, arriving Limerick at 9.30pm. The return fare is €52.50.