Iarnród Éireann seeks to permanently axe 10 closed lines

Iarnród Éireann is to seek Government permission to allow it permanently abandon 10 closed railway lines, including two sections of the Western Rail Corridor, on which no train services currently operate.

The State railway company claims the measure is necessary because of the high costs of maintaining such lines for which it receives no funding.

However, the Government has indicated it will take no decision during its lifetime to close any section of the Western Rail Corridor which runs between Sligo and Limerick to ease Iarnród Éireann’s precarious financial position.