Irish Rail considers reopening Cork station which was scene of country's worst crash
The Buttevant rail crash in 1980 resulted in the deaths of 18 people.
The reopening of a Cork railway station which has been closed since the largest fatal train crash in the State’s history is on the cards.
However, pleas to open more commuter stations on the Cork-Limerick railway line nearer Cork city are likely to come to nothing, at least in the short to medium term.
Cork County Council is looking to get Rural Development Regeneration Funding (RRDF) to help defray some of the costs of opening new commuter railways stations and wrote to Irish Rail seeking support for the move and to engage in talks.
County councillors want stations opened in Buttevant, Mourneabbey, and Rathduff.
Jim Meade, executive of Irish Rail, has written to the council saying that while he agrees with trying to get a station in Buttevant, he believes that a planned major park-and-ride station for Blarney will be adequate to cater to the needs of people living in the nearby communities of Rathduff and Mourneabbey.
The people of Buttevant have long been lobbying to get their station reopened. It has remained closed since a train crash there on August 1, 1980, claimed the lives of 18 people and left a further 70 injured.
Fine Gael councillor Liam Madden, who is leading the charge to get more stations opened, said he welcomed Irish Rail’s views on reopening Buttevant, but accepts getting stations opened at Rathduff and Mourneabbey will be a bigger battle.
He said a group has been formed representing those communities and they’re determined to lobby hard to get what they want.
“A SPC (Special Purposes Committee) policy group within county council for roads and transportation are seeking meeting with all stakeholders. That will include the NTA (National Transport Authority) and Irish Rail to explore options and see how project can be progressed,” Mr Madden said.
“The communities concerned here can see the advantages of using public transport going forward and how we can reduce our carbon footprint. This can be seen already by (the upgraded) Expressway Route 51 bus service and the advantages it has to communities along the N20 running hourly (from Cork to Limerick) 11 times a day,” Mr Madden said.
