Irish Rail denies trying to cut services

IRISH Rail has rejected claims it is deliberately running down some services so it will be uneconomical to re-open them.

Work will begin today to remove a junction on the western rail corridor which links Sligo and Limerick, but critics say this will effectively kill any hopes of reviving the line.

The actions come less than a week after Taoiseach Bertie Ahern insisted no lines will be closed until a wide-ranging review of rail transport was completed.

Iarnród Éireann yesterday said the railway line at the centre of the controversy had been closed since 1997, and the removal of the junction would not hinder future attempts to re-open it.

A spokesperson said the railway would be kept intact and work to remove the junction was part of an ongoing project to upgrade signalling systems on the main Dublin-Galway line.

But local politicians have criticised the rail company's actions and say the line must be re-opened.

Fine Gael's Denis Naughten, TD, said Iarnród Éireann seemed committed to putting every hurdle in place to reviving the railway line.

"It's as if they want to make it impossible to reopen the line," he said. "This line could be of major benefit if it was used to transport Coillte timber from Galway to Waterford."

Fianna Fáil Senator Terry Leyden said the removal of any part of the line would go against government policy, as the Western Regional Authority was supporting the re-opening of the line.

A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann yesterday said that while the junction was being removed from the Athenry to Claremorris line, the firm would continue to maintain the railway in the event that it is reopened. "We're not digging up any railway lines and this certainly won't affect anything that might happen in the future."

The rail company is removing disused junctions which cross the Dublin-Galway line as it lays down a modern signalling system.

Keeping the junctions in place would mean a major increase in cost and could also pose a threat to safety, the spokesman said.

Iarnród Éireann was poised to close down a number of railway lines and unprofitable freight services last week, but postponed the decision at the request of Transport Minister Seamus Brennan.

He said the rail strategy report, to be published in January, should inform any key decisions to ensure they are consistent with the future development of railway network.