Reinstatement of the mothballed 42km Limerick to Foynes line has come one step closer. Irish Rail announced on July 31 that it had invited interested companies to pre-qualify in order to bid for the tender to rebuild the line.
The contract, costed at around €45 million, is expected to be awarded this November, with completion planned for mid-2024. Reopening of the single-track line has been proposed for many years and is supported by Irish transport minister Eamon Ryan, the Shannon Foynes Port Company, local politicians and environmentalists.
The line’s limited passenger service was withdrawn in 1963 and intermediate stations lost their freight services in 1974. However, traffic to and from Foynes continued to flourish with barytes, zinc ore, fertiliser, grain, molasses, coal and oil being handled.
A gradual decrease in rail freight activity system-wide started in the early 1990s and Foynes experienced the loss of many valuable flows. Closure came in 2002.
While reinstatement is intended primarily to facilitate freight movements to and from Foynes Port, lobbyists have suggested that a passenger service should be considered as well.
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