Connacht Tribune
Passengers hike leads to renewed calls for rail extension
There has been a 22% increase in numbers using the Galway to Limerick rail line in a year, which will strengthen the case for an extension to Cork and proves that reopening the track to Mayo and Sligo would be adequately supported by both passengers and freight, according to campaigners.
The annual rail survey by the National Transport Authority (NTA) recorded 1,402 people travelling between Galway and Limerick on census day, 17 November 2016, a jump from 1,147 journeys on the year before. The 2015 figure was more than double the numbers carried in 2014 – the year that online booking started.
The business case for the Galway-Limerick route had projected 220,000 by 2020. If the passenger numbers in 2016 were annualized, it would amount 420,600 passengers.
And while rail travel nationally is up 19% between 2012 and 2016, the increase for Galway-Limerick is 38%, states Colmán O Raghallaigh, spokesman for the rail campaigners, West on Track.
“It is a myth to say that it is a majority of pensioners using it – we understand that figure is about 20%. Our people who travel on the line say there is a very, very good spread of people using it – families going between Galway and Limerick at weekends, a lot of students and in the summer many tourists,” he told the Connacht Tribune.
“Any notion it would be discontinued due to low numbers doesn’t make sense. With an over 20% increase every year, I can see it grow to half a million passengers in the year.
“And they haven’t even put on enough trains to meet demand for commuters from Oranmore, Gort and Athenry. Why we aren’t looking at reopening the line to Cork is beyond me. People don’t want to change in Limerick Junction. These figures show if the service is reasonably good, if the price is right, people vote with their feet.
“The reality is the new motorway from Gort to Tuam hasn’t made the slightest difference on traffic in Galway. There are huge numbers travelling from Claremorris and beyond to Galway and the only way to improve that is to have travel by rail.”
The campaigners also point to the big hike in rail freight. A study by the Western Development Commission identified a four-fold growth potential in Mayo rail freight traffic that currently stands at over 1,100 freight trains to and from Mayo annually.
Colmán said with Brexit fast approaching, it made economic sense to increase rail freight traffic from the west through the southern ports with direct routes to Europe.
He also dismissed consistent calls for the disused rail lines to be turned into greenways.
“We have a community greenway in Claremorris with 2,000 a week using it. It’s a 5.5km track around a wood and a lake that’s going to be extended by another 2.5km. It’s nowhere near the rail line. Why are people obsessed with developing a greenway on a rail line? Communities should aspire to have both. It’s short-sighted to get rid of such a critical piece of infrastructure,” he insisted.
“If the Government are serious about developing the Atlantic Economic Corridor with better road, broadband, electricity links – why would they not look at the infrastructure we already have?”
Spokeswoman for Iarnród Éireann, Jane Cregan, said any decision on the rail lines was a matter for the NTA and the Department of Transport.
“I would premise that the census figures are coming from a very low base but obviously we welcome any growth in passengers. The survey is always done on a Thursday in November which is our busiest time with students at college and school and people choosing to travel by rail due to bad weather,” she stated.
“We receive a subvention that goes to support lightly used lines and we will continue to run this line as long as that continues.”
In a submission to the Labour Court during the recent pay talks, Irish Rail identified four poorly used routes that could be cut due to a funding gap and among them was the Ennis to Athenry line. Based on a 2016 rail review, that report is currently being considered by the NTA.
The €160m link between Limerick and Galway opened in 2010 when it carried just 50,000 passengers.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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