Local Link bus service extends to connect Limerick county town and Charleville 

THE  Local Link bus service in West Limerick has been expanded yet again and a new route has been added connecting Newcastle West and Charleville and travelling through six other towns and villages along the way.

The new  Local Link 521 service was officially launched by Minister of State, Patrick O’Donovan last week and will operate a return service six times a day from Monday to Saturday, serving  Newcastle West, Castlemahon, Feohanagh, Kilmeedy, Dromcollogher, Milford, Newtownshandrum and Charleville. 

Funded through the National Transport Authority, it will link in with onward bus and train connections to Limerick, Galway, Tralee and Dublin. 

 "This is great news for the communities and villages between Newcastle West and Charleville,” Minister O’Donovan said at the launch. “The route will allow people in both towns and the villages that the bus will stop in, to access services in both towns and to connect to other bus routes.”

“I hope it will stand as an example for other possible routes that can be put in place that will allow towns and smaller communities in Co. Limerick to be connected,” the minister added. 

Anne Graham, chief executive of the National Transport Authority, who also attended the launch, said that providing a decent public transport option for people in rural areas is a critical element of what her organisation is about.

“Local Link is already a great success story and has become a permanent part of Ireland’s public transport system,” she said. “With services like the 521 we have an opportunity to provide for rural Ireland, a public transport service that is better integrated with other national services and that is more useful to more people.”

She reassured those who had gathered for the launch that the government through its Ireland 2040 plan was committed to the future funding of Local Link. “This  means that the programme will not only survive, but will thrive and develop at the heart of rural communities in the years to come,” she said. 

Donal O’Grady, chairperson of Local Link Limerick/Clare which has its headquarters in Newcastle West, said the new high frequency service would  bring many benefits to Newcastle West and Charleville as well as the other destinations along the route.

“This is a very positive addition to the infrastructure of the area and will greatly assist in connecting communities and passengers on the route to new opportunities, be they social or personal, educational or employment related,” he said. 

This year,  €21 million has been provided nationally for the Rural Transport Programme with €1.5m of this money  allocated for Local Link services in counties Limerick and Clare. Since 2015, the number of passenger journeys has been increasing every year and last year, the service nationally  clocked up 2m passenger journeys.