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06 Sept 2025
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06 Sept 2025
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Colbert Station in Limerick city. PICTURES: Adrian Butler
IARNRÓD ÉIREANN is looking to launch a new rail line in Limerick that would reduce delays and see train journeys to Dublin cut by 20 minutes.
The new line, which will provide a second connection between Colbert Station and Limerick Junction, is tipped to allow more flexibility and fewer delays between the two stops.
Irish Rail CEO Jim Meade sat before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications Networks this month, to discuss the public consultation element of the National Development Plan (NDP).
He said that the second Limerick track would allow for “increased speeds” of up to 80 to 90 km/hr, in sections, if required.
“It will also give us more flexibility, so that we don’t have to wait for more crossing points, and we don’t have to be delaying trains at intermediate stations,” he said, in reference to Limerick Junction.
He stressed that the development of rail possibilities in the Limerick area forms part of the Project Ireland 2040 framework as part of the Review to Renew guide in the NDP.
He emphasised that the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Strategy (LSMATS) was being looked at, based on the “existing network of lines around the city.”
The rail service believes that the second track, which would take 18-months to construct, once plans have been signed off, would reduce the journey to the capital to 1 hour and 40 minutes.
The timeframe for the project would also include a two-year design and procurement phase.
The goal of the project, Mr Meade added, was to decarbonize inter-urban travel in Ireland including line-speed enhancement and capacity enhancement.
“Sustainable transport can be a key driver for the recovery of growth, and rail travel is an essential pillar of any modern sustainable public transport network, with a significant opportunity to strengthen its role to support Ireland's wider recovery,” the Chief Executive concluded.
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