*A photo montage of what the Crusheen Railway Station could look like.
CLARE’S PUBLIC need to be all aboard plans to reopen Crusheen rail station if officials in the capital are to get behind it, Iarnród Éireann’s CEO has said.
At the beginning of September, Repucon Consuting published a socio-economic study for Clare County Council which detailed the huge demand for the reopening of the Crusheen Railway Station on the Western Rail Corridor which is the Galway-Ennis-Limerick rail line.
There is an estimated market of 1,700 commuters and students currently living in the catchment of the station and an estimated economic value to the local economy of €25million arising from associated employment opportunities.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, CEO of Iarnród Éireann Jim Meade said the report “helps the case”. In the past month, he met with Mayor of Clare, Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF), elected members of the Killaloe Municipal District and senior planner with the Council, Brian McCarthy to discuss the plans.
“It helps them as a local authority because it goes into their development plan as to what is needed for the infrastructure. I would support the reopening of the station, I’m a railway person, we like to see new infrastructure and that helps the debate with the National Transport Authority and with the Department of Transport”.
Meade felt there was a reason for the people of Crusheen to be hopeful that the station which closed to passenger traffic in 1976 can be reopened. “The people of Crusheen are right to be optimistic because if the people of Crusheen and Clare don’t believe this can be delivered then it is very hard for somebody up in Dublin to believe it, we have to support it, they do support and believe it, the local councillors, the local people and the people of Clare believe in it so that is always a good sign”.
Senator Roisin Garvey (GP) said the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan (GP) is happy to meet representatives from Crusheen to discuss the plans. “He is all about it, he has arranged to meet with people from Crusheen so we can nail it”.
According to Senator Garvey, the National Transport Authority (NTA) are unaware that reopening Crusheen is “an easy win for the county”. She stated, “the Cratloe and Shannon rail spur is key, it could take five years, we need to look at greenways not just rail tracks. Crusheen is very time effective, I want Cratloe and Shannon, the NTA are talking about Cratloe and not Crusheen yet Crusheen is something that could happen ASAP”. The Inagh woman said the research on Crusheen “is brilliant”, she added, “it is ready to go, I don’t think the NTA get it”.
Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) told a recent briefing organised by Ennis Chamber, “everyone wants the rail spur linking Cratloe, Bunratty and Shannon, it can happen but what can happen a hell of a lot sooner is Crusheen. Clare County Council have the plan done and it can be delivered”. Meade said in response, “you are quite correct Crusheen is the one where the infrastructure is and we can build from it. We know where we can go with Crusheen and build it out in a year or so”.
Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) commented, “Crusheen was an aspiration. It is needs to be on the map to get it looked for”.
Addressing the briefing, Brian McCarthy of the Council said, “we see Crushee being of benefit. We have no role in advancing the train station but we have produced a socio-economic study to help the case”. He referenced the amount of students which could access the train station and the Council’s acquisition of 200m of rail frontage to try advance the plans.
