The lost railways of Ireland

Railways that might come back

There are plans to restore the link to Midleton as a commuter line. This would surely be profitable and would need less than 10 miles of track to be restored. The extension of the link to Youghal might be feasible as the trackway is still owned by Irish Rail. However they have been talking about this for several years and still no movement.

A link between the country's third and fourth biggest cities, possibly connecting both of them to the country\s second airport. If this isn't a reasoanable proposition, then what is. At present this line is used for freight and for an infrequent passenger service from Limerick to Ennis. Meanwhile the road which covers this route is extremely busy and getting busier.

To restore this line as well would enable a western rail link all the way from Cork to Sligo as well as permitting commuter services to Limerick, Galway and Sligo, and linking Shannon and Knock airports to the rail system. This would be in line with the national spatial strategy and decentralisation, the establisment of a growth centre around Claremorris and other big ideas.

Restored Relics

Cavan & Leitrim Railway, Dromod, Co Leitrim 078 38599

This narrow-guage railway is accessible from Dromod station on the Dublin-Sligo line and the N4 Dublin-Sligo road. They are currently running services daily on a small stretch of line and hope to extend it.

Tralee & Dingle Railway, Tralee, Co Kerry 066 7121064

Narrow gauge, 1.75 mile

This line was never connected with the mainline station. The Tralee terminus is a new and functional platform situated beside the Aquadome leisure centre. The other end of the track is at Blennerville on the bay, beside Blennerville windmill and under the Slieve Mish mountains. Services run daily from May to September. The journey is slow and needs to be given the sharp bends and the hard seats.

West Clare Railway, Moyasta, Co Clare

Moyasta Junction station house. Located on the N67 between Kilrush and Kilkee. There is a restored station house and 1.5 miles of original tracks which they are hoping to extend.

Waterford & Suir Valley Heritage Railway, Kilmeadan, CoWaterford

A heritage narrow gauge railway follows over 6km of the route of the abandoned Waterford -Dungarvan line. The track runs mostly along the picturesque banks of the River Suir between Kilmeaden and Waterford offering panoramic views of the River Suir, rolling farmland and mountains.

Foyle Valley Railway, Derry, Co Derry

This maybe closed at present but seems to have enthusiastic support. It has some difficulties in that it based in Northern Ireland but the former railway extended into Co Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, so it needs to develop as a cross-border project.

Walkways & Cycleways

A great use for abandoned routes. Why waste all that work. They make particularly good cycle routes because of the easy gradients and no cars of course. Nevertheless there aren't many.

Cork Blackrock and Passage Railway

Limerick-Tralee Railway