CONFIRMATION that Moyross is to have the first new railway station in the Mid West in over a decade is just the first move in the creation of a whole new train transport network for Limerick.
The Limerick Post has learned that while the immediate plan is to provide the new station in Moyross in under three years, this will be followed by new stations in Ballysimon, Lisnagry, Raheen, Dooradoyle, Mungret, Patrickswell, and Adare, with the creation of a rail link between Colbert Station and Shannon airport and the re-opening of the Limerick to Foynes line also in the works.
“This is not a rail plan, it’s a growth plan,” Green Party TD for Limerick Brian Leddin said, outlining the details to the Limerick Post.
“The population of Limerick is to grow by 60 per cent by 2040 – that’s between 50,000 and 60,000 people.
“If we want that to be ordered growth and not just a sprawl, we have to underpin that growth. This plan does that.”
The new station for Moyross, along with high quality cycle routes between the city’s three third level institutions, are part of the Pathfinder Programme, which includes 35 major transport projects to be delivered by local authorities and agencies around the country within the next three years.
Details of the Programme were unveiled by transport Minister Eamon Ryan earlier this week.
Moyross and the other stations named by Deputy Leddin are key elements of the as yet unpublished draft Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy 2040.
Deputy Leddin is confident that the other stations on the list will not be far behind the Moyross station, including a re-opening of the Foynes line within 18 months.
“We’re mostly using infrastructure which is already there, which will make this faster to implement and less expensive than many road projects.
“The Ryder Cup is coming to Adare in 2027, so if the Adare station is to be ready ahead of that, there’s no reason why we can’t do Raheen, Patrickswell, and maybe Dooradoyle as well.”
Deputy Leddin said that the new network will make investment and development possible in the catchment area and result in more jobs for both Moyross and the city at large.
He said he has “worked really hard on this for a long time” and is delighted that Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has embraced the vision for Limerick as a city built around sustainable transport.
