GREEN Party local election candidate for Cappamore-Kilmallock, Rob O’Donnell, is hosting a series of public meetings on the future of a commuter rail service in East Limerick.
The Limerick County Development Plan after 2028 will be key in building the case for a commuter rail network in East Limerick, he says.
The Green candidate held the first of a number of public meetings in his native Pallasgreen, where members of the community discussed the state of play with the reopening of a train station in the village.
“I’m happy to have had the time to really delve into this topic with the community, as there’s quite a lot of detail in documents, like the All Island Rail Review to 2050 and the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy to 2040,” Mr O’Donnell said.
“Villages like Pallasgreen and Oola are specifically mentioned in this latter document, and the potential for park and rides along the line are noted too. What we need to do now is to zone and plan properly around these sites, so that it is a no-brainer to open up the stations given the surrounding density and future plans for housing and amenities.”
The search for a suitable site for a Ballysimon station has already been started by Irish Rail, which Mr O’Donnell believes can be an opportunity for the progression of a wider commuter service.
He will host public meetings in Oola, Caherconlish, and Kilmallock in the coming weeks, with details shared on his social media.
