Iarnród Éireann (Irish Railways) has finished laying new tracks for the Limerick – Foynes freight railway. The 42-kilometre stretch of rail is part of an ambitious government plan to greenify transport.
In order to get to this point, Irish Railways first removed the old, defunct rails on the line that were in use until 2001. It then rebuilt the entire length of the line with new tracks, sleepers and track bed. With the completion of the tracks, Ireland is one step closer to the new dedicated freight railway between Limerick and Foynes.
The railway intends to connect the River Shannon port of Limerick with the open-sea port at Foynes, around forty kilometres downstream in the river estuary. It is part of Ireland’s Rail Freight 2040 strategy, which should induce a major shift from the road to rail.
Major rail development
The Limerick – Foynes freight railway is a major project for Ireland, valued at over 150 million euros. Besides tracklaying, Irish Railways has also completed the reinstatement of two river bridges, and it has built a 46-metre bridge to replace the Robertstown Viaduct. Another 13 level crossings and other safety measures have also been completed.
Iarnród Éireann now enters the next stage in the reinstatement of the railway. It will install signalling and telecoms infrastructure, refurbish the Foynes Station building, install CCTV at level crossings and close user worked level crossings. Then, the goal is to open the line for freight in 2026.
Milestone
“The reinstatement of the freight line between Limerick and Foynes is essential to building freight transportation connections and providing opportunity for businesses to switch from road freight to more sustainable rail freight in the future”, commented Irish Railways CEO Jim Meade.
“This milestone completion of the track laying on the line means we are a step closer to delivering a reliable, frequent and, most importantly, sustainable logistics option for many companies that currently use and will, in the future, use the Port of Foynes.”