Iarnród Éireann have confirmed that upgrades along the Limerick to Galway line are to be completed by the end of 2027.
The national railway operator have submitted documents for the platform's extensions at all stations along the section from Limerick to Athenry. This will see platforms including Ennis, Sixmilebridge, Gort, Ardrahan and Craughwell all extended, allowing for the running of six car Intercity services.
This will allow for a significant passenger capacity increase on the Limerick to Galway route.
The upgrades will see 55m extensions made to Sixmilebridge, Gort and Craughwell, in order to meet the 145m requirement to support a six car intercity train. It was also announced the platform 2 at Ennis would receive a 12m extension.
These works are already underway, and the main construction contract is set to be awarded by the end of this year.
Main construction is to begin early next year, and completed by the final quarter of 2027, with the platforms expected to enter service by the end of the year.
Speaking about this, the Chief Executive for Iarnród Éireann, Mary Considine said: “Delivery of this project will provide the infrastructure to support longer services and therefore, increased capacity, for customers between Limerick and Athenry. Accelerated delivery of these important infrastructure interventions on our network ensures we can provide a more sustainable transport option to more communities more quickly, helping to deliver on the vision set out in our Rail 2050 Strategy". (Quotes according to The Irish Independent).
News of this comes after Transport Minister James Browne had confirmed last week, that three new train stations would be built in Ireland by 2029. These new stations would be built in Blarney and Water Rock in Cork and Maynooth West in Co Kildare.
The Government had announced that €27 million would be provided in funding for projects like this. Check out more on this story here.
