Possibility of rail link to Shannon Airport ‘very real’, says Irish Rail boss

A rail link of Shannon Airport might be closer than people think, the boss of Iarnród Éireann has said.

Jim Meade made his comments during a visit to the region during which he delivered an overview on the firm’s plans for transport across the Mid-West.

In the short term a new station is being developed at Moyross on the Limerick to Ennis line while a stop at Ballysimon (Limerick) and a drop-off point at Adare are also on the agenda ahead of Ryder Cup 2027.

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One of the other projects which has long been spoken about has been a spur from Sixmilebridge station to Shannon Airport.

This would ultimately mean the local airport would become the first in Ireland whose terminal is connected directly by rail.
“It is very real,” said Mr Meade, the chief executive of Iarnród Éireann.

“While it’s been talked about for decades, what we have achieved in the last number of years with the All-Island strategic rail review, it is now part of the overall vision and plan,” he added.

“If we are serious about growing the Atlantic Arc at double the rate of Dublin, we need key infrastructure. The airport is key to that, and heavy rail connectivity to the airport is important.”

Mr Meade, who started his career as a railway apprentice in Colbert Station, Limerick also outlined his hopes that once Moyross station opens next year, it will be able to welcome shuttle services for spectators attending rugby matches, concerts or other events at Thomond Park.

He did acknowledge with six bus services an hour linking the northside estate to Limerick on normal weekdays, the train frequency will need to increase from its current nine a day.

“At a minimum, we would need an hourly service to Ennis serving Moyross,” he admitted.

He pointed to the success of the Limerick to Galway line as evidence that if you put in a service, people will sue it.

“When we opened (the Ennis to Galway extension) back in 2010, a lot of people thought it was a white elephant, a political whim, it’s not going to succeed. There were 180,000 passengers the first year. Last year, we carried 630,000,” he said.

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Mr Meade also revealed that “three or four sites” are being looked at for the new Ballysimon station in Limerick.

Ballysimon is a big development area for Limerick, with the Towlerton project set to bring hundreds of new houses to the edge of the city.

Construction of a private hospital is well under way, a Lidl branch opened there last week, and Limerick’s Educate Together Secondary School welcomes hundreds of students daily.

“We are funded to deliver it,” Mr Meade said of the new facility. “We are now at the options programme. We are looking at three or four sites and going through the process with local stakeholders,” he said.

Having signed a deal in 2021 with transport engineering giants Alstom for 750 new trains, Mr Meade said the first of these will come into service next year.

As for staff, the transport firm has grown to 5,000 people up from 3,000 in 2018.

He praised the “unity of purpose” which now exists around travel in the region.

“This isn’t about next year or the year after. This is about building infrastructure for our grandchildren and beyond, and recognising within a generation, the population of the island of Ireland will be in excess of what it was pre-famine, and we need to build the infrastructure for that,” the rail boss concluded.