Iarnród Éireann has confirmed that it will be Sunday at the earliest before rail services will resume between Ennis and Limerick following the closure of the line this week as a result of severe flooding.
The line is flooded at Ballycar, near Newmarket on Fergus, Co Clare. Heavy rain has meant that a section of the line is submerged under at least 12cm (4.7 inches) of water in places and there has been no improvement in the situation since the line was closed on Tuesday.
The company has said it is continuing to monitor the situation on a daily basis. However, given flooding levels in the area at present, they do not foresee the line reopening before Sunday.
An estimated 600 commuters, including students and business people from both Ennis and Limerick, use the nine daily services between the two centres. Many of the trains link up with intercity services at Limerick station.
The road at Ballycar has also been flooded in recent days causing problems for locals. It has been impassable in at least two places since the beginning of the week. While locals in Ballycar say it had been many years since they have seen flooding on this scale, there was a time when it happened on a regular basis for prolonged periods.
Local councillor Pat McMahon said the regular flooding did not have a major impact on the railway line as there were only limited services on the route at the time.
The line only reopened to passenger traffic in recent years and Cllr McMahon has blamed Iarnród Éireann's short-sightedness for allowing past flood problems, of which they were aware, to affect services again.
"It is marvellous that we have services on the Ennis to Limerick line again but, in a few years, when the line is extended north to Athenry and Galway under the Transport 21 initiative, we will have to be sure that this flooding problem will not cause disruption," he said.
"When Iarnród Éireann upgraded the Ennis to Limerick line, they undertook to carry out a review of the flooding issues at Ballycar. As far as I know, this has not happened and I would call on the company to do so as a matter of urgency," Cllr McMahon said.