A preliminary investigation by Iarnród Éireann has begun into the cause of the accident in which a freight train was derailed yesterday while crossing a bridge over the river Suir near Cahir, Co Tipperary. Part of the bridge collapsed.
The preliminary investigation is expected to completed in the coming days.
The accident, at 6 a.m. yesterday, caused damage running into millions of euro and will force the closure of the line for at least several months.
About a third of the 300-yard bridge collapsed, and six wagons tumbled some 50 feet into the Suir.
The driver, from Limerick, who was the only person aboard the train carrying bulk cement from Limerick Junction to Waterford, escaped uninjured.
The Limerick Junction-Waterford line has daily carried one passenger train each way in winter, two cement freight trains each way and five trains each way carrying sugar beet.
An Iarnród Éireann spokesman, Mr Barry Kenny, said 13 of the 22 wagons were derailed at the viaduct. The twin locomotive engines and nine wagons remained on the track.
He said that after the preliminary investigation a full investigation would proceed. The investigators would also be looking into why almost the entire bridge collapsed.
"More serious probably is the impact this accident will have on the route over the coming months," he said.
Iarnród Éireann would be making alternative arrangements for the regular freight and passenger trains that used the line, he said.
Fine Gael's transport spokesman, Mr Denis Naughten, called on the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, to commit himself to the future of the line and rail freight on it.
"This accident threatens the future of the rail line, as structural damage has been caused to the Cahir viaduct. But it will also threaten the viability of the transport of both cement and beet by rail on the line," he said.
Mr Naughten said it was evident that this line and rail freight had been under-resourced in the past.
Groups of onlookers who gathered to view the scene of the accident said it was a miracle it had not happened while a passenger train was crossing the bridge.
The last passenger train to cross the viaduct, the Rosslare-Limerick service, passed that point at 9.50 p.m. on Monday, some eight hours before the accident.
A further seven freight trains travelled across the bridge between the time of that passenger service and the accident.
Gardaí preserved the scene yesterday, and representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency were also present because of concerns that cement might pollute the river.
Bus transfers have been arranged on the route for passenger services. Alternative arrangements are also being put in place for freight customers.
The bridge was the scene of another accident on December 23rd, 1955, when the driver and fireman were killed when a train was derailed.
Iarnród Éireann had also been due to begin shortly its annual transportation of sugar beet, 10 movements daily of beet from Wellington Bridge, Co Wexford, to the Mallow sugar factory using the line.