MINISTER for Transport Noel Dempsey has urged the people of Cork to avail of the State’s newest rail link as he officially opened the refurbished €75 million Cork to Midleton rail line in the first significant line opening under the Transport 21 programme.
Mr Dempsey said yesterday that the people of east Cork had campaigned for many years for the reopening of the 20km line between Cork city and Midleton. He said it was a great day for the area to see the rail line reopened to passenger traffic after an absence of over 20 years.
However, he cautioned that the success of the new line, like the Navan Rail Link and the Western Rail Corridor, and its ability to earn Government subventions, would be judged on usage and he urged people in east Cork to use the service as frequently as they could.
Mr Dempsey’s comments were echoed by CIÉ and Iarnród Éireann chairman Dr John Lynch, who said that the new line would be of great benefit to the communities of east Cork.
There was great cheering and whistling from the 1,000-strong crowd when the first passenger train carrying Mr Dempsey, Dr Lynch, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin and other invited guests pulled into Midleton station just before 1pm.
The idea of reopening the line was first mooted in the Cork Area Strategic Plan in 2001 and was subsequently endorsed by the National Spatial Strategy, before being incorporated into the Transport 21 programme in 2005.
Originally constructed as part of the Great Southern and Western Railway network in 1859, the line was later extended to Youghal. It was closed to passenger traffic in 1963 save for summer excursions and was finally closed to goods traffic in 1988.
However, following the holding of a public inquiry in 2006, the then minister for transport Martin Cullen signed a railway order, essentially granting planning permission for the refurbishment in 2007. Construction work got under way in February 2008.
The service will have two carriage rail cars with a capacity for 320 passengers. Twenty one trains will operate daily between Cork and Midleton with services running every 30 minutes at peak times.
Projected passenger numbers are 4,000 a day on the route, which will have a journey time of 23-24 minutes. All trains will serve new stations at Midleton and Carrigtwohill as well as at Glounthaune, Little Island and Kent Station in Cork.
An adult single ticket is €4.40 while an adult return is €6.50. An adult weekly ticket costs €26, an adult monthly ticket €92 and an adult annual ticket is €920.
Mayor of Midleton Ted Murphy paid tribute to all those in the town who had never given up hope of seeing the line reopen and said its return was a great day for Midleton and east Cork.
The reopening was warmly welcomed by local business interests, with Cork Chamber president Ger O’Mahoney predicting that it would bring major economic benefits to the region and would help to reduce the region’s carbon footprint.