Iarnroid Eireann has been granted planning permission to construct a new railway station in Crusheen as part of developments to the Western Rail Corridor. Since it opened on March 30, 2010, the Galway to Limerick route has proved to be a resounding success accumulating more than 250,000 journeys. The addition of the station at Crusheen, along with a major commuter station at Oranmore, is expected to attract further custom to the route. It is expected that both new developments will open during the first half of next year.
A spokesman for West on Track, the community based group advocating the corridor’s development, said that although there had been attempts to downplay the route’s success these announcements allied to commuter figures are a testament to its impact:
“The construction of Crusheen and Oranmore needs to be viewed in the context of the news that a quarter of a million passengers have travelled on services on the Galway-Limerick route in its first year, availing of commuter and inter-city services. There are now up to 26 distinct services operating daily on Phase 1 of the Western Rail Corridor. We are confident that the additional new and improved services and connections together with these new stations will lead to continued strong growth across the route leading to further expansion and development in the near future.”
