Mr. Jim Meade:

There are 17 or 18 miles of track to be laid. One of the important points is that it is on our own footprint. Back in old God’s time, in the 1800s and early 1900s, it was double-tracked. It is easier for us to work on our own footprint. We currently have some funding from the NTA to get all designs and studies done and to get planning permissions, although we believe we will need very few because the work is on our own footprint.

The journey time would be reduced in two ways. We can increase the speed on the line from the current speed, which is nearly 90 miles per hour, or 80 miles per hour in sections. It will give us more flexibility so we do not have to wait at crossing points or delay trains at intermediate stations. Our target is to reduce the Limerick journey to one hour and 45 minutes or one hour and 40 minutes.