Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am raising the issue of Crusheen railway station for a number of reasons. It was closed in 1976 but the infrastructure remains. It is not a big issue to reopen it. It should be reopened simply because the rail line between Limerick and Galway is now extremely successful. I take the train from Ennis to Dublin every week. I take it in both directions. I get it from Ennis to Limerick and on to Dublin. Sometimes I get it from Ennis to Athenry and on to Dublin. I return on a Thursday evening both ways again, regularly.

I have noticed in the last number of years, excluding the years of the pandemic, that the rail line between Limerick and Galway is extremely busy.Many students who would have traditionally lived in Galway or Limerick now live in Ennis and commute to Galway or Limerick. Similarly, there are students in Limerick commuting to college in Galway and vice versa. Aside from students, there are young professionals with jobs in Limerick who live in Ennis or with jobs in Galway who live in Limerick or Sixmilebridge. It is an extremely busy commuter line.

About 15 years ago when the western rail corridor was opened, there was much criticism that it would not work or be viable. The facts and figures speak for themselves. On a Thursday evening, in particular, one can just about get standing room on the trains between Limerick and Galway.

The Crusheen railway station is about six or seven minutes on the rail line between Ennis and Galway. A number of housing estates have been built in Crusheen in recent years and there is potential for many more. People living in communities around Crusheen, such as Corofin, Ruan and other areas closer to Ennis, would be more inclined and attracted to using Crusheen railway station.

My question is simple. We are not talking about building a new railway station but recommissioning an old station. That would be of enormous benefit to the people of Crusheen and the surrounding areas, and to County Clare and the rural areas of Ennis. It would be a statement by the Government and Iarnród Éireann that they are committed to people living in places like Crusheen and commuting. It would provide people with an easy way of commuting. Many of these railways stations are unmanned and automatic. The station in Oranmore, I understand, is automatic. There is no reason the station in Crusheen could not be automatic.

While I am on the issue, I will raise something I have campaigned about for a long time, namely standardised fares. People travelling from Maynooth to Dublin get 30% cheaper fares than those commuting from Ennis to Limerick, even though it is around the same distance. I am sure the Minister of State is aware of the same experience in Mayo for people using public transport to commute. It is not just with the railways but also with buses. In County Clare, there are two providers under the TFI brand, Bus Éireann and Local Link Limerick Clare. They charge different prices for the exact same journey. We need standardised fares. It makes sense. It is ridiculous we do not have them.

In our overall review of transport policy, we need to look at opening railways stations where it makes sense to do so and the infrastructure is in place. We also need to look at standardised fares.