The North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership have been making the case for upgrading services on the Ballybrophy line to an Oireachtas Committee.
Representatives of the NTCRP are among those appearing before the Transport Committee today to make submissions ton the All-Island Rail Review.
Significant works have been undertaken on the line in recent times aimed at improving speeds.
However Graham Lightfoot of the Rail Partnership said both Iarnród Éireann and the National Transport Authority describe the Ballybrophy line as being lightly used.
“This unfortunate tag is due to the lack of useful journey opportunities making it irrelevant and largely unusable to the population it serves.
“All other routes operated by Iarnród Éireann have seen services upgraded from the traditional two trains a day to either an hourly or at worst three hourly off-peak service.
“The sole exceptions are the North and South Tipperary lines which maintain a very basic service. The timetable has essentially not changed since the restoration of full services after the Emergency and fuel crisis of 1947.”
Wicklow Green Party TD Stephen Matthews highlighted the need for local communities to come on board in order for the likes of the Ballybrophy line to become viable.
However he did praise the efforts of the North Tipp Rail Partnership in promoting the development of the line.
“I particularly would compliment the North Tipp submission.
“Very well researched – it gets right down to the nuts & bolts of what it is to try and run a rail line in terms of cost and staffing measures and it does suggest some real deliverable objectives that could bring that line into greater use.”
