The Thurles Municipal District will write to the Minister for Transport and Irish Rail urging for better train time on routes to Cork.
Cllr. Jim Ryan brought this issue forward at their monthly meeting, as currently the earliest train from Thurles doesn’t arrive in Cork until 9.40am.
He says this is far too late for students commuting to college in Cork or locals working there.
Cllr. Ryan questions how locals can follow Minister Eamon Ryan’s call to be more green when there are no train routes available that make sense.
“I have asked to see would Irish Rail provide an earlier service that would allow students of third level colleges and people from the Mid Tipperary area that are travelling to Cork on a daily basis going to work that it will allow them to take the train, rather than having to drive a car down.
“If we’re realistic about encouraging people to use public transport, I think our train service is the number one priority. At the moment, the train service from Thurles to Cork in the morning is just not working. If the Minister is serious about it, hopefully he might convince Irish Rail to provide an earlier service from Thurles to Cork.”
The Independent councillor says Tipperary as a whole falls behind when it comes to appropriate timetables on public transport.
He is of the view that this is a county-wide issue.
“Tipperary is one of the biggest inland counties in the country, and there are a lot of people who find it hard to access public transport. They might not be able to drive themselves, and they have to get to the cities for medical appointments or to go shopping, and the public transport system in Tipperary is pretty poor, to be honest, whether that’s by train or bus. Even with the recent announcement about the new routes for the Rural Link across the country, again, Tipperary, particularly the Thurles area, seems to have been neglected and left out of that as well. There seems to be a reluctance on the government’s part to try and sort out public transport in Tipperary.”
