Rail Freight Services
Freight services ran regularly on the Limerick to Claremorris section until the mid 1990s. However with the closure of the Asahi factory near Ballina, regular freight services north of Athenry ceased in 1997. Fertiliser trains from Foynes continued to use the line as far as Athenry until 2000 and bulk cement trains from the Irish Cements Ltd Castlemungret factory near Limerick until 2001, when the line ceased to have any regular traffic. In 2002 the section from Athenry to Claremorris was severed at Athenry during re-signalling of the Galway line. Container freight from Mayo has returned to the railway since 2006. Coillte, together with Mayo Industries Group export several thousand container loads via Waterford port (Ireland's best rail-connected port).
Read more about this topic: Western Railway Corridor
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