Limerick Suburban Rail - Limerick To Ennis

Limerick To Ennis

The Limerick to Ennis suburban service runs over the southernmost 24.5 miles of the former Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway(WL&WR) track between Limerick and the junction with the Dublin-Galway mainline at Athenry. In the 2010-11 timetable 10 services per weekday are operated from Limerick to Ennis and 11 services from Ennis to Limerick, five of each being stops made by Limerick-Galway intercity trains. Sunday service is eight trains from Limerick to Ennis and nine trains from Ennis to Limerick, and similarly four trains per direction are Limerick-Galway intercity services. Services are timetabled for a 40 minute duration.

Passenger services on this section ceased in 1976 but were re-introduced in 1988 as far as Ennis and were increased progressively until a full six-weekday service was begun in 1994 which also had a limited Sunday service. A further expansion to eight services per weekday was begin in 2003 with the timetable further reorganised in March 2010 to incorporate the newly reopened track north of Ennis and services between Limerick and Galway. Iarnród Éireann has proposed that its next timetable revision in 2011 will include an extra train from Galway to Ennis to meet an existing Limerick-Ennis-Limerick train to create a sixth service per direction per weekday between Limerick and Galway.

As of March 2011, both intercity and commuter services are operated by 2700 class diesel railcars whose 70 mph top speed is sufficient for the limits of the existing single track line (50 mph with partial restrictions of between 25 mph and 40 mph). These railcars normally operate in sets of two offering 117 seats but platform lengths will allow between one and four such cars to operate together. At present the signalling system only allows one train operating in the section at a time, but a is planned for the section's only intermediate halt at Sixmilebridge which would permit trains to depart from Ennis and from Limerick at about the same time and passing each other within the limits of the loop track.