Announcement sets in train Cork's long-awaited commuter rail network
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After all the plans and blueprints over almost two decades, the delivery of a high-frequency commuter rail network for Metropolitan Cork is finally hurtling down the tracks.
Various local, regional and national planning development documents and policies have aligned but crucially, there is a real political will to deliver, and more importantly, massive funding available to pay for it.
The timing of today's announcement, just weeks out from local and European elections, raises the obvious ‘election stunt’ criticism. But it needs to be seen in context.
Plans for a Cork commuter rail network date back decades.
The 2001 Cork Area Strategic Plan (CASP) set out plans for a string of commuter rail stations and a necklace of park-and-rides dotted around the city. What do we have two decades on? Just one park-and-ride facility.
When the 2019 Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Study (CMATS) set out plans again for a commuter rail service, there was, naturally, some skepticism that this could become just another plan gathering dust on a shelf. But concrete steps have been taken — and people have responded, proving that if you build it, they will come.
Pre-covid, in 2019, the annual passenger numbers on the Cork to Cobh/Midleton commuter line was 1.45 million. That figure hit two million last year. Irish Rail says the figures are up a further 15% so far this year.
If the trend continues for the rest of the year, Irish Rail says it could be more than 55% ahead of pre-covid levels.
No other route on the network has seen such growth, with the frequency improvement from summer 2022 a huge factor, supported by reduced fares. The extension of the Leap card to include Mallow has also led to increased passenger numbers on that route.
Currently, there’s an estimated €300m ‘on the pitch’ delivering various resilience measures across the network, including the laying of new tracks, the construction of a new platform at Kent Station, and the installation of new digital signaling and communications infrastructure, to cope with what's planned.
The scope is massive — today, the commuter routes are served by eight two-vehicle cars, with trains running every 30 minutes. That’s set to increase to 150 cars, running every 10 minutes on the Cork to Mallow, Cork to Cobh, and Cork to Midleton routes, but every five minutes on the Cork to Glounthane stretch — effectively a “turn-up-and-go" service.
There’s at least another €1bn ready for the remaining elements, including those long-mooted new commuter train stations, two new park-and-ride sites, the new rolling stock and a new depot to store and service the vast new fleet.
About time, say the tens of thousands of people living in Metropolitan Cork, and the tens of thousands more who are set to live along the commuter rail corridor, where significant housing development has been planned around the delivery of the network over the next 10 to 15 years.
The government has identified Cork as the economic counterweight to development on the eastern seaboard, with population growth of up to 60% forecast up to 2040, as well as massive housing planned at Monard, at Stoneview near Blarney, and around Carrigtwohill, Waterrock and Midleton.
Massive investment is required in public transport if the region is to avoid crippling traffic congestion and meet ambitious climate and emissions targets.
The direction of travel now is positive. The speed is picking up. Now, they just need to keep it all on track to get it delivered.