Frustration grows over delays to improvements on Tipperary rail line
There have been calls for the council in Tipperary to immediately engage with Irish Rail and the National Transport Authority (NTA) about transport delays in the county.
At the June meeting of the Nenagh Municipal District, Labour Party councillor Louise Morgan Walsh tabled a motion calling on the council write to the organisations about repeated delays to improvements to the rail service in north Tipperary.
Cllr Morgan Walsh’s motion called for an urgent explanation and a credible, time‑bound action plan to address issues with rail services on the Ballybrophy–Limerick rail line, which serves Nenagh.
The motion came following reports from Irish Rail saying that they were unable to increase services on the line due to a lack of gatekeepers and insufficient fleet resources.
Cllr Morgan Walsh said the decision reflects the growing frustration of communities along the line, particularly in Nenagh and Cloughjordan, where residents have repeatedly raised concerns about reliability, limited timetabling, and the lack of progress on long‑promised improvements.
“Residents have been told for years that improvements are coming. To now hear that basic staffing and fleet issues are blocking progress is simply unacceptable.
“We need transparency, accountability, and a realistic timeline for when these barriers will be resolved,” she said.
Cllr Morgan Walsh said the rail line has significant potential and that communities would use it more if services were more frequent and reliable.
Highlighting the work of the North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership, Cllr Morgan Walsh said they aim to promote the rail line as much as possible, including by carrying on the tradition of taking people on a daytrip to Limerick on Ice at Christmas time, a tradition that started more than 20 years ago.
“The potential of this line is clear, and communities have shown time and again that they will use the service when it is reliable and properly supported.
“Irish Rail’s ambition for two‑hourly services is welcome — but ambition alone won’t deliver better outcomes. We need a firm plan to fix the fundamentals,” she added.
Cllr Morgan Walsh’s motion called on both organisations to set out how and when the identified staffing and operational issues will be addressed, and give a timeline for when improvements to the line would be delivered.
The issue was raised in the Dáil earlier this summer when it emerged that commuters were locked out of Nenagh Train Station in May after there was an error with the security firm contracted to open up the station.
North Tipperary TD Ryan O’Meara said there is potential for a transport hub in Nenagh, but more investment was needed.
“Journey times are excessively long and travel times on this regional line are mind-bogglingly inconvenient,” he said.
“The programme for Government states many things about public transport, particularly on rail lines. One of those points is a commitment to develop additional track capacity, electrification, increased line speeds and new routes.
“We already have the track in place on the Ballybrophy line but we want increased speeds and faster journey travel across north Tipperary, and that is a very reasonable request.”