Limerick–Foynes railway line

The railway was authorised by the ' (16 & 17 Vict. c. clxviii), and opened in April 1858 by the ', which was taken over by the Waterford and Limerick Railway under the Waterford and Limerick Railway Act 1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c. clxxviii). Initially there was no direct access to the line from Limerick station, with the line branching off at Limerick Check signal cabin. As part of the Cork and Limerick Direct Railway, authorised by the Cork and Limerick Direct Railway Act 1860 (23 & 24 Vict. c. c) and operated by the Great Southern and Western Railway, a direct line was built in 1862. The line was disconnected from the broader Irish Rail network at Limerick Check in November 2007. Goods trains to Castlemungret continued until 2009, with the branch finally being disconnected in 2013. == Proposed reopening ==

Since the line's closure in 2000, a number of proposals were made to reopen the line. The railway line is part of the EU Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) infrastructure, and in 2015 the Shannon Foynes Port Company received €800,000 to study the feasibility of reinstating the line. In July 2022, Irish Rail published a tender to contract for the rebuilding of the line. In September 2023, the River Maigue bridge at Adare was removed for restoration and repair. By May 2024, the old jointed track on wooden sleepers had been removed, and laying of new concrete sleepers and rails had commenced on the route. The new track will be welded to form continuous welded rail. In November 2024, it was reported that the track laying was "expected to be largely completed" by the end of 2024. ==References==