New railway tracks have been laid for the reopening of the Foynes Port-Limerick City freight line, marking a major milestone of the project, with phase one progressing well, reports the Limerick Leader.
Works begin in November, 2022, as Afloat previously reported, to reopen the rail-line connecting the Shannon Estuary port, and the city. Originally, the line opened in 1858 and continued in use for more than a century until it closed to passenger traffic in 1963.
Freight services, however, continued until 2001, when such services stopped with the rail-line declared inactive, though since then the line has remained under the stewardship of Irish Rail /Iarnród Éireann.
The infrastructure project on the 42 kms line, funded by the Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority, is expected to be ready for operations in December 2025, with freight services scheduled to start in early 2026.
Among the works of phase one, has been the removal of existing old track rails, sleepers, and fixings, which are made up of jointed track placed on wooden sleepers, as they could no longer be used.
Sisk is the main contractor for the project, along with subcontractor Steconefer, which has started to replace the existing track with the replacement and installation of new materials.
Afloat also adds that this will involve laying new concrete sleepers and rails to match the existing track alignment, which will be welded to form continuous welded rail.
The track-laying stage has begun near Askeaton, and according to Sisk, it is expected that all tracks will be laid with completion by the end of 2024.
