The Galway to Limerick intercity rail service enjoyed its busiest year in 2022 since it was re-opened in 2010 at a cost of €110 million.

Passenger numbers on the Western Rail Corridor grew by 14% last year, compared with the last pre-Covid year of 2019.

Supporters said the growth in usage has ‘defied the naysayers’, who argued against the service reopening over a decade ago – and it has reignited the campaign of those in favour of reopening the line from Athenry to Claremorris.

The National Transport Authority has confirmed to former Gaeltacht Minister, Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív, that usage of the Galway/Limerick line grew last year, compared to 2019, by 14.4%.

This was at a time when railway patronage as a whole dropped by an average of 25% on intercity routes. Usage was also down by 35% on commuter trains and fell by 26% on Dart.

The only other lines showing an increase in passenger numbers last year were the Dublin/Tralee service and the Cork/Middleton service which were up by 1.6% and 1.4% respectively.

In 2019, more than 500,000 passengers used the Galway to Limerick route, according to Irish Rail. Growth of 14% last year indicates that patronage has passed the 600,000 mark for the first time.
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