It shows that things can be done quickly sometimes. Hopefully, a test bed fo whether a permanent passenger service can be implemented on the Foynes line. 

Also they're hoping to get new signalling, get a new platform at Cork Kent, and eventually order new stock! I recall also reading in another article they want to reopen Buttevant Station. Any thoughts?

This caught my eye 

"‘We will bring innovation and best practice from across our existing tram and light rail operations with Amey, as well as experience from our many networks around the world’, said Alistair Gordon, CEO of Keolis UK and Ireland. 

Wonder if that swung it?

Dublin based 2018 planned operations, I will post timings for each here about a week before each one. As always plans are subject to alteration or cancellation or additions ect.  Any questions please feel free to ask.

April

7^th Branchline Explorer

29^th Dublin Riveriera, Connolly – Bray – Wicklow

May

10^th Cork and Kerry Railtour, Whitehead – Belfast – Dublin

11^th Second strand (Diesel) Dublin -  Wexford – Rosslare Return

12^th Cork and Kerry Railtour, Connolly – Tralee

13^th Cork and Kerry Railtour, Tralee - Mallow – Tralee

14^th Cork and Kerry Railtour, Tralee – Mallow – Connolly -Belfast  - Whitehead

June

10^th  Emerald Isle Express (diesel) Connolly – Rosslare – Connolly - Waterford

11^th  Emerald Isle Express (diesel) Waterford – Cork

12^th Emerald Isle Express (diesel) Cork – Killarney

13^th Emerald Isle Express (diesel) Killarney – Limerick – Westport

15^th Emerald Isle Express (diesel) Westport – Dublin

July

8^th Sea Breeze, Connolly – Wexford – Rosslare strand

22^nd The Boyne, Connolly – Drogheda , Drogheda – Dundalk – Drogheda, Drogheda – Skerries – Drogheda, Drogheda – Connolly

August

5^th Enniscorthy Rockin Food Destival, Connolly – Enniscorthy, Enniscorthy – Wexford – Enniscorthy, Enniscorthy – Connolly

26^th Connolly – Bray, Bray – Wicklow - Bray X2, Bray – Connolly

September

3^rd Steam Charter, Connolly – Killarney

5^th Steam Charter, Killarney – Westport

7^th Steam Charter, Westport – Connolly

24^th  Emerald Isle Express (diesel) Connolly – Rosslare – Connolly - Waterford

25^th  Emerald Isle Express (diesel) Waterford – Cork

26^h Emerald Isle Express (diesel) Cork – Killarney

27^th Emerald Isle Express (diesel) Killarney – Limerick – Westport

29^th Emerald Isle Express (diesel) Westport – Dublin

October

13^th Connacht Explorer (Diesel), Connolly – Westport – Ballina – Dublin

29^th Haunted Express, Dublin - Greystones – Dublin X2

December

1^st Santa Express, Connolly Maynooth X3

2^nd Santa Express, Connolly Maynooth X2

8^th Santa Express, Connolly Maynooth X3

9^th Santa Express, Connolly Maynooth X2

15^th Santa Express, Connolly Maynooth X3

16^th Santa Express, Connolly Maynooth X3

First up, Branchline explorer, 7th of April

Dublin Connolly                08.45

Drumcondra                       08.50

Glasnevin Jctn.                  08.51

Islandbridge Jctn.                             08.58

Inchicore                             09.02

Sallins                    09.21

Newbridge                         09.28

Kildare  09.33     09.35

Athy      09.51     10.00

Carlow  10.14     10.23

Muine Bheag     10.36     10.45

Lavistown North Jctn.                     10.57

Lavistown South Jctn.                     10.59

Thomastown                     11.06

Ballyhale              11.11     11.21

Waterford           11.50    

Waterford                           12.15

Carrick-On-Suir 12.44     12.50

Clonmel               13.17     13.23

Cahir                      13.42

Tipperary                             14.06

Limerick Jctn. Pocket Loop           14.14     14.18

Dromkeen                          14.30

Killonan Jct                          14.37

Limerick               14.46    

Limerick                               15.25

Killonan Jctn.                      15.33

Castleconnell                     15.49

Birdhill  15.59     16.09

Nenagh                16.36

Cloughjordan     16.56     17.04

Roscrea                17.25

Ballybrophy        17.49     18.20

Lisduff 18.26

Templemore 18.31

Thurles 18.40

Thurles                 19.30

Templemore                      19.39

Lisduff                  19.44

Ballybrophy                        19.50

Portlaoise                            20.04

Portarlington                     20.13

Monasterevin                   20.19

Kildare                  20.25

Newbridge                         20.28

Sallins & Naas                    20.35

Inchicore                             20.51

Islandbridge Jct                 20.53

Glasnevin Jct                      20.59

Drumcondra                       21.01

Dublin Connolly 21.07

https://www.downrail.co.uk/2026/03/dcdr-crookhaven/

https://www.irishtractiongroup.com/2025/first-preserved-121-class-working

Those interested can book here and plan your visit here.

I personally am also happy to answer any technical questions about the SWR and our fleet and can aid anyone looking to model any of our fleet, including providing photos.

To start with some news posted yesterday, the Coastal North railway order has been lodged, according to Irish Rail's own reports. This project covers electrification to Drogheda. How long will it take to get through the planning system?

Quote

Following the DART+ West Railway Order (Maynooth/M3 Parkway to Dublin), which was lodged with An Bord Pleanála in July 2022 and the DART+ South West Railway Order Application (Hazelhatch to Heuston / Phoenix Park Tunnel), which was lodged in March 2023

Well Maynooth has been in the system for two years. Best not hold your breath.

I lovely land mark on my way home I would give a little loco whistle as I drove past.

Standing since 1967 it would of made a lovely feature for someone with some imagination.

Wonder what happened to the metal gate post.

Full story at: https://www.downrail.co.uk/2026/01/new-year-new-project/

Great fun and very rewarding, you don't have to be a professional coach builder or fitter to get involved (I'm neither). Feel free to drop me a DM if you're interested.

Dublin metro procurement to begin this year | Metro Report International | Railway Gazette International

The salient parts. 

– Build a new direct line between Lisburn and Newry.

– Restore a line between Athenry in Co Galway and Claremorris in Co Mayo, connecting Tuam in Co Galway to the network.

– Reinstate the South Wexford railway.

– Develop a new rail link from Letterkenny in Co Donegal to Derry.

– Build a rail link that would cross central Dublin – potentially via a tunnel – to connect Heuston station, which receives trains from the south of the island, with the northern line that serves Connolly station.

More progress yesterday with the temporary narrow gauge tracks being laid towards the Galway city direction,

Exciting times ahead when after the open day (TBC) the standard 5' 3'' track will replace the temporary narrow gauge and will permit the use of former MGWR and CIE rolling stock to be used  at this scenic location.

There is a go fund me page in the link if you would wish to donate to this worthy cause.

A few photos from relaying operations over the last few weeks

https://www.galwaybeo.ie/news/galway-news/closed-irish-rail-line-track-8448347

What do you think they'll be? Stadler FLIRTs seem to be very popular over on the continent, and the only other current BMU possibility I can think of is those Hitachi yokes they have over in Britain. Either way, it seems the end of loco-hauled services are in sight, but at least they'll still be around for a while more as the trains don't look like they're going to arrive this decade.

EDIT: I just noticed it says that the entire fleet will be in service by the end of this decade, although they still could be delayed I guess.

It appears that Irish Rail have funding for a "pre-feasibility study", which is presumably different from a feasibility study. Avoca had 771 residents according to the 2016 census, which isn't very large, but stations serve smaller villages.

The Independent reports a public enquiry on a station in Moyross has begun, and an area map has been provided.

Irish Rail themselves have a page on their website with more information: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/about-us/iarnrod-eireann-projects-and-investments/new-stations/moyross

The most obvious thing to me (it's 3am so I might have missed something) is that it'll be built with one platform on a single-track line, though it says it'll be designed to allow a second to be added if the line gets doubled.

Any photos?

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/575595/150-year-old-train-found-after-being-buried-on-whanganui-beach-for-75-years

The loco believed to be "Skunk" one of a trio of locomotives built by a Wellington foundry in 1873 for use on the "Foxton Section" a line which linked the port of Foxton with the town of Palmerston North in the Wairapa region. Opening as an isolated section the Foxton section was originally laid with wooden rails when opened in 1873 and re-laid with steel rails and re-opened in 1876.

A local group appears to be planning to carry out a cosmetic restoration, interestingly the cylinders on the recovered loco appears to drive a lay shaft mounted amid-ship under the boiler similar to a climax rather than the trailing "driving" axle on sister locomotive the restored "Opussum" at Shantytown on the South Island.

https://nzrailphotos.co.nz/photos/shantytown?view=latest#lg=1&slide=11

Looks like a good excuse for visiting Whanganui and Shantytown to try and figure out how 'Skunks' transmission actually works!

it’s a Kirow Multitasker 500

Since I broke my arm, my favourite place for watching trains has become Goring & Streatley - cheap-ish parking and lifts to get an old man from platform to platform!

A period of four hours today saw not one but three Class 37 movements. I missed filming the first - 37.601 hauling a Heathrow Express set away to go into store, but got a clip of her light engine returning -

Sorry it's a short snip - I'm trying to balance and shoot with a dodgy arm!

She was preceded by 37.812 in the more familiar BR Blue livery. Sadly neither making much engine noise as they zoomed along.

37.812 was heading to Reading Triangle sidings, I believe to pick up another stock move.

Eleven other 66-hauled freights and the usual Class 60-hauled oil train.

Who needs a train set?

I'll do Part One some other time (nearly three weeks in Switzerland).

Not having been to the Austro-Hungarian Empire for two years, it was off to Jenbach in the Tirol for ten days in August - I had to pay for Eurostar, but otherwise the travel was free and there was plenty of it.

We arrived on Wednesday 6 August and next morning got going slowly, so that it was 11 o'clock when we got to the station to find that OBB are going to use "VECTRONS" on the through trains from Munich to Italy via Innsbruck.

Then to posh Kitzbuhel using a Railjet to Worgl (11m48s, max a steady 100mph) then a CityJet electric unit. The plan was to catch the Westbound Eurocity which is one of the few loco-hauled trains over this "Giselabahn" line which was celebrating 150 years. Great line with much curves, two hairpins etc etc - NOT for speed! So here is the EC entering Kitzbuhel town station (the cafe here does brilliant Gulaschsuppe with a roll for €6 - no need to eat for the rest of the day!).

I video-ed most loco-hauled trains entering (no defensive driving here - they came in hard and stood on the brakes!) as it was the sure way to get the (pretty small) number - the First Class was often at the other end of a seven coach train and the train might be off again before I got the number on getting off!

More later.

The main thing Irish Rail are mentioning are the flood works. Starting from the 25th of August, there will be bus substitutions as follows (quote from Irish Rail):

25th August to 27th November 2025, and 5th January to 26th March 2026

Works will take place from 08:00hrs to 14:30hrs on Mondays to Thursdays during the above dates.  As a result, the following service alterations will apply:
    07:20hrs and 10:15hrs Dublin Heuston to Waterford will terminate at Kilkenny, with bus transfers from Kilkenny to Thomastown and Waterford
    11:00hrs and 13:05hrs Waterford to Dublin Heuston will have bus transfers from Waterford and Thomastown to Kilkenny, and train from Kilkenny to Heuston
    09:45hrs Limerick Junction to Waterford will terminate at Carrick-on-Suir with bus transfer from Carrick-on-Suir to Waterford

Also worth noting is the new Waterford station's stated opening year is currently 2027, and mechanical signalling in the Waterford area is set to be replaced at the same time.

Campaigners fume as Irish Rail backtracks on 35km greenway

https://www.irishtractiongroup.com/2025/a39r-works-its-first-passenger-trains-since-floods

"Deepcut" refers to the Deep Cut through a ridge in the local hills to get the Basingstoke Canal (1794) through. When the London and Southampton Railway was opened in 1840, they had to build a wall 8ft high between the railway and the canal so that the horses were not frightened! You can see in some of my videos  taken at The Curzon Bridge - two bridges East of the actual DEEPCUT BRIDGE from which the first of these shots was taken. It is a VERY high bridge, as the railway is at a lower level than the canal which climbed over the ridge by courtesy of a ladder of FOURTEEN locks. The canal is a lovely place to walk, was it not for the cyclists, who don't seem to have heard of bells! Oh, and the occasional military men out keeping fit - the Curzon Bridge leads into the former Guards' Depot at Pirbright. It's all within two miles of the house!

So first, a light engine movement this morning from Tonbridge to Eastleigh - no less than the Electro-diesels (nearly sixty years old) 73109 + 73213. They are on the Fast Line as there's work going on on the slow line. They are just approaching the top of the ten mile 1 in 300 or so climb to milepost 31 from London - the white box by the track almost marks the spot.

Guess what turned up, a PULLMAN-liveried Class 67 (67.021) doing 75/80 I'd say - 

After a nice walk from Lock 25 at the Curzon Bridge down to Lock 19 and back, I video'd the good old boring Mountfield Sidings (near Robertsbridge in Kent) to Eastleigh empty stone train. A real Accurascale benefit - I think that these are wagons which they've produced? The Basingstoke Canal is behind the trees on the left (you can't see the wall, which IS 8ft high) for the overgrown vegetation!).

Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern announced an agreement to create America’s first transcontinental railroad. These legendary companies will seamlessly connect over 50,000 route miles across 43 states from the East Coast to the West Coast, linking approximately 100 ports and nearly every corner of North America. This combination will transform the U.S. supply chain, unleash the industrial strength of American manufacturing and create new sources of economic growth and workforce opportunity that preserves union jobs.

https://www.up-nstranscontinental.com/

and also found video of the move too:

https://youtu.be/mCcJZFPM6RI?si=uiEgnCX39bL786TE

Didn't think the 201s need replacing (the 071s are good too but I suppose they are almost 50) but here we are; either way, the article's worth a read.

074 & 080 arrived together.

A bit of shunting later, 076 & 080 left.

073 and another grey unidentified 071 were parked up.

@DJ Dangerous would have loved it

Which brings up the question of whether Irish businesses are prepared to build Inland Ports or 'a network of intermodal terminals offering logistic services nationally" as IEs Rail-Freight 2040 Strategy long widely describes them https://www.irishrail.ie/Admin/getmedia/685e9919-f012-4018-879b-06618bb536af/IE_Rail-Freight-2040-Strategy_Public_Final_20210715.pdf

Although there were private sectors proposals for a rail linked Inland Ports at Clondalkin (National Distribution Centre and near Portlaoise during the late 1990s and even e Dublin Port proposal to build an Inland Port for container storage with its own fleet of wagons none of these proposals for a rail linked Inland Port materialised. Dublin Port deciding instead to serve "Dublin Inland Port" by road through the Port Tunnel and motorway network.

Daventry International Freight terminal originally operated by Tibbett and Britten was an early example of a railfreight served Inland Port in England, locally the Port of Tauranga developed an Inland Port in Auckland (our largest city) about 30 years ago (think Waterford Port or Foynes establishing an Inland Port in Dublin) with rail-freight terminals shifting from railway owned land to private sector owned terminals usually operated by Logistics companies. Hamilton where I live a city with a population of approx 100k opened its 1st Inland Port about 25 years ago to serve Fonterra (NZ largest dairy sector operator) and as the cities railfreight terminal, more recently Kiwirail provided a private siding off the main line to serve a new Mainfreight Transport Depot on the outskirts of the City. Mainfreight is served by trip working to and from the local marshalling years. The latest development is the Ruakura Superhub https://www.ruakura.co.nz/ on the western side of the city with rail access close to a major road/motorway junction. Ruakura was mainly agricultural (ag research) until development work commenced about 10 years ago.

Due to their large scale (amount of space) and simple rail layout contemporary Inland Port is not really feasible of interesting from a modelling perspective unless you model in Z or have a hell of a lot of space,

Largely funded by the private sector sometimes with minor state sector involvement it will be interesting to see if similar rail served development take off in Ireland.