Single lines, block sections, travel times, and train frequencies

[Darrman]

I've been doing a bunch of research into these things mostly for my own curiosity as to what lines would be best to double-track or where would be a good place to lay more passing loops, and I figured I'd share my notes.

Block distances were calculated via Johnson's Atlas and Gazetter's mileage. Timings taken from a random train on each route using Irish Rail's API or the Translink public timetable.

Legend:

Block length (miles/chains).
Station code of the station/loop at the down end of the station (eg: Cork-Waterfall would have the hypothetical Waterfall code), or an abbreviation of similar length.
Time to pass the block. Dwell time is factored out of the starting and ending stations in the South, but not in the North. Intermediate stations are assumed to be called at and their dwell time factored in.
Trains each way using the section on an ordinary weekday. Sometimes they're unbalanced and I arbitrarily picked whether to use the up or down number. Friday onlys are excluded. Freight's presence will be acknowledged, but without specific numbers.
2x = Double track area. These are often simplified.

Waterford:

12:29, 11:04, 10:12, 14:66, 14:77, 15:65
ATHY , CRLOW, MNEBG, KKNNY, BAHLE, WFORD
11:00, 11:00, 10:00, 17:00, 17:30, 24:00

10+F Cherryville Junction - Carlow
7+F Carlow - Waterford

Athlone:

8:54 , 7:47 , 6:73 , 8:00 , 7:53 , 0:43
GSHIL, TMORE, CLARA, CYDNN, ATLNE, ATHMD
8:30 , 6:30 , 7:30 , 7:00 , 9:00 , 2:00

13+F at Portarlington
14+F Tullamore - Athlone
16+F Athlone - Mayo Junction

Galway:

13:30, 10:03, 12:18, 12:77
BSLOE, WLAWN, ATHRY, GALWY
12:00, 8:30 , 10:30* 19:00

*The service used for these timings skipped Attymon, add in ~2 minutes to factor it in.

10 Mayo Junction - Athenry
17 Athenry - Galway

Westport:

11:75, 6:19 , 16:44, 11:49, 11:78, 26:11
KGHRY, RSCMN, CSREA, BYHNS, CLMRS, WPORT
13:30, 6:30 , 16:30, 13:00, 13:30, 36:00

6+F Mayo Junction - Westport

Ballina:

20:25
BALNA
27:00

9+F Manulla Junction - Ballina

Ballybrophy:

10:04, 32:32, 10:10
RCREA, BHILL, KONAN
16:30, 55:30, 22:30

2 Ballybrophy - Nenagh
3 Nenagh - Killonan J

Waterford and Limerick:

4:16 , 7:30 , 9:76 , 3:13 , 24:37, 28:00
KONAN, DRKEN, LLOOP, TIPRY, CLMEL, WFORD
7:00 , 6:30 , 8:30*, 12:30, 40:00, 50:30
 2x

*The passing loop isn't explicitly timed so I used the timing for signal LJ364 for this. No trains run straight through to Tipperary, slowing the timing for it.

30 depart from Limerick
21 Ennis Junction - Killonan Junction
19 Killonan Junction - Limerick Junction
2 Limerick Junction Direct Curve
17 Curve - Limerick Junction Platform 3
2 Limerick Junction - Waterford

Tralee:

10:54, 8:26 , 6:37 , 14:32, 10:55, 10:17
BTEER, MLSRT, RMORE, KLRNY, FFORE, TRLEE
11:00, 9:00 , 8:30   18:00, 13:30* 16:00

*Five minutes spent reversing into Killarney Check factored out.

8 Mallow - Tralee

Midleton:

2:60 , 3:38
CGTWL, MDLTN
4:00 , 7:00

31 Cobh Junction - Midelton

Rosslare:

14:00, 4:65 , 11:15, 7:69 , 12:75, 10:40, 17:76, 15:14, 6:20 , 3:14
BRAY , GSTNS, WLOW , RDRUM, ARKLW, GOREY, ECRTY, WXFRD, RLSTD, RLEPT
40:30, 9:30 , 16:00, 13:00, 16:30, 12:30, 20:00, 20:30* 17:00, 5:00 
 2x

*The loop in Wexford is passed 30 seconds before arriving in the station. Bray timings/mileage start from Pearse: add 5:30 for the mile to Connolly.

159 through Pearse
132 Pearse - Grand Canal Dock
105 Grand Canal Dock - Bray
38 Bray - Greystones
6 Greystones - Gorey
5 Gorey - Wexford
4 Wexford - Rosslare Harbour

Sligo:

16:05, 11:32, 15:18, 8:39 , 17:35, 8:50 , 9:03 , 10:37, 8:51 , 27:63
MYNTH, ENFLD, KLCAN, MLGAR, ETOWN, LFORD, DRMOD, CKOSH, BOYLE, SLIGO
35:30, 15:50, 15:00, 9:30 , 17:00, 10:30, 12:00, 10:30* 12:30, 37:30
 2x

*Time for Carrick-on-Shannon is for the station. The loop is passed 1:30 later.

74 depart Connolly via GSWR dock line
11 depart Docklands via MGWR dock line
58 Glasnevin Junction - Clonsilla
47 Clonsilla - Maynooth
11 Maynooth - Mullingar
10 Mullingar - Longford
8 Longford - Sligo

 

Limerick-Athenry:

24:51, 18:54, 18:21
ENNIS, GORT , ATHRY
39:00, 21:00, 28:00

9 Ennis Junction - Ennis
5 Ennis - Athenry

Derry:

6:07 , 7:58 , 5:39 , 5:60 , 5:75 , 9:73 , 10:03, 8:24 , 13:16, 20:24
Mkstn, Tplpk, Antrm, Mgabg, Bmena, Klgan, Bmony, Clran, Belrn, Derry
9:00*, (   14:00   ) (   16:00   ) (  27:00   ), 13:00, 17:00, 22:00
 2x

*Monkstown approximated with Mossley West timing. Intermediate passing loops don't appear on the NIR public timetables, so their timings have been merged with the nearest station.

89 departed Great Victoria Street (presumably will carry over to Grand Central on opening)
97 City Junction - Lanyon Place (Enterprises will soon leave this section)
107 Lanyon Place - Lagan Junction
55 Lagan Junction - Bleach Green Junction
19 Bleach Green Junction - Coleraine
16 Coleraine - Derry

Larne:

7:64 , 2:15 , 4:53 , 4:52
SaltJ, Whthd, Mgmrn, LarnH
20:00* 4:00 , 8:00 , 11:00
 2x

*Bleach Green to Saltmines Junction approximated by starting two minutes after Whiteabbey departure and finishing halfway between Downshire and Whitehead.

36 Bleach Green Junction - Carrickfergus
32 Carrickfergus - Whitehead
18 Whitehead - Larne Town
15 Larne Town - Larne Harbour

Portrush:

6:00 
Ptrsh
14:00

18 Coleraine - Portrush

For comprehensiveness's sake, I'll post my frequency tables for the double track lines, though I won't try to figure out capacity.

Cork:

68 Heuston departures
94+F Islandbridge Junction - Hazelhatch
73+F Hazelhatch - Newbridge
61+F Newbridge - Kildare
60+F Kildare - Cherryville Junction
50+F Cherryville Junction - Portarlington
37 Portarlington - Portlaoise
19 Portlaoise - Thurles
20 Thurles - Limerick Junction
16 Limerick Junction - Mallow
31 Mallow - Killarney Junction
27 Killarney Junction - Cork

Belfast:

133 northbound Connolly departures
84+F Howth Junction - Malahide
38+F Malahide - Drogheda
15 Drogheda - Dundalk
9 Dundalk - Newry
13 Newry - Portadown
46 Portadown - Lisburn
62 Lisburn - Central Junction
54 Central Junction - Great Victoria Street (Grand Central)
8 Central Junction - City Junction

Howth:

49 Howth Junction - Howth

M3:

24 Clonsilla - M3 Parkway

Cobh:

62 Cork departures
31 Cobh Junction - Cobh

Bangor:

52 Lagan Junction - Bangor

 

So, that should be about everything that sees passenger trains. As far as goods are concerned, it's 18:02 miles from Drogheda to Tara Mines, 4:02 miles from Waterford to Belview, and 0:79 miles from North Strand Junction to the level crossing after North Wall along with 0:32 for the East Wall branch, all of which have 0 trains a day plus any freight.

Statistics: The busiest single track sections are:

1. Across Bray Head (38 each way),
2. The approach to Whitehead (32 each way),
3. The line to Midleton (31 each way),
4. The NCC main line to Coleraine (19 each way),
5. Limerick Junction to Killonan Junction (19 each way),
6. The Portrush branch (18 each way),
7. The Larne line from Whitehead to Larne Town (18 each way),
8. Athenry to Galway (17 each way),
9. The NCC main line to Derry (16 each way), and
10. Tullamore to Athlone on the GSWR Athlone branch (14 each way, plus freight trains).

Larne Town - Larne Harbour has 15, but no freight, so it gets an honourable mention.

Single bridges worth noting:

1. The Dargan Bridge in Belfast (55 each way),
2. The White Bridge in Athlone (16 each way plus freight),
3. The Boyne Viaduct in Drogheda (15 each way).

The longest blocks (by length) are:

1. Roscrea - Birdhill (32:32 miles, 55:30 minutes)
2. Clonmel - Waterford (28:00 miles, 50:30 minutes)
3. Boyle - Sligo (27:63 miles, 37:30 minutes)
4. Claremorris - Westport (26:11 miles, 36 minutes)
5. Limerick - Ennis (24:51 miles, 39 minutes)
6. Tipperary - Clonmel (24:37 miles, 40 minutes)
7. Manulla - Ballina (20:25 miles, 27 minutes)
8. Bellarena - Derry (20:24 miles, 22 minutes)
9. Ennis - Gort (18:54 miles, 21 minutes)
10. Gort - Athenry (18:21 miles, 28 minutes)

The longest blocks (by time) are:

1. Roscrea - Birdhill (55:30 minutes, 32:32 miles)
2. Clonmel - Waterford (50:30 minutes, 28:00 miles)
3. Tipperary - Clonmel (40 minutes, 24:37 miles)
4. Limerick - Ennis (39 minutes, 24:51 miles)
5. Boyle - Sligo (37:30 minutes, 27:63 miles)
6. Claremorris - Westport (36 minutes, 26:11 miles)
7. Gort - Athenry (28 minutes, 18:21 miles)
8. Manulla - Ballina (27 minutes, 20:25 miles)
9. Ballyhale - Waterford (24 minutes, 15:65 miles)
10. Birdhill - Killonan (23:30 minutes, 10:10 miles)
11. Bellarena - Derry (22 minutes, 20:24 miles)
12. Ennis - Gort (21 minutes, 18:54 miles)
13. Enniscorthy - Wexford (20:30 minutes, 15:14 miles)
14. Gorey - Enniscorthy (20 minutes, 17:76 miles)
15. Athenry - Galway (19 minutes, 12:77 miles)

An honourable mention to Wexford - Rosslare Strand, which requires 17 minutes for 6:20 miles, due to the 5mph speed restriction along the quays. 

To sum things up, there are a lot of line sections that would benefit from being doubled. Many timetabling difficulties would be resolved if Bray Head could be dealt with, but realistically it's not going to be feasible and the best we can hope for is to knock a few hundred metres off either side of the section. I don't know how feasible it is to smooth out Dargan Bridge either. Midleton doubling is approved, and hopefully Limerick Junction will follow suit soon. If the Western Railway Corridor is to be extended, Athenry-Galway needs to be doubled to handle Claremorris trains. Doubling the NCC main line to Antrim would help support any reinstatement of services on the Antrim branch and generally improve Derry intercities. Finally, doubling the Athlone branch would accelerate both Galway and Westport intercities and free up more space for Ballina liners and timber trains.

In terms of block sections, Limerick - Ennis is the worst offender for a line with more than two trains a day each way. A loop in Sixmilebridge would go a long way. If the Nenagh Branch and the Waterford and Limerick beyond Limerick Junction ever get more than three services a day those blocks will need cutting, but will they? The Ballina Branch having no loop at all is also something I feel should be addressed; I'd place one at Foxford. Loops have a bit of a tendency to reduce in frequency the further away from Dublin the line gets: Sligo and Westport have it worst and could do with loops at Ballymote and Manulla, though perhaps a wiser investment may be to have a loop at about MP 33 to break Enfield - Killucan up instead to have more Longford trains. The DSER has plenty of long sections: placing a loop between Gorey and Enniscorthy (at Ferns if you wanted to add stations, or at the midpoint if you didn't) would eliminate the longest section. A loop somewhere between Greystones and Wicklow for commuter services would be useful too, terrain allowing.

That should be about everything. Please let me know of any errors or omissions. or thoughts about which line should be the highest priority for upgrading and would give the most benefits.

[Darrman]

I've updated the frequencies for the 2024 timetables. Rather than flood the forum with a big paste I'll attach the relevant file. The most notable change is Grand Central's opening: 73 trains either way approach it from the Great Northern and 93 trains depart and 100 arrive from the Blythefield Curve and Belfast Central: I've no idea where the discrepancy comes from. Two extra Galways and an extra Waterford increase the numbers on the relevant lines (there's 19 trains from Athenry to Galway now), and with work to double Midleton underway that will remove a busy single-track section.

Incidentally, the busiest tracks are all around Connolly: 143 trains depart towards Clontarf Road and 73/74 (there's a Mullingar service with no return) towards Drumcondra, while heading south 155 cross Loopline Bridge towards Pearse. Loopline Bridge certainly won't ever be quadrupled! There's still 105 trains travelling down the DSER to Bray: it badly needs something somewhere - no, dumping everyone out of the train at Wicklow and changing to a slow stopper is not a solution. Incidentally, the actual quadruple section, Cherry Orchard to Hazelhatch, has 97 trains a day, slightly quieter. But still necessary, plus there's the occasional goods train bound for North Wall.

frequency2024.txt

[226 Abhann na Suire]

It’s always a mystery to me why when it was being built in the 90s, no one had the foresight to double the Dargan Bridge, it seems like an awful waste of resources. Does anyone know is the passing loop above Corporation Street actatlly used in daily service? Or does the block just run between the junction with the Bangor Line and York Street station? Seems like an obvious capacity hinderance which should be thought about being fixed…

Excellent and unbelievably comprehensive list though @Darrman, I really could not agree more! IÉ definitely need to get a move on with Limerick-Limerick Jnct, Galway-Athenry, Athlone-Portarlington, and Bray Head Tunnel 4-Greystones Station (the only solution here is to double the whole 2km section between the tunnel and the station, it would make a hell of a difference 

[BSGSV]

As I understand it, the guys in NIR tried very very very hard to get the money to make it a double track structure at the time, but couldn't swing it. Alas, with the way it was done, it now also seems very difficult to double without building a viaduct throughout for the extra track. 

[StevieB]

8 hours ago, 226 Abhann na Suire said:

It’s always a mystery to me why when it was being built in the 90s, no one had the foresight to double the Dargan Bridge, it seems like an awful waste of resources. Does anyone know is the passing loop above Corporation Street actatlly used in daily service? Or does the block just run between the junction with the Bangor Line and York Street station? Seems like an obvious capacity hinderance which should be thought about being fixed…

Excellent and unbelievably comprehensive list though @Darrman, I really could not agree more! IÉ definitely need to get a move on with Limerick-Limerick Jnct, Galway-Athenry, Athlone-Portarlington, and Bray Head Tunnel 4-Greystones Station (the only solution here is to double the whole 2km section between the tunnel and the station, it would make a hell of a difference 

Anyone who has worked in the public sectors knows that money is the major constraint for both new works and maintenance. It is, after all, our money being spent, not governments, they only have it because of the tax they take off us. With the benefit of hindsight, and don’t we all have that in abundance, everything would be built so that it never needed to be improved, only replaced when life expired but then it always surprises me that the general public don’t understand the concept of a working life, everything just goes on forever. Rant over.

Stephen

[airfixfan]

Passing loop on thr bridge has not been used for nearly a decade