This article is from page 12 of the 2013-03-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
CLARE people commuting by train to and from Galway will be able to purchase tickets online before the end of April.
The lack of an online booking option has been identified as one of the main reasons why the numbers using the service have not met expectations since the Ennis to Athenry section of the Western Rail Corridor was reopened in 2009.
There was more good news for the service as new figures reveal that passenger numbers on the route jumped by almost 5 per cent in 2011. The total number using the rail service between Galway and Limerick rose from 224,166 to 235,555 in 2012.
Figures provided by Irish Rail for the Ennis to Athenry section of the track showed that just 34,235 used the midsection service in 2012.
This figure is a slight reduction on 2011 with the growth in passenger numbers being largely driven by passengers travelling from Ennis to Limerick and from Athenry to Galway.
A spokesperson for Irish Rail acknowledged that the majority of the growth in 2012 was generated in commuter journeys between Ennis and Limerick and Athenry and Galway, but insisted that the midsection of the track will be strengthened by the advent of online booking.
“We have been working ourselves and with stakeholders to grow demand on the route, and undertook a number of initiatives in the final third of last year which have yielded improvements, including free car parking at Gort and Ardrahan and targeted promotion of student commuter tickets and adult taxsaver tickets. We will ensure that there is continued targeted promotion of the service as part of our commercial plan,” said an Irish Rail spokesperson.
“We have committed to extending the online system to this route as soon as possible. Currently, our online system supports bookings only where the train has an electronic reservation system on board.
“We are currently working to modify this to support all trains on all routes, and we expect this to be completed in the next two months,” they added.”