This article is from page 4 of the 2008-03-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
; ese terday, larnrod Eireann spokesman Jim Gallivan claimed that it was far too early for any guarantees to be given regarding the flooding situa- tion but did confirm that a consultant would be brought in to examine the Ennis to Limerick line once the cur-
rent flood had subsided.
This is despite media reports last week which claimed that flooding would not be an issue in the work- ings of the Western Rail Corridor.
‘Nothing has changed. We have to wait until the flooding goes down and then we will be able to assess what the situation 1s like, not before,” steamy Ble
‘When that happens, the OPW have told us that they will hire a consult- ant to put together a set of recom- mendations as to what would be the best course of action for the future.
‘But at this point, we have no idea what is the best course of action. Will it be a major programme of drainage to be undertaken by the Office of Public Works or will it be a track-ris- ing programme by lIarnrdd Eireann, which would be very expensive? At the moment it is impossible to tell.”
Rail services between Ennis and Limerick have been suspended since February 7 due to intense flooding. The latest readings, taken last Fri- day, show eight inches of water still remaining on the line.
This is down from a high of 18
inches when the flooding was at its worst mid-February.
“It has come down a lot over the last few weeks. It was down to eight inches on Friday and dropping at an neem mer NA
“It is impossible to know what can be done until the flooding has com- pletely gone,’ continued Mr Galli- Web
“We have said to the OPW that we don’t want the corridor stopped and as far as we are concerned that is the situation. It will happen, but how and when 1s not clear.”