IARNRÓD ÉIREANN has commissioned a study into how best to address serious flooding which has closed the Ennis to Limerick railway twice in the past two years for a total of 15 weeks.
The Office of Public Works has declined to undertake work in the area of Ballycar, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co Clare, and says it will not commission a study into the problem as it is only the railway line that has been affected and its resources are committed to other projects.
It is known that the flooding in the area around the line at Ballycar is resulting from a debris blockage at the point where water from a nearby lake passes underground into a local river. In times of heavy rain this can result in the excess water being unable to pass through the channel, causing a wide area to flood.
Rail services between Ennis and Limerick were suspended for seven weeks in February 2008 and for a further eight weeks in late 2009 after the railway line became submerged in flood waters. The track has been raised twice since 1995 and stands over two metres above ground level.
Iarnród Éireann has previously said that “as the railway line is not the cause of the flooding, and it affected a much wider area, the OPW will need to develop a flood relief scheme”.
However, the OPW has responded that “because the railway line is the only significant beneficiary, we will not be managing or commissioning a study or any proposed works for the area”.