[4][5][6][7] West on Track was established in 2003 with the aim of reopening the western rail corridor line, for the use of passenger and freight traffic.

In September 2006 the preservation and reclamation from encroachment of the northern section began and the Government then announced funding to begin Phase 1 (Ennis-Athenry) of the re-opening of the corridor.

[8] The Western Rail Corridor encompasses a series of railways built by various companies throughout the late 19th century, forming a south–north line from Limerick to Sligo.

[citation needed] In October 2022, Iarnród Éireann and the Government, under the Department of Transport's Pathfinder Programme, announced a study for a train station to be built in Moyross, a suburb on the northside of Limerick City.

[11] The reopening of the Western Rail Corridor has raised debate in some parts of Ireland, with opinion divided on the benefits of the scheme.

A mid-term evaluation of the Irish government's National Development Plan by the economic consultant company INDECON, is cited by some parties as a reason to build the Western Rail Corridor.

[30] Criticisms of the McCann Report have included the reliance on anecdotal testimony regarding freight demand and the absence of costings for rolling stock and operating expenses.

[31] A cost-benefit analysis report prepared by Goodbody Economic Consultants for the Department of Transport in 2006 stated that passenger numbers on the soon to be opened Ennis-Athenry section of the WRC would be in the order of 200,000, requiring an annual subvention of €2.4m, with a negative Net Present Value of -€137m.

The report concluded that even a doubling of patronage would not make the project viable on cost-benefit grounds, while the regional development benefits from the re-opening were viewed as 'unlikely to be significant.

'[32] The McCann Report suggests that the Ennis Claremorris Section could divert and grow Mayo to Waterford freight traffic via the Western Rail Corridor.

[36] Project opponents, however, argue that the local councils are not following land use policies that would create centres of population density around the railway stations along the proposed route, but instead continuing to permit isolated rural housing.

[citation needed] An Expert Working Group, headed by Pat McCann, CEO of Jurys Doyle Hotels, reported to the Minister for Transport regarding the prospects for reopening some or all of the route.

The Western Railway Corridor commitments under this plan were largely those recommended by the McCann Report: Former Minister for Transport Martin Cullen also announced the undertaking of a feasibility study into a rail link for Shannon Airport in his speech at the launch.

In the most radical overhaul of EU infrastructure policy since its inception in the 1980s, the European Parliament on 19 November 2013 gave final approval to new maps showing the nine major corridors which will act as a backbone for transportation in Europe's single market and revolutionise East–West connections.

After a gap of more than thirty years, train services between the cities of Galway and Limerick commenced on Tuesday 30 March 2010, on budget at a cost of €106.5m, a figure which included building new stations in Sixmilebridge and Oranmore.

[40] Following those remarks, in January 2015 Kenny said at a press briefing in Lough Lannagh in Castlebar told local media in Mayo that he still sees the potential for developing freight services on the line stating, "I still see potential [on the Western Rail Corridor] from a freight point of view.

On 6 January 2015, Iarnród Éireann reported that following the introduction of online booking and new adult fares, passenger numbers on the Galway-Limerick railway (Western Rail Corridor) for 2014 were in excess of 220,000, including a 72.5 per cent increase in passenger journeys through the Ennis- Athenry section of the line, the largest annual growth on the rail network.

Greenways are not mentioned in the RPGs, though the development of suitable long-distance walking and cycling routes (subject to environmental assessment) are supported.

It is not the purpose of the Regional Planning Guidelines to see such routes provided at the expense of long-term strategic infrastructure".