County Cork has a number of rail-trails and greenways and, as of 2022, there are plans and proposals at various stages of preparation to create a network of walking trails for the county. The term "Cork Greenway" has been used in press coverage, [1] but is not yet used officially.
In July 2015, Irish Rail indicated they had no intention of re-opening the Midleton to Youghal section of the Cork and Youghal Railway as funds would be better spent on the existing network. They indicated support for a greenway, as it would free them from existing maintenance costs whilst retaining a license to re-open the route in the event that became an option. [2] By April 2020, a €15 million euro project to open the Midleton to Youghal Greenway had begun but was being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. [3] The proposed trail would measure 23 kilometres. [4]
In 2022, the possibility of linking Mallow to the existing Waterford Greenway and Suir blueway was examined. [5] [6] [1] [7]
The Cork Harbour Greenway runs from Páirc Uí Chaoimh stadium to Passage West, along the route of the former Cork Electric Tramways and Lighting Company Blackpool — Cork tram line, [8] [9] and Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway. [10] [11]
Youghal is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. As of the 2016 census, the population was 7,963.
The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than that of Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 3,500 route miles (5,630 km). The current status is less than half that amount, with a large unserviced area around the border area between Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland.
Rail transport in Ireland is provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.
Iarnród Éireann or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast. In 2019, IÉ carried 50 million passengers, up from 48 million in 2018, and a record peak.
Midleton is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satellite town of Cork City, Midleton is part of Metropolitan Cork. It is the central hub of business for the East Cork Area. Midleton is within the Cork East Dáil constituency.
The N25 road is a national primary road in Ireland, forming the route from Cork to Rosslare Europort via Waterford City. The road is part of the E30 European route and a short section is also part of the E01 European route. It forms part of the proposed Atlantic Corridor route.
Kent Station is an Iarnród Éireann railway station in Cork, Ireland. Originally opened in 1893, the station operates as a hub for Intercity services to Dublin and Tralee and commuter services to Mallow, Cobh and Midleton. In 2016, Kent Station was the fifth busiest station in the Republic of Ireland, as well as the busiest outside of Dublin.
Transport 21 was an Irish infrastructure plan, announced in November 2005. Its aims were to greatly expand Ireland's transport network. A cost estimate of €34 billion was attached to the plan at the time.
Mallow railway station is an Irish station on the Dublin-Cork railway line, Mallow-Tralee railway line and Cork Suburban Rail.
Metropolitan Cork is a semi-official term which refers to the city of Cork, Ireland, its suburbs, the rural hinterland that surrounds it, and a number of the towns and villages in that hinterland. Some of the latter towns and villages are within the administrative area of County Cork.
The Cork Suburban Rail network serves areas in and around Cork city in Ireland.
Glounthaune railway station (Irish:Gleanntán) is an Iarnród Éireann station serving the town of Glounthaune in County Cork, Ireland. The station is at is the junction between Cobh and Midleton on the Cork Commuter line.
Cork is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's boundary in 2019, its population is over 222,000.
The Great Southern Trail, comprising the Limerick Greenway and North Kerry Greenway, is a greenway rail trail under development in County Limerick and County Kerry in Ireland. It is intended to be 85 kilometres long when completed and run from Limerick to Tralee. It is an off-road trail intended for use by cyclists and walkers along the route of the Limerick-Tralee line, formerly operated by the Great Southern and Western Railway, which opened between 1867 and 1880 and was closed in 1977. As of 2021, approximately 40 kilometres of the route between Rathkeale and Abbeyfeale had been developed. The developed section of the trail passes through Ardagh, Newcastle West and Barnagh.
The Dublin-Galway Greenway is a partially completed 'coast-to-coast' greenway and partial rail trail, in Ireland, funded by the Department of Transport, which is due to become the western section of EuroVelo EV2, a cycle route from Galway, Ireland, crossing Europe and ending in Moscow, Russia. The 276 km route was planned to be completed by 2020. It due to be the fourth greenway in Ireland, after the Great Southern Trail, the Great Western Greenway and the Waterford Greenway.
The Waterford Greenway, also known locally as the Déise Greenway, is a route on a former railway track in County Waterford, Ireland, used for cycling and hiking. It opened in March 2017, on what was originally the Mallow/Waterford railway line, and forms part of EuroVelo 1 route.
Ireland's greenways are off-road routes for walkers, cyclists and other non-motorised transport in Ireland, which are often created as rail trails on abandoned sections of the Irish rail network. In the Republic of Ireland, several greenway initiatives have been centrally funded by the Irish government. In Northern Ireland, greenways are typically part of the collective British National Cycle Network (NCN).
The Cork and Youghal Railway (C&YR) was a company that built and operated a short 27 miles (43 km) railway built in the early 1860s in Ireland linking Cork with Youghal, a small resort with harbour at the mouth of the Munster Blackwater. There was an additional 6-mile (9.7 km) branch to Cobh (Queenstown), a deepwater port in Cork Harbour associated with transatlantic liners. The railway was forced into administration within a few short years due to the bankruptcy of major shareholder David Leopold Lewis and was taken over by the much larger Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR). The branch to Cobh became the main line and by the late 1980s was the only part of the previously extensive rail network around Cork City to remain operational apart from the main line to Dublin. 2009 saw the Youghal branch re-open to Midleton while the remainder of the route is being converted to a greenway in the 2020s.
The South Kerry Greenway is a proposed greenway rail trail in County Kerry, Ireland. It is intended to be 27 kilometres long when completed and run from Glenbeigh to Cahersiveen. It is an off-road trail intended for use by cyclists and walkers along some of the route of the Farranfore–Valentia Harbour line, which opened 1893 and closed in 1960. The line was operated by the Great Southern and Western Railway.
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