The campaign for a rail link to Shannon Airport has presented its case to the Government.
The project is estimated to cost £20 million and all the major agencies in the MidWest, including the local authorities, Shannon Development and Aer Rianta, are supporting the project. Iarnrod Eireann is also involved in the campaign.
The rail link from Limerick would alleviate chronic traffic congestion on the N18 which links Ennis and Limerick.
The road is currently being upgraded in Clare with two bypass projects at a cost of £168 million. A committee was formed, following a public meeting in Shannon in November 1999, to campaign for an alternative mode of transport.
Economic consultant Mr Brendan Lynch was commissioned to outline the case for the rail link. His 29-page submission just lodged with the Government's National Spatial Strategy, says the rail link "is one of the few potential rail projects in Ireland, if not the only one, where a significant operating surplus is likely".
The report points out many of the difficulties currently facing the infrastructure serving Shannon town, its airport and industrial zone. About 2,000 people are employed in Shannon, the vast majority commuting from outside the area. Only 15 per cent of those who work in the industrial zone live in Shannon.
The report, which is being co-ordinated by the Clare County Development Board, says that "if there is to be any chance of achieving comparable rates of economic growth in the west of Ireland to Dublin, it is essential to implement specific targeted improvements of the public transport infrastructure outside of Dublin".
It adds: "There are a number of such potential projects, of which the Shannon rail link is one of the beneficial, if not the most beneficial."
Cllr Sean Hillery, a former chairman of Clare County Council, who is joint chairman of the rail link steering committee with Cllr Michael Brennan of the Mid-West Regional Authority, said "if the Government is serious about regional balance, it must look at this proposal very seriously".
He said the rail link to Shannon is supported in the submission to the National Spatial Strategy for the provision of a rail link from Cork to Sligo. This also calls for a link to Shannon.
The estimated cost of an upgrade from Sligo to Limerick is over £113 million.
Cllr Hillery said "the link to Shannon on the route would be seen as a vital component to the viability of the line and the two proposals complement each other very well. It will give life to the west."
Despite the various road projects in the region that are at various stages, Cllr Hillery believes the rail link is necessary. "It is vital to have a viable alternative," he said.
Estimating that annual operating costs "may be around £300,000", the submission forecasts that there would be an operating income of over £500,000.
Though no route has been finalised, Cllr Hillery said a corridor for the link is being preserved in the upcoming South-East Clare Corridor Plan.
Also, a definitive decision on whether to build only a spur off the existing Limerick-Ennis line or a new rail loop via Shannon to Ennis has yet to be made.
According to Clare County Council's director of community and enterprise, Mr Eamon Naughton, this will be one of the issues that will be investigated in the comprehensive feasibility study, which would examine the engineering and business aspects of the scheme.
The study is estimated to cost £350,000 and the steering committee hopes to meet the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, shortly to make a presentation for the study.
Cllr Hillery expressed confidence that the proposal to carry out the feasibility study would be successful and that a decision would be made on the proposal before the end of the year. He said: "The political will from the Mid-West is now there to make this happen."
