Passengers alighting from trains at Athlone station on Monday probably never had such a welcome. They were greeted by the surreal sight of masked dancers and musicians in colourful Renaissance costumes cavorting around the platform to mark the 150th anniversary of the first passenger train from Athlone to Galway.
The Galway Early Music Minstrels brightened a dull Monday and local man Frankie McDonald and his band serenaded the travelling public. It may be some time before commuters will again "La Bamba" their way onto a train.
To mark the anniversary, Iarnrod Eireann laid on a special train on the Athlone to Galway route, picking up guests and VIPs, councillors, TDs and Urban District Council members along the way. By journey's end, it seemed every ceremonial chain of office possible was on board.
The Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, unveiled twin plaques at Athlone and Galway stations, planted a tree along the way and obligingly climbed (quite a height) into the driver's cab for the photographers. She was greeted at each station - Ballinasloe, Woodlawn, Attymon, Athenry, Galway - by station masters, locals and assorted colourful characters in 1851 costume.
The purpose of Ms O'Rourke's visit was also to send into service officially the newly refurbished Mark II carriages on the route. And they are plush. They have been refitted at a cost of £800,000. The work included the installation of new wall and ceiling panels, new flooring and a blue-and-lavender colour scheme - all done by Iarnrod Eireann's craftsmen at Inchicore in Dublin.
Passenger numbers are already up by 26,200 on the route this year. The company expects this to reach more than 1,050,000 by year end.
Mr Joe Meagher, managing director of Iarnrod Eireann, along with serving and retired staff, joined the Minister for the celebrations. And while Mr Meagher acknowledged the service's shortcomings, he promised further improvements. These, of course, to be backed by further investment from the Minister, which she assured guests was forthcoming.
Cllr Donal Lyons, the Mayor of Galway, also acknowledged the recent investment for the line, but urged Ms O'Rourke not to stop there. Nine county and city development boards in the Border, Midlands and Western region had identified investment in the rail line as crucial to the future of the region, he said. He asked that the Western Corrib line be reopened and linked with other routes to bring more benefits to the area.
At a reception in the Great Southern Hotel, Mr Meagher said Iarnrod Eireann was the custodian of the railway, keeping it in care for the public. He wondered if, when it was set up, those who worked on the project ever envisaged the role it would play 150 years later. The last few decades had been difficult, he said. "The investment was simply not there."
Government and EU investment had already made a difference to the quality of service. In the last 2 1/2 years, some 200 miles of track had been relaid. A lot of money is going "straight into the ground", which is necessary to ensure a long future for the line, Mr Meagher said.
Praising Iarnrod Eireann staff, he said the company's employees were very dedicated and had stuck together through difficult times. They were people with the railway in their blood. The company took a lot of criticism and still had a PR job to do.
Ms O'Rourke said the rail line had been constructed at a time when Ireland was in a state of deprivation after the Famine. There was need for a sign this would end. In the House of Commons at the time, MPs took a great interest in having the railway come to their own patch. One MP from a remote area had even secured his own train station and personal service on the line.
One thousand men dug the line and 12 died in the process. "Came the trains and came a certain liberation for people," she said. The railways were significant, therefore, not only in Ireland's commercial history, but also in its social history.
Work was beginning on the railways and some £86 million had been spent improving level crossings alone. Everything would be done "a wee bit at a time".
But, like the 1851 passenger train which first chugged to Galway on July 23rd at an average speed of 30 m.p.h., things will happen slowly. It takes 2 1/2 years for each new carriage to go into service from the time it is approved.