A public inquiry into Iarnród Éireann's plans to establish a commuter rail network in Co Cork is to be announced within weeks.
The network will include the development of new railway stations at Blarney, Kilbarry and Dunkettle, as well as the reopening of the Glaunthoune to Midleton line where stations will open at Carrigtwohill and Midleton.
Initially services between Midleton and Cork are to be every 30 minutes at peak times, with the potential to expand to every 15 minutes as demand increases.
Off-peak services are likely to operate hourly, and all services would be operated by commuter railcars.
It is envisaged that the line will reopen in 2008 using two-carriage diesel railcars. These would be similar to the trains currently running on the Cork, Glounthaune Cobh line.
The frequency of commuter services on the Mallow route has yet to be announced.
The work will involve the replacement of five level crossings with four overbridges and one underbridge, including overbridges on the Cork-Glounthaune section of line.
The Railway Order process which has been initiated by Iarnród Éireann is the equivalent of planning permission for railways. It involved the Minister calling a public inquiry and granting or refusing permission based on the inquiry report.
A spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said the development of the Midleton line was an integral part of a framework for land use, transportation, and social and environmental policies in Cork.
Meanwhile, the inquiry report into how Iarnród Éireann plans to lay four tracks between Hazelhatch in Co Kildare and Dublin's Heuston station has found no major impediments to the scheme.
Final approval for the project is now expected to be granted by Transport Minister Martin Cullen, with work beginning by the end of this year.
It will separate commuter and inter-city trains and greatly increasing capacity on both services.
The inquiry report from inspector Pat Butler makes 11 recommendations. These are mainly in relation to the treatment of boundaries with local landowners.
However, the report does recommend that Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus carry out a review to ascertain that feeder buses are in place to serve new stations along the route.
The report also urges the Minister to ask Iarnród Éireann why new stations can not be built at Clondalkin in the short term.
The scheme envisages the closure of the existing Clondalkin station, which is said to be badly located, while there is no station serving Ballyfermot.
