21st Century Railways

The birth of the railways in Ireland and how they took over from canals as the new means of mass transportation of people and goods and played a major part in connecting the cities and remote towns right across the country. Thus bringing Ireland to the forefront of cutting edge technological change.

Having once enjoyed a Golden Age, railways were to enter a long period of decline - but today their revival is being championed once again. What factors led to the recent transformation paralleled with relevant historical references in respect of the growth and decline of railways in Ireland from the 1830s.

The future of rail travel in Ireland looking at some of the major projects currently ‘on hold’ due to recession and how railways can potentially assist in balanced regional development as they face into the toughest competition they ever faced from their old historical enemy – the motor car.