Transportation in Ireland

Contents

1 Railways

2 Roads

3 Waterways

Railways

Total (1998) - 1,947 km: 5'3" (1600mm) gauge; 38 km electrified; 485 km double track

Main article: Rail transport in Ireland

Intercity railway services provided by Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) link Dublin (Connolly, Heuston & Pearse Street Stns.) to Cork (Kent Stn.), Waterford (Plunket Stn.), Kilkenny (MacDonagh Stn.), Galway (Ceannt Stn.), Tralee (Casement Stn.), Sligo (MacDiarmada Stn.), Limerick (Colbert Stn.) and Belfast. Rail in Northern Ireland is run by Northern Ireland Railways (NIR), connecting Belfast to Derry (Londonderry) and providing suburban services around the city. The cross-border Dublin-Belfast 'Enterprise' service is jointly run by IÉ and NIR.

Since 1984 an electrically operated train service runs between Bray and Howth, called the Dublin Area Rapid Transit. In 2004 a light rail system, Luas, was opened in Dublin. As of 2004 a metro system is also in the planning stage. The Luas system has caused much disruption in Dublin, in retrospect many believe an underground would have been a better option, one of the current options been discussed is to upgrade the LUAS to the metro system when the metro is been installed.

Roads

Total (1999 est.) - 92,500 km: Paved - 87,043 km (including 115 km of motorways); Unpaved - 5,457 km

Ireland's roads link Dublin with all the major cities (Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Belfast). Driving is on the left.

Main Article: Roads in Ireland

Waterways

Total (2004) - 753 km: (pleasure craft only)

Pipelines

Natural gas 1,795 km (2003)

Ports and harbors

Arklow, Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Dundalk, Dún Laoghaire, Foynes, Galway, Limerick, New Ross, Rosslare Europort, Waterford, Wicklow

Merchant marine

Total - 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 288,401 GRT/383,628 DWT: Ships by type - bulk 7, cargo 22, chemical tanker 1, container 3, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 1; Foreign-owned - Germany 3, Italy 7, Norway 2; Registered in other countries - 18 (2003 est.)

Airports

Total - 36
Airports - with paved runways
Total - 16: Over 3,047 m - 1; 2,438 to 3,047 m - 1; 1,524 to 2,437 m - 4; 914 to 1,523 m - 4; Under 914 m - 6
Airports - with unpaved runways
Total - 20: 914 to 1,523 m - 3; Under 914 m - 17 (all 2003 est.)

Ireland's main airports are Dublin Airport, Shannon International Airport, Cork International Airport and Belfast International Airport.

Many regional airports exist, some flying to international destinations. For example Knock - County Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Farranfore - County Kerry, Derry, Belfast City Airport and Waterford. Ireland's national airline, Aer Lingus provides air services from Dublin, Cork and Shannon to Britain, Europe and North America. These three airports are run by the State body, Dublin Airport Authority (formerly Aer Rianta). Two other Irish airlines are Ryanair and Aer Arann.