More parking to be provided at Athlone train station - but not any time soon

Irish Rail is looking to add 20 to 25 more car parking spaces to Athlone train station - but the creation of this extra parking is still a number of years away.

The semi-state company outlined its plans in response to a letter from the Athlone Moate Municipal District, which, in May, wrote to Irish Rail and Bus Éireann to highlight the shortage of parking for people using their stations in Athlone.

Irish Rail responded by stating that Athlone was one of 24 locations where "car park expansion" was due to take place under its National Car Park programme.

However its letter said these 24 locations were being divided into two groups of 12. The planning and design of additional car parking at the first group of 12 locations was now underway - but Athlone was in the second batch of 12, and had yet to see any planning or design work carried out.

"Based on current funding allocations and programme priorities, it is proposed to commence the preliminary design stage for the Athlone station car park upgrade works in 2025," read the Irish Rail letter.

"From our initial assessment at feasibility design stage it is expected that, subject to land availability and planning approvals, an additional 20 to 25 car parking spaces could be provided at Athlone station."

The letter from the municipal district to Irish Rail in May was sent as a result of a motion from Cllr John Dolan, who highlighted the parking shortage by saying some people were arriving at the station at 6.30am, to catch a train to Dublin, and were finding the car park already full.

At the July meeting of the district, Cllr Dolan said he was "disappointed" by Irish Rail's response.

"The reason why I brought this up is that we're supposed to be encouraging people to use public transport on a regular basis, but if you can't get parking you're not going to use the train - you're probably going to end up driving," he said.

Cllr Dolan suggested that another letter be written to Irish Rail asking it to reconsider the timing and scale of its current expansion plan for parking in Athlone.

He also suggested that the company be invited to a meeting of the district in order to discuss the present parking situation.

Cllr Aengus O'Rourke agreed with Cllr Dolan, describing the letter from Irish Rail as an "appalling" response.

"The experience that (train users in Athlone) are having is not what it should be. You arrive at the station, you can't get a parking space, and you're totally frustrated at whatever hour of the morning it is for you to get to a job in Dublin.

"At a time when we're promoting public transport, it's a crazy set of circumstances to receive a letter back saying that, in 2025, they'll begin the process of a preliminary design.

"We all know that (the design and planning phase) can go on for up to three years. So effectively what they're saying is, by 2028, we might have an additional 20 parking spaces. That's laughable.

"There's no innovation there. What about a 'park and ride' facility in the short term? What about talking to the HSE about use of the car park at St Vincent's Hospital? What about something else? There's nothing there."

Cllr O'Rourke said the local authority should look for a face-to-face meeting with Irish Rail, rather that writing another letter, and Cllr Dolan agreed.