Revamped Athlone town bus service on the way

A revised Athlone town bus service is being introduced by Bus Eireann later this month.

The company said the new service will provide bus connections every 15 minutes on weekdays between Monksland, the bus and train station, and Athlone IT.

The area covered by the service will be extended to include new stops such as Clonbrusk and the Ballymahon Road.

The frequency of buses on Sundays and public holidays is also being increased as part of the revamp.

From Sunday, January 29, the existing 459/ 459A service is to be replaced with two new routes, both of which will originate in Monksland and end at the Creggan Court Hotel.

Route A1 will travel from Monksland to Battery Heights, the bus/rail Station, Golden Island, AIT, and the IDA Industrial Park in Garrycastle, before ending at the Creggan Court.

A Bus Eireann spokesperson said buses will serve this route every 30 minutes on weekdays, from 7am to 8pm, and there would be 'a similar service on Saturdays,' along with an hourly service on Sundays and public holidays from 8.30am to 7.30pm.

The company said the second route - A2 - will serve Monksland, Barrack Street, the bus/rail station, Golden Island, Clonbrusk, the Ballymahon Road, AIT, and the IDA Industrial Park, before concluding at the Creggan Court.

This route is also due to operate every 30 minutes on weekdays, from 7.15am to 7.45pm, with a similar timetable on Saturdays and an hourly Sunday service from 9am to 8pm.

The Bus Eireann said the revised Athlone town bus network was agreed and approved by the National Transport Authority (NTA).

At a council meeting in 2015, the NTA indicated it was looking at new route options in Athlone, as the town's existing service was considered 'financially and environmentally unsustainable'.

The existing 459/ 459A route travels between Monksland (River Village), the bus/rail station, Golden Island Shopping Centre, Athlone IT, Willow Park, and Garrycastle.

The new Athlone bus routes

Details of Bus Eireann's new Athlone town routes, which are due to replace the existing 459/ 459A route from Sunday, January 29 next:

* Route A1: Monksland – Galway Road – Battery Heights – Bus/Rail Station – Golden Island – Retreat Road - AIT – IDA Industrial Park – Creggan Court Hotel.

(This service will operate weekdays every 30mins from 07:00hrs until 20:00hrs with a similar service on Saturdays and an hourly Sunday service from 08:30hrs to 19:30hrs)

* Route A2: Monksland – Galway Road – Barrack St – Bus/Rail Station – Golden Island – Clonbrusk – Ballymahon Rd - AIT – IDA Industrial Park – Creggan Court Hotel.

(This service will operate weekdays every 30mins from 07:15hrs until 19:45hrs with a similar service on Saturdays and an hourly Sunday service from 09:00hrs to 20:00hrs)