Rural transport debate

A local TD is demanding improved connectivity to and from Bailieborough.

Deputy Niamh Smyth make the call while the Junior Minister for Transport was in the east Cavan town.

She acknowledged “work underway” to improve connectivity from Cootehill to Bailieborough to Virginia, with a “huge injection in investment on rural connectivity”.

“Rural towns and villages that never saw a bus coming through now we have a bus coming through nearly every hour connecting people from Dundalk to Cavan town,” said the Deputy.

“Now we need to improve that connectivity and get people out of this town and into Virginia. If I could hop on a bus and get from Bailieborough to Dublin, it would be so much more encouraging.

“There’s still a lot more to do to bring us up to the standards of maybe more urban counties.”

Cllr Niall Smith raised the issue of no bus shelters along the route locally.

“There’s no bus shelters here in Bailieborough,” he said.

“There’s a new bus route from Cavan to Bailieborough to Shercock and to Kingscourt and on to Dundalk and there’s no bus shelters at all on the way.”

He also raised concern about the placement of the bus stop in Bailieborough, which is “in the middle of the town”.

“It stops all traffic,” he outlined.

Asked if the Department has given consideration to bus shelters in Cavan, the Junior Minister said: “I have to be honest and say I don’t know the particular schemes in Cavan.”

“They’re much more expensive than people think, much more expensive than what I would have thought until I started looking into them in detail.”

“It’s one of the things that we need to tackle in the next government probably, it probably won’t happen in the next couple of months.”

The Minister acknowledged that the delivery of such projects takes “far longer” than they should.

“Something like a bus shelter, which seems relatively simple, can take up to a couple of years.

“It’s just the planning and infrastructure system needs to be fast tracked, it’s going to be a priority if we are in the next government.”

Local Links

Regarding rural connectivity, a National Transport Authority spokesperson revealed two new Local Link services, as well as an enhanced Bus Eireann services, that are set to benefit the area.

The new Local Link 186 route will connect Cavan to Ballyjamesduff, Virginia, Mullagh, Kells, and Gibbstown; while the 178 service will serve Cootehill, Shercock, Bailieborough, and Virginia.

Bus Eireann’s 187 route will operate on an enhanced frequency connecting Virginia, Oldcastle, Crossakiel, and Kells.

The spokesperson said they have “no fixed implementation date at the moment”.

“However, we expect that the 186 and 187 will be implemented prior to end of 2024, subject to availability of funding. The 178 is likely to be implemented in 2025.”

In relation to existing rural bus stops and ad-hoc parking locations along the N3 carriageway between Whitegate and Butlersbridge, a spokesperson from Transport Infrastructure Ireland said “an operational safety assessment” has been completed by AtkinRealis for the TII Safety Section.

“The assessment has recommended several improvements along the route, including development of formalised park and share facilities and bus stop relocations.

“This will improve safety and accessibility for all road users by removing the risk of pedestrians crossing on high-speed sections of the road to access public transport,” they said.