PRESS RELEASE

People Before Profit are a green socialist party. The Cork branch are calling for Light Rail systems to be publicly developed in Cork and other regional cities. We are calling on Cork City and County Council to start looking into such proposals as a matter of urgency in order to help the fight against climate change. Cork City frequently suffers from severe traffic problems and the negative effects on society that result from this.

We want a serious public discussion to start about the implementation of a Light Rail system in Cork. We have offered a starting proposal of two routes which could be constructed on a mixture of on- and off-road alignments (more information, including route maps here). These routes could provide interconnectivity between residential areas, employment areas, transport hubs and the city centre. A system such as this would remove the need for many car journeys in and around Cork, and would connect the Docklands (due for redevelopment) to the city centre and Mahon.

Such a solution should go hand-in-hand with expansion of commuter rail services and opening of new stations on the Cork-Cobh/Midleton lines and also on the Cork-Mallow line. We propose that new stations should be opened in Blackpool, Old Whitechurch Road, Monard, Blarney and Grenagh between Cork and Mallow, and at Tivoli and Glanmire South on the Cork – Cobh/Midleton route.

More information about the proposal, including suggested route maps, can be found on our Light Rail page.