Royal Canal Restoration

[Archispeak]

Anyone know when the restoration of the Royal Canal is due to be completed to the Shannon? It was meant to be late 2009 but things have gone very quiet...

[notjim]

I don't know if it is part of the same project, but they have been dredging behind Mountjoy for the last month.

[Archispeak]

All part of it I think. My interest is that when complete we'll be able to retrace the circular waterway journey across Ireland taken by L.T.C Rolt immediately post-war, recounted in "Green and Silver". But the websites of the Irish waterways bodies are all well out of date on the restoration.

[notjim]

One thing I don't see is how they are going to remove the railway line by ossary wall in the east wall, the one that crosses at surface level. It has some sort of complex lifting mechanism, but is it easy enough to lift, is the line infrequently used enough for it not to prevent recreational use of this part of the canal?

[igy]

One thing I don't see is how they are going to remove the railway line by ossary wall in the east wall, the one that crosses at surface level. It has some sort of complex lifting mechanism, but is it easy enough to lift, is the line infrequently used enough for it not to prevent recreational use of this part of the canal?

I'm sure someone knows the full story here, but I believe that line is rarely used as it connects the line under Croke Park to the southbound side of the main North/South DART line, but in doing so requires both the North *and* South directions to be stopped while the train moves onto the DART line.

[Archispeak]

Waterways Ireland's press people are always absent when I call and never return email. But today some office junior hazarded a guess that the restoration will finally be complete through to the Shannon by the end of this year. "Water level problems" are what's held it up he says. There's some tricky ground conditions at the western end. As there were when they first built it.

So it's running two or three years late, but inching closer in theory.