Irish Rail to automate manual rail crossings

Manual level crossings on railways at a number of locations in Westmeath will become a thing of the past by the end of 2009, with Iarnród Éireann confirming that it is set to roll out the latest series of automated gate systems on the Dublin-Sligo line, in a move which could result in the loss of seven local jobs.An Irish Rail spokesperson said that 'following best practice guidelines', eight manual gate crossings will be replaced by automated systems by the end of this year, at a total cost of €5.75 million for the Westmeath area.The measures are part of a nationwide road-crossing automation programme, which was allocated a total of €55 million in funding by the Department of Transport under its national transport capital spending framework, Transport 21.Both the Department and Irish Rail stated that the automation programme is part of an initiative to ensure that crossings nationwide operate efficiently, guaranteeing the safety of motorists and passengers.On Friday last, a man who has worked at one of the crossings in Westmeath for a number of years, contacted the Westmeath Examiner about the changes.He said that Irish Rail plans to automate all eight crossings at Annascannon (starting this week), Thomastown, The Downs, Cullion, Levington, Multyfarnham, Streete and Clonwhelan (Rathowen).He remarked that while the changes could result in redundancy or redeployment for a handful of full-time staff, they would also affect relief workers, and the families of those involved.'They could end up spending a lot of money on automation and redundancies, when it wouldn"t cost them as much to leave things the way they are,' said the man, who wished to remain anonymous.The Irish Rail spokesperson said that negotiations with the full-time workers and SIPTU are ongoing, and include talks over the destiny of the CIE-sponsored housing occupied by the workers.