Mayo firm 'hit by ending of direct cargo rail route due to Brexit-related issues' - report

A rail freight line that ran cargo directly from Dublin Port to Ballina for local businesses such as Coca-Cola has been suspended because the port is so clogged up following Brexit, according to a report in the Irish Times.

Dublin Port Company invested €1.2 million just a decade ago in a rail spur at Ocean Pier to facilitate the rail service, which last year ran almost 10,000 goods containers that were loaded off ferries directly onto trains to bring them to the west.

Port sources told the newspaper said drinks company Coca-Cola, which operates a manufacturing facility near the Mayo town, was one of the service’s biggest users.

The Dublin Port to Ballina service was halted last week, leading to dismay among businesses in the west.

Now Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe fears that much of the cargo bound for the west coast will now be hauled via the road network by trucks from Dublin, and wants the rail service reinstated.

“Replacing freight trains with road transport is deeply problematic. It will result in increased road congestion, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mr Cuffe.

He acknowledged that Brexit has increased strain on Dublin Port, but he suggested it should have “planned ahead."

Eamonn O’Reilly, the port’s chief executive, rejected the criticism.

“What were we supposed to do? The port is full. This is a pinch point. We’ve invested €365 million in the last five years and we will invest a further €400 million in the next five. We’ve had Brexit. We had Covid. Nobody could have predicted the exact shape of all this on the operation of the port,” Mr. O’Reilly told the Irish Times.