CREDITS MANAGIN G EDITOR
Máirin Sheehy
Editor’s Letter
2022 VOLUME 10 ISSUE 02
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Train Travel: Relax and enjoy the peaceful countryside
TRAVELLING BY TRAIN HAS JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT MORE ATTRACTIVE! It’s always been the mode of transport of choice for the discerning. But with prices reduced, and the knowledge that it is the most sustainable form of transport available, to ‘go rail’ is an even better choice now than ever before... It’s great to be back! Believe it or not, this is the first issue of Go Rail magazine in over two years – an extraordinary period in which our lives changed, as The Beatles put it in their great No.1 hit single ‘Help’, “in oh so many ways.” You surely don’t need us to rehash all of that here! We’ve all, I suspect, had more than enough of the lockdown blues to last us a lifetime. The pandemic isn’t over, but we are getting back to leading our lives in a more confident and outgoing way. And as a result, we are all embracing public transport again, and enjoying its unique benefits and pleasures afresh. This is no small matter. One of the things which has become increasingly, acutely clear over the past few years is that – right across the world –we need to change the way we do things radically, if we are to avoid climate catastrophe. And where better to start than at home, here in Ireland? INVA SION OF UKR AINE
The good news is that our train service can play a bigger-than-ever part in reducing our national carbon footprint; and the reality is that it makes a whole lot of sense for the individual traveller – as well as for the planet! Travelling by train is a hugely efficient and sustainable way of getting around Ireland. It involves consuming a very small fraction of the energy used per individual trip in cars, most of which still guzzle large amounts of petrol and diesel, and all of which consume large amounts of energy per individual journey.
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There is even more good news. The cost of living may be going up, but the price of travelling by train has taken a dramatic cut. Iarnród Éireann recently announced a 20% reduction in ticket prices – which, in truth, represents an even bigger discount, set against the extraordinary rises that have taken place in the cost of petrol, diesel and other forms of energy, in particular as a result of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
ENJOY YOURSELF
To travel by railway is a uniquely restful and pleasurable experience – unless you prefer to use the time to get some vital work done, which of course can also be easily accommodated. But that sense in which a train journey wins you back vital time for relaxation or contemplation – especially pitted against the stress and pressure of driving – has been augmented now in a way that matters greatly. We all love the feeling that going away, taking a break or travelling light gives us. There is a feeling of open-ness and wonder – a sense of new and different possibilities taking shape – that is impossible to replicate in the course of our normal working routines. Well, the most sustainable way to create that feeling is to pick a destination that is at the end of a train line, jump aboard – and enjoy yourself. It really is one of life’s great pleasures...
MÁIRÍN SHEEHY
