Where are we?

I felt that a critical assessment of Longford at a variety of scales required a binding theme. For this I chose public tranport as it is an activity which relates to the person, the town, and the country. Building is a point at which these different scales meet.

Direct bus and rail routes connect Longford with 21 of the 32 counties. Travel to and from Connacht is almost unimaginable without passage through Longford - it serves as a gateway to the northwest. It is also a hinge in routes between regional centres (e.g. Derry to Athlone route) and a terminus for local routes connecting a market town with its hinterland (e.g. Newtowncashel, Carrigallen, Lanesborough routes). This study of macro-transit reveals Longford's place in the national picture.

Looking at the buildings, infrastructure and details associated with mass tranport in the town corresponds with human scale rather than a national strategy for mass transport.

Country

The railway network carries trains all around the country. The railway could be considered one of Marc Augé's non-places. It is repetitious, maybe even monotonous. Despite its turns, climbs and descents, it is not grounded in space.
Person + country

This is a scene familiar to station platforms around the country, but which one?

Person + building + country

The buildings mediate the relationship between railway and the passenger or staff member. The railway alone is a non-place, much the same as a motorway. The passenger could be anywhere - we are mobile. The building begins to ground the site. It is no longer abstract, and it has a sense of place. But the architecture of the station house is not unique and therefore fails to confirm the location - similar station houses are seen on lines linking Dublin to Cork and Waterford.

Person + building + town + country

The town around the station defines the place. What could have been any nineteenth century station house in rural Ireland now has views connecting it with the surrounding town and countryside, it is rooted in its setting.

Mode analysis and network

Public transport to and from Longford is dominated by rail. Irish Rail operates 136 services either originating, terminating or passing through Longford each week. Assuming 80% occupancy, this amounts to almost 60,000 people getting on or off at (or simply passing through) Longford in any given week.

Bus Éireann services connecting Longford, Ballina and Sligo to Dublin all pass through Longford station several times daily. Less frequent services connecting the regional centres of Derry, Waterford, Athlone also pass through, and a splinter from the Ballina route brings people directly from Westport to Longford once weekly. However the capacity of the bus service is minimal compared to that of Irish Rail. This mode accounts for only one quarter of visits to Longford. It is still heavily subscribed, as journey times are only slightly longer, the flexibility of stops greater, and fares much lower.

In addition to the national routes, various local routes operate which connect Longford to its hinterland and other larger towns in the midlands region. These include Athlone and Roscommon, as well as otherwise unserved townlands adjacent to the regular Ballina and Sligo routes.

Small villages such as Newtowncashel and Carrigallen are served on Saturdays, bringing people to and from shops and family in the main market town.

Overall, CIÉ has a capacity to deliver almost 80,000 people to and from Longford on a weekly basis. If the full potential of rail transport in Ireland was to be realised, with integrated lines and more frequent services, this number could be quadrupled (e.g. at the centre of lines linking Belfast or Derry with Galway or Limerick)