Shuttle buses speed thousands to national ploughing championships

There was a buzz of excitement at Tullamore railway station this morning as commuters poured off trains and straight onto the waiting shuttle buses bound for the National Ploughing Championships.

With a priority route carved out to the site, the shuttle is proving to be the quickest and most convenient way of getting in and out of the action. The very first bus rolled out at 7am sharp, with more departures at 8.45am, 10.30am and 12.30pm across the three days of the ploughing.

''By 11am we’ll have shifted around 3,000 passengers,'' said Lorenzo Daly of Expressway, keeping a close eye on operations. ''We’ve got eight buses running on a loop. It’s an Expressway job, working alongside local buses and Irish Rail. People hop off the train, we process them straight onto the buses, and within about 12 minutes they’re standing on site.''

The operation is a well-oiled machine. ''We’ve a well-organised transport management system with the gardaí. We’re getting priority out, straight along a sterile route, right to the ploughing,'' he added.

Expressway Staff looking after buses at Tullamore station 

Bus driver Brian, of Buggy Coaches, was equally upbeat: ''The site is fabulous. Of course, we were all held up while Michael D was going out,'' he laughed, ''but I have to say the site is fantastic. It's very well marshalled, and everyone’s enjoying the fine weather. The trains are on time and it’s all running well.''

He pointed out the advantages of hopping on a bus over taking the car. ''There are three lanes of traffic. The buses are straight into the middle lane, so we’re out without delay. Why would you go in a car? The park and ride buses are getting direct access.''

Local couple Liam and Dolores Hoctor were delighted with the set-up. ''We just parked our car and got on the bus. It’s especially great to see the local buses operating,'' Liam said.

Retired nurses from Tullamore, Bridget Grogan and Bridget Byrne off on the shuttle bus to the National Ploughing Championships

Two retired nurses from Tullamore, Bridget Grogan and Bridget Byrne, were also hopping aboard. ''The last time it was here, we were helping out with blood sugars,'' they reminisced. ''Now we’re just going out to have a look around. Sure why wouldn’t you go when it’s so near?''