Ireland - Transportation

Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational Issues

Ireland is located Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain. The climate is temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time. The terrain is mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast.

Airports

This entry gives the total number of airports or airfields recognizable from the air. The runway(s) may be paved (concrete or asphalt surfaces) or unpaved (grass, earth, sand, or gravel surfaces) but may include closed or abandoned installations. Airports or airfields that are no longer recognizable (overgrown, no facilities, etc.) are not included. Note that not all airports have accommodations for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control.
Airports : 34 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways - total : 15
Airports - with paved runways - over 3,047 m : 1
Airports - with paved runways - 2,438 to 3,047 m : 1
Airports - with paved runways - 1,524 to 2,437 m : 4
Airports - with paved runways - 914 to 1,523 m : 4
Airports - with paved runways - under 914 m : 5 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total : 19
Airports - with unpaved runways - 914 to 1,523 m : 3
Airports - with unpaved runways - under 914 m : 16 (2007)

Pipelines

This entry gives the lengths and types of pipelines for transporting products like natural gas, crude oil, or petroleum products.
Pipelines : gas 1,855 km (2007)

Railways

This entry states the total route length of the railway network and of its component parts by gauge
Railways - total : 3,237 km
Railways - broad gauge : 1,872 km 1.600-m gauge (37 km electrified)
Railways - narrow gauge : 1,365 km 0.914-m gauge (operated by the Irish Peat Board to transport peat to power stations and briquetting plants) (2006)

Roadways

This entry gives the total length of the road network and includes the length of the paved and unpaved portions.
Roadways - total : 96,602 km
Roadways - paved : 96,602 km (includes 200 km of expressways) (2003)

Waterways

This entry gives the total length of navigable rivers, canals, and other inland bodies of water.
Waterways : 956 km (pleasure craft only) (2007)

Merchant marine

Merchant marine may be defined as all ships engaged in the carriage of goods; or all commercial vessels (as opposed to all nonmilitary ships), which excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc. This entry contains information in four fields - total, ships by type, foreign-owned, and registered in other countries. *** Total includes the number of ships (1,000 GRT or over), total DWT for those ships, and total GRT for those ships. DWT or dead weight tonnage is the total weight of cargo, plus bunkers, stores, etc., that a ship can carry when immersed to the appropriate load line. GRT or gross register tonnage is a figure obtained by measuring the entire sheltered volume of a ship available for cargo and passengers and converting it to tons on the basis of 100 cubic feet per ton; there is no stable relationship between GRT and DWT. *** Ships by type includes a listing of barge carriers, bulk cargo ships, cargo ships, chemical tankers, combination bulk carriers, combination ore/oil carriers, container ships, liquefied gas tankers, livestock carriers, multifunctional large-load carriers, petroleum tankers, passenger ships, passenger/cargo ships, railcar carriers, refrigerated cargo ships, roll-on/roll-off cargo ships, short-sea passenger ships, specialized tankers, and vehicle carriers. *** Foreign-owned are ships that fly the flag of one country but belong to owners in another. *** Registered in other countries are ships that belong to owners in one country but fly the flag of another.
Merchant marine - total : 29
Merchant marine - by type : cargo 25, chemical tanker 2, container 1, roll on/roll off 1
Merchant marine - foreign-owned : 2 (US 2)
Merchant marine - registered in other countries : 21 (Bahamas 2, Bermuda 1, Bulgaria 1, Cyprus 3, Isle of Man 1, Marshall Islands 1, Netherlands 10, Slovakia 1, UK 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals

This entry lists major ports and terminals primarily on the basis of the amount of cargo tonnage shipped through the facilities on an annual basis. In some instances, the number of containers handled or ship visits were also considered.
Ports and terminals : Cork, Dublin, Shannon Foynes

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