The railway line is lightly used. Lack of upkeep means that the line is restricted to a maximum speed of 64 km/h and the existing trains are poorly timetabled for commuters. A committee (the Nenagh Rail Steering Committee) working in conjunction with Irish Railway News, had a meeting with the national railway company Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) on 1 September 2005 to present the results of a traffic study funded by Nenagh Town Council and North Tipperary County Council, and to seek a morning and evening service between Nenagh and Limerick which would increase commuter traffic. IÉ agreed to delay an afternoon service from the December 2005 timetable and to work towards an early service when equipment permitted from 2007. A January 2012 national newspaper article suggested that Irish Rail was expected to seek permission from the National Transport Authority to close the line.[25] An enhanced timetable was in force during 2012 on a trial basis however the service was reduced again from February 2013.[26]
