irishRail201 wrote:
I'm baffled how Cork, Limerick and other large urban centres can't manage one freight train.

My reasoning of the whole thing would be because they're all connected to big enough ports and Ballina isn't really, Limerick has Foynes and a road! Cork has Tivoli which is next to the city. Unfortunate that it is the way it is, but hopefully someday we'll see a return of more liners to places.
Nearness to Ports is part of it, but most modern freight flows tend to be tied to moving traffic between a particular industry and a port rather than transporting general freight beween urban centres.

Ironically now that IE is no longer competing directly with major transport and warehousing companies (with the loss of keg traffic and run down of Road Liner) more of these companies may turn to Rail for their Line Haul work while they concentrate on the warehousing and distribution end of the buisiness.

Internationally there has been a move back to industries and transport companies setting up plants and depots with private sidings and rail operators providing shunting services, but it depends on the rail operator being receptive and providing a reliable service. 

While the traditonal door to door service operated by the railway companies had much to commend it, once road haulage was de-regulated it placed CIE & IE in direct competition with many of its potential customers and probably contributed to the problems that lead to the exit from the domestic container business.

John