Ireland - public transport services, issues, plans and consultations (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[willc]

One for the silver surfers out there who fancy a rail trip around Ireland.

Iarnrod Eireann and the Irish tourist board have just launched a scheme giving foreign visitors over 66 free travel on all IE and Dublin Dart services, matching a scheme for Irish residents. It's a one-year trial for the moment.

Irish Times story here http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0317/1224266441900.html

Details of how to sign up for the offer are here http://www.discoverireland.com/gb/ireland-plan-your-visit/facts/golden-trekker/

[Brucey]

I spotted this on the Discover Ireland website.  Seems as though they are trying to attract the "more mature" tourist!

Sit back, relax and enjoy the views as you travel across Ireland by train. If you^re 66 years or over, you can now enjoy travel in the Republic of Ireland using the FREE Golden Trekker.

To avail of your Golden Trekker, call Tourism Ireland on 0800 039 7000 at least 48 hours prior to your arrival in Ireland

http://www.discoverireland.com/gb/ireland-plan-your-visit/facts/golden-trekker/

[vacman]

Looks like the Irish Government have agreed it's closure! IE are blaming low passenger numbers, well if you only run one train each way per day then people won't use it!

[smokey]

Looks more like the Service can be withdrawn but the line will have to stay?

Mind there are Lines in Ireland that are still OPEN but have been lifted.

[smokey]

From CIE^» (Coras Iompair Eireann - Holding company for Irish transport companies - about) website Saturday 18th September is final day. 

Buses from Monday 20th 

[eightf48544]

One of the problems with the line was too many manned level crossings.

Agree with vacman only one train a day is not going to encourage much usage.

[Rhydgaled]

Agree with vacman only one train a day is not going to encourage much usage.

Me too.

On this side of the water there are 2 trains per day to Fishguard Harbour connecting with the ferry to Rosslare. One of these is in the middle of the night (because the ferry is) so likewise there is effectivly only 1 service for locals to use, which is not very likely to attract said locals. However there are a number of passengers on it, which I suspect is thanks to it connecting with the ferry. I've never set foot on the ferry but a few family members considered a trip to Dublin a while back (which never happened) but I researched the similarlly infrequent service on the Irish side and if I remember right it fails to make any connections (at least with the day ferry) so passengers have a train to Fishguard connecting with a ferry to Rosslare then are left to find car hire/bus/taxi. If Irish Rail actually timed their infrequent service to meet the Fishguard ferry then they may find some passengers.

[smokey]

Not 100% surprised that NRES^▸ (National Rail Enquiry Service) are still showing the Rosslare to Waterford train at 07.00 Next WEEK.

[smokey]

Four weeks since the Rosslare Waterford passenger sevice was withdrawn and NRES^▸ (National Rail Enquiry Service) still show the 07.00 Rosslare to Waterford TRAIN. 

[grahame]

Services on the Rosslare-Waterford line, through Snow Hill Tunnel, ended on 18th September 2010 although reports indicate that the route is still being maintained as an engineers' siding.

from http://www.forgottenrelics.co.uk/tunnels/ireland/index.html

It always struck me (but as an outsider) that this line was such a logical part of the network that it really should not be lost ... has it indeed been mothballed / retained so it could be brought back?    In general, when I last looked any connections at Rosslare to and from Dublin [trains to and from boats] were - err - purely accidental.

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

Interesting photos there. That tunnel (Snow Hill) is immediately on the west bank of the Barrow railway bridge, Ireland's longest rail bridge.

In an ideal world there would be through trains Rosslare-Waterford-Clonmel-Limerick-Galway.

One of the conditions of suspending the South Wexford rail service imposed by the National Transport Authority (NTA^» (Newton Abbott - next trains)) on Iarnr^d ^ireann (Irish Rail) was that the line be maintained.

There is a robust maintenance programme to ensure the line remains serviceable. This entails the likes of hedge cutting, weedspray and track inspection. In comparison to previous suspensions/closures where lines were generally allowed to become overgrown this set a precedent.

The first few miles of the line out of Waterford city remain in use by several freight trains a week travelling to/from Belview Port (Belview Port is located not much more than a mile west of Snow Hill Tunnel).

The South Wexford line proved invaluable towards the end of 2011 when the Rosslare-Dublin line was severed near Dublin due to flooding in that it allowed rolling stock which would otherwise have been isolated on the Rosslare-Dublin line to go for routine servicing.

Towards the end of this September Railtours Ireland will operate their first ever rail land cruise. It is understood, subject to permission from Iarnr^d ^ireann, this will traverse the South Wexford line:
http://www.railtoursireland.com/train-tour/The-Ireland-8-Day-Rail-Land-Cruise-and-Castle-Tour/st2014/


There are a suite of documents on the NTA website about the South Wexford line including the maintenance contract:
http://www.nationaltransport.ie/public-transport-services/rail/contracts/service-changes/waterford-rosslare-reports/

The Rosslare-Wexford-Wicklow-Dublin line is very scenic as is the Waterford-Clonmel-Limerick Junction line. The South Wexford line is too - while the countryside that the replacement bus route passes through is pleasant the route followed is nowhere near as scenic (or as short) as the rail route.

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

The current edition of a local newspaper, the Wexford People, reports that the line from Enniscorthy to Rosslare could be at risk of closure.

Extract from article below

IRISH RAIL REVIEW IS ALREADY UNDER WAY
WEXFORD^S railway station faces the threat of closure as Iarnr^d ^ireann reviews what have been dubbed Ireland^s underused ^ghost^ trains.
The days could be numbered too for the stations at both Rosslare Strand and Rosslare Harbour at the southern tip of what is one of the least used train routes in Ireland, according to figures published at the weekend.
On a daily basis, just 20 people board the train in Rosslare Europort and 18 arrive there by rail. In Rosslare Strand, the figure is 25 passengers boarding and 30 people arriving. In Wexford town, the daily number of passengers boarding trains is 81 while the arrival figure is 64.
An Iarnr^d ^ireann spokesman said a full review of routes and services is under way. In the light of this, there are fears that the Wexford to Rosslare Harbour link could be targeted for closure.
^ The cut-off point seems to be 100 passengers but they should be looking at the revenue, not passenger numbers,^ said former Labour councillor Joe Ryan, who has highlighted the threat to Wexford^s rail service over the past two years. WEXFORD COULD have a higher percentage of people paying for fares as opposed to passengers using free travel passes, Mr Ryan said.
Mr Ryan accused Irish Rail of not maximising its potential and of neglecting freight business development and the promotion of routes.
^ There seems to be a problem attracting business onto the rail line.^
^ They should stop concentrating on the soft option of cutting services and optimise the infrastructure they have,^ he said.
Mr Ryan warned that the closure of the Wexford to Rosslare line would result in a ^ hugely detrimental impact^ on Rosslare Harbour.
The latest passenger figures are based on internal Department of Transport briefing documents obtained by the Sunday Independent.

Dark days in the Emerald Isle.

[eightf48544]

Isn't one of the problems that the trains no longer make good connections with the ferries at Rosslare?

Also I believe Rosslare to Waterford line is mothballed and Waterford to Limerick Junction OOU^▸ (out of use) so there is no way by rail from the South West.

[grahame]

Isn't one of the problems that the trains no longer make good connections with the ferries at Rosslare?

Also I believe Rosslare to Waterford line is mothballed and Waterford to Limerick Junction OOU^▸ (out of use) so there is no way by rail from the South West.

Waterford to Limerick Junction was, I recall, closed for a while but there are now 2 trains each way per day:
http://www.irishrail.ie/media/12-waterfordlimerick250920131.pdf?v=gc3u1co

Waterford to Rosslare has indeed been reduced to an engineer's siding.

Whereas connections at Fishguard to and from boats are good, a cynic might tell you that at Rosslare they're designed to fail.  I'm sure that's not quite the case, but I've certainly been put off travelling that route by the absence of a train connection off the afternoon boat from Fishguard to get me into Dublin in the late evening.  Reading more informed commentary here, I now understand that the issue is that Rosslare is on the very end of a long line south from Dublin which is very busy as you get closer to the city with single track capacity issues up there  between Greystones and Bray, and then there are long single track lengths further south too. "More important to look after daily commuters than those remaining ferryists who can't afford a car, and are too awkward to to fly" perhaps?

P.S.  I think it changed / good northbound evening connection for the high summer this year - just not advertised - or was I dreaming?

[grahame]

OK - it is better at the moment

Boat from Fishguard at 02:45, 06:15 to 07:20 at Rosslare, 10:15 into Dublin
Boat from Fishguard at 14:30, 18:00 to 18:35 at Rosslare, 21:44 into Dublin
(previously was 18:00 to 05:35 at Rosslare, 08:46 into Dublin.  May revert at end of summer  )

Train from Dublin at 16:37, 19:25 to 21:00 at Rosslare, 00:15 into Fishguard
Train from Dublin at 18:38, 21:28 to 09:00 next morning at Rosslare, 12:30 into Fishguard