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

[whole diary]

[Rhydgaled]

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

Looks like 3/4 sailings have something approaching connections then, just the 21:28 arrival for a 9am sailing that is totally hopeless.

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

In addition to those of us taking the train to Rosslare there are a cohort who "park & sail" or are driven to the port and avail of SailRail onwards. SailRail wins over the private car in many instances particularly for a solitary traveller. For example between fuel and fare a trip from Co. Wexford to the Thames Valley/London will amount to several hundred euro whereas a SailRail advance return is just ^92. Secondly driving a car is essentially "down time" and one cannot do any work beyond thinking and listening to the radio. The train & ship option allows meaningful work by way of taking out a laptop or bundle of papers. On the trains here and on the ship there is free wifi. When wifi becomes universal on First Great Western and when it's rolled out on Arriva Trains Wales it will enhance the appeal of the SailRail offering for cross-channel passengers. A third consideration is that the rail timings are quite competitive. Granted a motorist will get to depart the port sooner than a SailRail passenger but this will be negated by the need for a rest break en route/possible congestion. Even the standby SailRail fare is only fractionally higher (^6/^7) whereas air fares can go sky high close to/on the travel date. Waterford Airport offers no flights to London and has no public transport connectivity bar a rural community bus one day a week. Even travelling by air it is necessary to factor in the cost of transport at both sides to make a fair comparison with the train & ship option. The cost of baggage on a flight can be a deciding factor for many. A concluding factor is that modern progressive economies such as Britain and Ireland need a balance in the transport mix rather than over-reliance on one node or mode.

The evening train ex Rosslare will revert to 17.55 from Monday 1st September. A problem is that the window of time between the arrival of the ship (18.00) and train departure is quite tight even in optimal conditions. From the ship coming to a standstill to arriving in the terminal building takes around ten minutes minimum (it's a fair walk along the enclosed elevated walkway between ship & terminal). Sometimes there are security/immigration checks prior to leaving the secure area on the first floor. Some passengers may need to collect baggage. Then there's the walk from the terminal to the station taking the best part of ten minutes. Add in some rain or heavy baggage and it can be seen that even in best conditions (Stena Line generally run a very punctual service) it's a bit of a rush. The connection into and out of the night sailings are much better and allow that necessary "wriggle room" (19.25 train arrival for 21.00 Fishguard sailing; 07.20 train departure out of 06.15 ferry arrival [02.45 ex Fishguard]). It should be noted that the ferry terminal building at Rosslare Europort is closed during the night so an overnight wait will entail accommodation in the village of Rosslare Harbour (there are a number of hotels and B&Bs).

Around a seventh of the length of the South Wexford (Rosslare Strand - Waterford) line is in regular use (several times a week) by freight trains travelling as far as Belview Port from the Waterford city direction. The key traditional catchment area of Rosslare are cities like Cork, Limerick and Waterford as well as towns across the region like Clonmel and Dungarvan. The bus services from Rosslare are not integrated with the onward rail services from Waterford (both the line via Clonmel to Limerick Junction for connections to the south & south west plus the line going north from Waterford via Kilkenny city to Carlow and Kildare). The Waterford-Clonmel-Limerick Junction line was temporarily closed (with replacement buses operating) between October 2003 and September 2004 while repairs were effected to Cahir Viaduct. The line was never out of use (OOU^▸ (out of use)). If anyone comes across any publications stating this please drop them a polite line as it is a serious disservice to have misinformation like this circulating. In more recent years the line has seen significant expenditure with the majority of the permanent way now being continuous welded rail (CWR^▸ (Continuously Welded Rail)). It retains semaphore signalling though and the line limit is 50mph. InterCity railcars (ref: http://www.irishrail.ie/about-us/fleet) are the usual rolling stock on the line and the same trains form Dublin-Waterford/Waterford-Dublin trains earlier or later in the day.

[PhilWakely]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)

Belfast-Dublin train: Refurbished Enterprise has licence suspended after doors open

One of the newly-refurbished trains was unveiled by Translink in November and had been under going a three month trial

The newly-refurbished Enterprise trains have had their safety licence suspended in the Republic of Ireland after passenger doors opened mid-journey.

There were two incidents - one in December and one last week - on the service run jointly by Translink and Irish Rail.
Translink said at no stage were any passengers in danger.

All the refurbished trains are due to be operating on the Belfast to Dublin route from the end of February.

However, the Railway Safety Commission (RSC) has issued a prohibition notice on NI Railways, banning them from operating in the Republic of Ireland.

The RSC said the notice was independent of its approval of the newly re-furbished Enterprise Trains and that the doors or door circuits were not part of the re-furbishment project.

One of the refurbished trains was unveiled by Translink in November and had been undergoing a three-month trial.

Significant overhaul
It was one of four de Dietrich trains upgraded by Translink and was described by the company as a "major milestone" in its ^12.2m NI railways upgrade programme.

New livery and interiors were also included as well as a significant overhaul of the train's mechanical systems and a new electronic passenger reservation system.

In response to the latest incidents, Translink said "internal investigations have highlighted that the two door incidents are unrelated in nature and at no stage were passengers in any immediate danger".

"A technical investigation and remedial action is currently under way across the Enterprise fleet involving specialist door contractors and the train door manufacturer.

"The Enterprise train remains out of service while this is ongoing."

Translink has postponed the introduction of a new timetable for the Enterprise train service to Dublin.

An earlier 06.15 GMT Belfast departure time had been due to begin at the end of January.
But the journey time would have taken longer - almost two and a half hours.
 
However Translink has now said that "alternative options" are being looked at. Passengers have been consulted by Translink and Iarnr^d ^ireann about the proposed changes.

The service is operated jointly by Translink and Iarnr^d ^ireann.
"The companies will work together to review feedback from the timetable consultation processes," a statement from Translink read.

It added they hoped to finalise a new timetable by the end of "the first quarter of 2016".

Edit note: Topic heading slightly amended, purely for clarity. CfN. 

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

The National Transport Authority, along with Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross, has launched a process of consultation around the Rail Review 2016 Report, which inter alia proposes the closure of several lines as a possible measure to plug the funding gap that has arisen. 

The Rosslare-Gorey section of the Rosslare – Wicklow - Dublin line and the entire Waterford – Clonmel – Limerick Junction line (continuation of the Rosslare - Wellingtonbridge -Waterford line which was suspended in 2010) are mooted for possible closure as are two lines elsewhere in the country.

The consultation remains open till close of business on Wednesday 18th January 2017 and the report and consultation document can be accessed at:
https://www.nationaltransport.ie/consultations/consultation-on-rail-review-2016/

Some of my personal thoughts on this are that the report appears to make zero effort to suggest measures to grow business as an alternative to closure yet detailed rail replacement bus timetables are provided! For instance the Waterford – Clonmel – Limerick Junction line is not bookable online and is the only one on the island of Ireland devoid of a Sunday service. Yet large sums have been ploughed into the line in very recent years such that virtually all of the line is now continuous welded rail and the modern InterCity units are now the norm on the line. This route needs to be operated as a through Waterford - Galway service as current connections are very poor/slow:
http://www.irishrail.ie/media/12_waterfordclonmellimk_valid_from_20.11.2016.pdf

Past closures/suspensions have not yielded exciting savings and even if all four line/line sections mentioned in the report are closed the savings are still rather meagre as there will still be a cost for maintenance and replacement public service obligation (PSO) buses.

Separately extensive efforts are being made to grow railfreight so in the instance that Rosslare-Gorey is closed to passengers that should not mean that any future freight flow is also condemned.

In my view CIÉ's "heart" has never been in rail in the South East of Ireland.

[grahame]

Yikes - this is potentially highly significant ... Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Oh - my - god.  What a mess (as least that's how it comes across from the report ...).   I've started a rather longer comment I'll post in the morning.

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

A few further pertinent facts:

Of the four lines/sections suggested for closure viz (in order of risk):
1.   Ballybrophy – Roscrea – Nenagh – Limerick
2.   Waterford – Clonmel – Tipperary – Limerick Junction
3.   Ennis – Gort – Athenry
4.   Gorey – Enniscorthy – Wexford – Rosslare Strand & Rosslare Europort
it is apparent that both lines 1 & 2 are at a higher risk of potential closer than 3 & 4. Of the Rosslare line the report states “Similarly the Gorey to Rosslare line closure would impact on a large number of passengers.” (p. 43)

Then there is the million euro question as to whether any meaningful effort has ever been made to automate the numerous staffed level crossings on the two County Tipperary lines (1 & 2 in list) or seek funding for same.

Next there’s the curious situation of PSO bus routes (i.e. subsidised with public monies) introduced during this year on which certain journeys are timed at more or less the same time as rail services…

Bus route 355: Waterford – Carrick-on-Suir – Clonmel – Cahir (reconfigured route 367 bus route but extended beyond Clonmel to Cahir). Operated by Bus Éireann.

Bus route 387: Rosslare Europort – Rosslare Strand – Killinick – Wexford (brand new route). Operated by Wexford Local Link.

Granted both routes serve a number of villages which are no longer on the rail network like Kilsheelan near Clonmel and Killinick (just off the N25 Rosslare-Wexford road) which had a station on the Rosslare-Waterford line till the 1970s.

The report is bizarre in many respects even referring to long closed lines no longer in the company’s ownership.

Closure makes little financial logic because both the revenue and subsidy is then lost. Furthermore redundancy also has to be paid out and headquarters/centralised costs are unchanged but are spread out over a smaller network.

An important and related aspect is that Irish Rail wish to abandon the Rosslare-Waterford line:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/iarnrod-eireann-seeks-to-permanently-axe-10-closed-lines-430881.html
The report refers to the fact there is no funding provided for maintaining structures like bridges on closed and abandoned lines and Rosslare - Waterford would broadly fall into the former category.

On the plus side things may not be as dire as they seem as an additional €31 million euro subvention for public transport was announced in October and some of this will go to Irish Rail.

And it should be noted that SailRail traffic to/from Rosslare even on a quiet day can contribute around 100 passengers onto GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway).  I’m reluctant to mention figures because they in fact fluctuate considerably  – last week coming through Fishguard at night I was one of only around ten heading east but approximately fifty were heading for Rosslare and beyond. Of course the salient point is that with easier booking facilities and better promotion this traffic could be noticeably increased for everyone’s benefit particularly during the summer.

[ellendune]

But they I though they had only relatively recently re-opened Ennis to Athenry?

[TonyK]

It would be sad if it were to close. I have only been to Rosslare once (OK, twice including the return trip) which was on a whim. Mrs FT, N! had spotted a cheap offer in the Bristol Post which included GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) from Temple Meads and ferry to Rosslare. We made no other plans, deciding to play it by ear. There were two trains at platform, and we simply got on the first one to leave. We stayed in Wexford, where the Intercity train runs along the main road for a short distance, like a very big tram, and used the train again during our stay to get to Gorey, for the beach. Had the other train been the first to go, we would have stayed in Waterford. The train manager remembered us from our first ride three days previously.

I hope it survives, and I hope it is promoted better than at present. It could prove to be a false economy to close the line.

[grahame]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.  What a mess the report describes.

I've visited Ireland quite a number of time as regular members will know, and commented (maybe on my blog rather than here) that it's a country that feels like England did a generation or two back - in the time of my youth.  And a generation or two back we had the Beeching Report and its consequences here in Great Britain.

Figures quoted in the report of a shortfall of up to 491 Euros per passenger journey on one line are frightening, as is a main line terminus with just 50 passenger journeys in a day. And I do recall making a journey to that terminus (and reporting on it here) where I was the only passenger left on the train by the time it got there.

But the Beeching Report, and the background work on individual lines, has been found by time to be overdone in terms of what it claimed for savings, biased and scanty in its reasearch, excessive in what it calied should be done, and pessimistic for the future, and significant in what it didn't say.  Whilst certain closures probably were sensible, many of them weren't and indeed quite a number didn't happen - alas not because of the cases being looked at, but because of the politics and local mobilisation (or lack of it) in areas served line by line.

There are differences to Beeching though.   For one, the trains and lines in the paralous operational financial mess aren't in bad shape - a lot of money has been spent on them in recent years, with lots of continuoisly welded rail and rather nice trains providing the services, even if operational costs remain higher than perhaps need be.   For another, Ireland's already had its major clearout of lines so perhaps I should be comparing to the Serpell report rather than to the Beeching report.

For reference, here are links to the Beeching and Serpell reports, and also to our own mirrors of the Irish report and consultation document in case it's no longer available on thri site after the consultation ends.

http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BRB_Beech001a.pdf
http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/BRB_Beech001b.pdf
http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/DoT_Serpell001.pdf

http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/iereport.pdf
http://www.savethetrain.org.uk/ieconsult.pdf

Support graphics to give readers a quick intro / picture:



From the "Annual one-day census of passenger numbers" for 2015:


Operational cost report - figures quotes elsewhere including keeping the lines open are much much higher!

 
My analysis and thoughts to follow in next post ...

[grahame]

My analysis and thoughts to follow in next post ...

Really four targets?

Have Gorey to Rosslare and Ennis to Athenley been included in the report consulation as decoys to draw the fire of those who object to those lines?   Are the real targets the closure from Limeric to Ballynrophy and perhaps from Limeric Junction to Waterford?    You'll note that I'm writing here mainly about the Rosslare line, and in doing so am I falling into the trap that the author of the consultation really only want to close two lines but I (and others) won't say much about those two being much smaller - so they'll go "as they don't have as much support" ... and with both sides able to claim a victory - "We save Rosslare" and "We managed to get rid of Roscrea"?

Wexford

Wexford (town) has a population of over 20,000 and is an intermediate station between Gorey and Eniscorthy has around 11,000 ... both are served by the line between Gorey and Rosslare, and neither of those two stations appears in the low usage list.  Yet they seem to have been left off many / most of the maps that accompany the report, even though it shows Wicklow with a population of just uner 15,000 (on the section to be retained). 

Short cutting

Whilst cutting the Rosslare service back to Gorey (population 9,000) from where it's currently viable northwards, will it still remain viable without throgh traffic from the South?  It's not pure population that counts - I think there is some commuter traffic to Dubin from as far south as Gorey, but not beyond so you end up, potentially, with a single-traffic-source line and not a more general line as you have at present, with a much more marked peak and an an increased imbalance for furure use of resources.   And I don't see people getting onto a coach as Rosslare Europort, Rosslare Strand, Wexford or Enniscorthy and then changing to a train at Gorey for the rest of the ride to Dublin - they'll want to stay on the coach if they travel this way at all.

1 day survey

We are warned in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) that train overcrowding figures are taken for a single day and really can't be used to draw any conclusions.  Yet the passenge numbers for smaller stations in Ireland are also just one day, so do they tell us anything useful?    And I recall faut beng found in some of the Beechin Report's figures because figures were gathered over a highly selective week.  I have my doubts as to how much can be read into the passenger census data supplied.

Inappropriate service - e.g. two trains a day

I recall we had just 2 trains each way per day on the TransWilts until 2013 ... and that made marketing the line very difficult. And it was doubly so because the trains we had weren't right for daily commuter flows which can be the bread and butter of a line.    Our service was that much less useful because of dreadful connections at junctions.

I see similar situations on all the lines up for consulatation.   From Galway to Waterford - a natural through journey taking in two of the lines - you have a choice of 2 trains a day - at 06:20 or 13:45.   Both involve changing at Limeric and Limerick junction - on the first you arrive at Limeric an hour and 20 minutes before leaving the junction, and on the second that stretches to three hours and a minute.  In the reverse direction, the 07:20 off Waterford dumps you at Limeric Junction at 09:00 and you can enjoy both the junction and the city before continuing onwards at 14:20.  Local commutes into Waterford with first train in at 11:26 and last train out at 16:25 ...

Clonmel (population 18,000) and Tipperary (population 5,000) each have but 2 trains each way per day - and it's the same train - where a train every 2 hours would be possible using the same set - and perhaps meeting a whole number of other potential flows.  Between these two, they have pretty much the same population as Melksham where our increase from 2 trains each way by a factor of 4 has increased our passenger numbers by an estimated factor of 12.

The day boat from Fishguard arrives into Rosslare at 18:00 and if you're lucky and its on time, you'll be able to see the last train of the day - the 17:55 - pulling out for Dublin.  If you don't want to spend the night in Rosslare, you can catch the 02:30 boat from Fishguard which arrives at 06:30 and will connect into the 07:20 train - but that's hardly a pleasant tourist trip with two nasty nighttime interchanges.

Taking the boat out? The 09:40 train from Dublin - the first of the day - arrives at Rosslare at 12:26.  The 09:00 boat has long since gone. The 21:15 boat heads out just before the train arrives from Dublin at 21:28 ... the previous train reaches Wexford where it terminates at 20:12 (and you could probably make the conection by road) otherwise you're on the 16:37 from Dublin, 19:25 into Rosslare.

Fishguard

I would estimate that around 70 journeys per day are made on foot via the Rosslare / Fishguard ferry service, with perhaps 35 to 40 on the Irish side and 60 to 65 on the Welsh side transferring to and from the rail connections.   In Ireland, there are more bus / coach services at Europort to places like Waterford (train service withdrawn a few years back!) and indeed to Wexford and Dublin which make the rail journety number on that side lower (they rather force people to the buses if you look at issues with train connections!).

BUT ... remove the train service to Rosslare and you'll reduce foot passenger numbers on the boat and decimate the Fishguard service; remember that the 35 to 40 on the Irish side are hardened rail users already and most won't switch to the coach from Gorey.  So that's a prediction of a loss of 11,000 to 12,000 passngers per annum on the boat, and on journeys by rail to and from Fishguard Harbour Station if the Irish train goes.

Mothballing

The Rosslare to Waterford stretched moved from a fully useful train service to a parliamentary service to an engineering siding / mothballed line and now there's a suggestion it be abandoned.  With the longest rail bridge in Ireland on this section, being maintained in working condition but without income to fund that maintenance, you have something that doesn't look sane for the long term.  And because of that glaring absurdity, anything less absurd will have an easy passage to being the current way it's done, even if that's catastrophic for the long term.


CBT^‡(resolve) / TWSW^» (TravelWatch SouthWest - website) / RailFuture for Ireland? / ACoRP^▸ (Association of Community Rail Partnerships) / RDG^‡(resolve) / Rail Users Ireland

A question - who is there in Ireland who represents the rail industry and the passengers?   I'm coming to this post blind, not aware of any Transport User's Consultative Committees, Community Rail organisations, Railfutures or TravelWatches.   Are there passenger / rail user groups for the lines / towns concerned and any co-ordination of thoughts, responses and requests around these groups?   How well informed are uses, potential users and businesses that can or could be effected by closures as to what's going on?

Consultation on what?

There seems a disjoint between the quetions asked and the subejcts being reported on.   Perhaps that allows the "we have consulted" box to be ticked and "we got no objections to xxxxx" during consultation to be truely stated in some cases because opinions simply weren't sought and few people thought to write in the extras.  I'm afraid I'm a cynic, but being so because of the lessons of history.

Buses

Comment is made elsewhere that buses now run at similar time to trains on some of the routes.   Where both are being subsidised the question needs to be asked "is this intended to be permanent", but at the same time it could simply be an agreement between the public transport providers that they have both identified the time that people want to travel.   Frankly, that latter I doubt;  having a ready-runnning bus smooths the way to explain a train removal, and perhaps reduces political pressure to retain the train by convining those people who decide, but never use either, that there's a reasonable alternative and they should mute their objections.

Plan B?

Even the Serpell Report has plans A though D, with the least bad plan loosing just a couple of lines.

Where is the current marketing and information systems to grow some or all of these lines out of trouble?   To modernise the crossings and reduce future costs in that way?   I have plenty of thought how it could be done ...

In summary

I see so many similarities - places we and I have been and experience that may be the same (or not) across international boundaries.  With one exception in the four lines, I know enough about them to say that with more service, connections, promotions and information they could grow - with growth disproportionaly ahead of the extra increase in sevices.  They seem somewhere between neglected and tuned to fail at them moment, and once they're failed and lost it would be an almost impossible fight back.

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

Tomorrow morning at 08.00 Stena Line's new sailing schedule on the Fishguard - Rosslare route will come into effect. The new sailing times are as follows:

Ex Fishguard Harbour: 13.10 & 23.45 (currently 02.30 & 14.30)
Ex Rosslare Europort: 08.00 & 18.10 (currently 09.00 & 21.15)

This represents a monumental change as apart from changes of less than an hour the sailing pattern has been the same on this route for several decades.

The same ship, MV Stena Europe, will operate the route but sailings are being accelerated by a quarter of an hour to 3 hrs 15 minutes. The overnight crossing at 23.45hrs ex Fishguard is being slowed to take 4 hrs 15 minutes.

The change is being widely publicised and there was even an ad in the London Evening Standard a few weeks ago.

It is good to see an innovative schedule but it's a bit of a mixed bag for SailRail passengers.

Lets look at some of the issues:

At Rosslare rail connections have become very good  by coincidence rather than design as the train times are unaltered but perhaps Stena Line looked at how to best mesh with the existing rail service. Three out of four sailings will be rail connected year-round i.e.

04.00 arrival (05.35 M-F train to Dublin; 07.20 Sat; 09.40 Sun)
08.00 sailing (no train but Local Link bus connection from Wexford town and Rosslare Strand: link to t/table at end of post)
16.25 arrival (17.55 M-S train to Dublin; 17.40 Sunday)
18.10 sailing (lunchtime train ex Dublin reaches Europort circa 16.30 daily)

Incidentally Irish Rail have recently revamped their booking engine with single fares from Rosslare to Dublin from €12.99.

Will Arriva Trains Wales re-enable through ticketing to reflect this improved connectivity?

Will GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) mention the existence of Rosslare in their online and printed material? Airline partnerships to far-flung flight destinations receive a mention on their travel connections page so why the apparent aversion to Ireland?

At Rosslare bus connections to/from Waterford are poorer and the first bus from Waterford reaches the port at 08.20.

At Fishguard things the main issue for SailRail passengers is that the rail connection off the evening sailing from Rosslare will only go as far as Carmarthen. Ideally this needs to extend to at least Swansea and ideally the welsh capital. No long will the overnight journey from Ireland to London be possible (there is a waiting room on Platform 1 at Carmarthen but I doubt many will wish to spend around four hours there).

Could a bus be provided for the latter part of the journey if stabling/servicing/staffing requirements mean that the train can only go to Carmarthen?

A later train would serve a dual role - as well as serving ferry passengers it would permit domestic passengers to make later journeys between the key towns and cities of South and West Wales.

Local passengers in Fishguard, Goodwick and surrounds have lost their 23.45 ex Swansea and there appears to be noticeable disquiet about this. Boat trains will still run but the final 01.50 ex Fishguard Harbour will run tomorrow (Monday 22nd May, 2017). There has been a 01.50 night in night out for several decades - could it be the longest serving train departure time on the entire network?

The Stena Europe is going to be working flat out and daytime port turnaround times are reduced but I don't see this as an issue except in adverse weather delays may be easier to occur.

It would be good if passengers on the overnight crossing had an option of staying onboard till 05.00/06.00 or so (longer sleep)...

Coverage & references:
http://news.stenaline.co.uk/pressreleases/stena-line-refreshes-its-rosslare-fishguard-ferry-timetable-1893581

http://www.countyecho.co.uk/article.cfm?id=111025&headline=Stena%20Line%20announce%20revised%20timetable%20for%20ferry%20service&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2017#readComments

http://fishguardtrains.info/

Local Link route 387 bus timetable:
https://locallink.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/March-2017Wexford-Route-387-6pp-DL-March-2017-FINAL-Web.pdf

Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) timetable: Rosslare - Wexford - Wicklow - Dublin line:
http://www.irishrail.ie/media/08_dublin-rosslare.pdf

[grahame]

Tomorrow morning

I await an announcement (?) with bated breath.  Long overdue ... trains to connect with the boats.  There are trains to Rosslare Europort ... and to my untutored eye they have seemed designed in a Beechingesque way to fail.

[grahame]

Tomorrow morning

I await an announcement (?) with bated breath.  Long overdue ... trains to connect with the boats.  There are trains to Rosslare Europort ... and to my untutored eye they have seemed designed in a Beechingesque way to fail.

OK - thanks for the update to your original post ... see it now.

South Wales and South and West England to Dublin and the rest of Ireland by public transport is a logical journey - and I'm a very occasional user - Melksham (of course!) to the Dublin area.  But only a very occasional user because the connections have been so crap that I usually take a deep breath and go via Holyhead.    Were the service to connect decently right through, I would be much more than just a very occasional user.

From England to Dublin, it now works.    Two sensible journeys per day.
07:49 Melksham / 12:30 - 13:10 at Fishguard, 16:25 - 17:55 at Rosslare, 20:44 in Dublin
16:37 Melksham / 22:02 - 23:45 at Fishguard, 04:00 - 05:35 at Rosslare, 08:46 in Dublin

Coming back, it's royally screwed.
I can leave Dublin at 13:36 and get as far as Carmathen ...
I can leave Dublin at 18:38 and get as far as Rosslare ...
Then both involve a hotel or a long wait at the port or station.  NO thank you!

The former return at 16:37 from Dublin would have got me to Melksham for 07:48 - 2 nighttime changes but no waits.  I now have to leave earlier (13:36 as against 16:37) and then spend those three extra hours in Carmarthen - the ex 01:50 from Fishguard now starting from there at 03:03

I am likely to use the route henceforth on my way to Ireland.  On the way back, I probably won't.

But take a wider look.   You have three transport providers making up the route, and for all three of them the through international public transport market has shrunk to the extent it's become insignificant.

The ferry company has used the speed of the boat, and perhaps the ability to turn around quicker, to remove the middle of the night arrival and departures at Fishguard - no bad marketing change for the leisure / car market who've probably not been thrilled with this timing on the end of a holiday.

Arriva Trains Wales appear to have removed one return trip to Fishguard Harbour (or have they just moved it earlier to match the boat?) - yes, it would have been perfect if it ran on - but to where, as services fade out at the end of the day ...

I don't think the Irish railways have changed much - if anything.  Just that the arriving boats now connect with trains. Pity the the only departing boat with a connecting train doesn't have a good connection onwards in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

Conclusion?  None.  Bit surprised that if this happened with "only 2 weeks notice" that Arriva Trains Wales were able to make changes - I suspect they were pre-alerted ...

[Rhydgaled]

Arriva Trains Wales appear to have removed one return trip to Fishguard Harbour (or have they just moved it earlier to match the boat?) - yes, it would have been perfect if it ran on - but to where, as services fade out at the end of the day ...

They have removed a service; I'm not sure whether to see it as the night boat train being removed or the last of the evening local trains introduced in 2011, but one has been removed no doubt about it. 7 trains per 24 hours has reduced to 6.

Bit surprised that if this happened with "only 2 weeks notice" that Arriva Trains Wales were able to make changes - I suspect they were pre-alerted ...

Your hunch is correct; when the changes first came to my attention I sent a Freedom Of Information request to the Welsh Government in the hope of extracting the 2011 contract for Fishguard's additional rail services to see if cutting back from 6 per day to 7 was a breach of contract (the 2003 franchise agreement, with just the two boat trains, is published online, and Arriva cannot possibly comply with it since Stena's timetable change as it requires connections with both a GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) service to London and the ferry, which simply isn't possible). Unfortunately my FOI^▸ (Freedom of Information) request was refused, but I can tell you that Outlook.com is reporting that I sent the FOI request E-Mail on 20/04/2017. That means the new times (or a variation of them anyway) were already on Real Time Trains then, if not before.

Terminating/originating at Carmarthen would also be in breach of the 2003 franchise agreement, since it specifies that ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) must run to Cardiff or Swansea, but without the 2011 contract I cannot tell whether providing Fishguard with two Cardiff/Swansea services in each direction on the extra trains that don't meet ferries is enough to meet that requirement.

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

The Irish rail service, Iarnród Éireann has issued tender notices to refurbish 28 carriages which have been out of service for the past six years.

The plans to refurbish them comes in response to customer demand.

The carriages, which are known as the 2700-class commuter fleet, will increase the overall commuter fleet.

While they are planned to be used in the Limerick area, they will free up other trains for use in the Greater Dublin Area, to increase overall service capacity, and will re-enter service from late 2018 and into 2019.

The trains, which originally began operating in 1998, were withdrawn from the fleet in 2011-12, in response to the economic downturn and falling passenger numbers.

Now, with passenger numbers growing again, Iarnród Éireann plans to refurbish them and return them to service.

A total of 42.8 million passenger journeys were made in 2016, approaching the peak levels of 45.5 million from 2007.

By ensuring that demand can be catered for, this will also generate additional revenue which will help address the company’s challenging financial position.

Extract from source at:
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/business/iarnrod-eireann-to-refurbish-28-carriages-after-six-years-out-of-service-799559.html

Picture of 2700 class available at:
http://www.newstalk.com/Irish-Rail-to-refurbish-old-carriages-to-increase-capacity

Note: The 2700 class worked, inter alia, Rosslare - Wellingtonbridge - Waterford (until the service ceased in September 2010) and Waterford - Clonmel - Limerick Junction (until replaced by the 2800 class which were in turn replaced on this route by a 3-carriage InterCity railcar set).