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

[whole diary]

[grahame]

From The Irish Independent

Rail Review pushes revival of Rosslare to Waterford line and aims to shave an hour off Dublin to Wexford commute

Good. A bit "left field" in looking to extend the Dublin to Waterford service to Wexford but it makes sense to me.  See upthread to see the insanity (IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion)) of letting the Rosslare Strand to Waterford rail link be lost for ever.

[Worcester_Passenger]

The idea that journey times between Dublin and Wexford could be "reduced by about an hour" seems rather optimistic to me. Current journey time via Wicklow is about 2:40. Current journey time to Waterford is about 2:15, though that does involve a reversal at Kilkenny.

I can see there being a Waterford - Wexford - Europort - Waterford triangular routing if the via-Waterford scheme came to pass.

[grahame]

The idea that journey times between Dublin and Wexford could be "reduced by about an hour" seems rather optimistic to me. Current journey time via Wicklow is about 2:40. Current journey time to Waterford is about 2:15, though that does involve a reversal at Kilkenny.

I can see there being a Waterford - Wexford - Europort - Waterford triangular routing if the via-Waterford scheme came to pass.

2 hours exactly on the 16:15 Fridays from Dublin, calling at Athy and Carlow only and without the reversal, and 2 hours 1 minute on the 16:05  on Friday and Saturday from Waterford with a stop at Kildare too.

[grahame]

From the Irish Times

The National Transport Authority (NTA^» (Newton Abbott - next trains)) is looking at plans to end direct rail services between Co Wexford and Dublin.

Two separate studies into capacity on the line are considering having passengers from the Rosslare line change from intercity trains to Dart carriages at either Wicklow or Greystones.

The move comes as passenger numbers on the line have grown strongly in recent years, with daily boardings at Wexford station in 2022 more than twice what they were in 2013. Passenger numbers at Enniscorthy have also grown significantly, while in May 2022, Irish Rail introduced a new night-time service between Gorey and Connolly, to meet demand.

The move also comes as Rosslare port is being rapidly expanded post-Brexit, including a new, €170 million facility for workers including gardaí, customs, HSE^▸ (Health and Safety Executive), and Department of Agriculture personnel, for which Minister of State Patrick O’Donovan initiated construction last September.

An interesting follow up to the old (nine year ago) story that the line was at risk.  Passenger numbers have grown dramatically and there's now a consideration of splitting the service at Greystones or Wexford - the idea being to free up paths on the suburban line into Dublin, and be able to run the diesel trains more frequently on the shorter part of the route.

[grahame]

Here is the current Monday to Friday timetable - Saturday and Sunday there are just 3 return trips each way



The connections ...

05:30 and 17:30 arrivals in Rosslare from Fishguard
So that's the 07:20 train or the 05:35 next morning to carry on to Dublin

08:15 and 19:30 departures from Rosslare to Fishguard
So that's an arrival into Rosslare at 20:42 the previous evening from Dublin, or at 16:33

North of Bray / Greystones, into Dublin, the trains don't seem to have a regular in-the-hour pattern to them, and are (yes, I admit) a darned nuisance between almost clock face Dart services; they often seem to get stuck behind the Dart and the journey takes an age.

[CyclingSid]

Unhappy senator https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0403/1441381-dublin-rosslare-train/
I think this is not the last of this.

[Mark A]

Ireland's all-island strategic rail review was published July 31st 2024 and is to be found here:
 

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/cc8fc-all-island-strategic-rail-review/

Mark

[Mark A]

... includes case studies on the Scottish Borders Railway (page 70) and also Exeter's rail system (page 76).

Mark

[grahame]

Ireland's all-island strategic rail review was published July 31st 2024 and is to be found here:
 

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/cc8fc-all-island-strategic-rail-review/

Mark

The Report sets out 32 strategic recommendations to enhance and expand the rail system in Ireland and Northern Ireland up to 2050, aligning with net carbon zero commitments in both jurisdictions. The recommendations seek to transform the quality of the rail system to the benefit of passengers and wider society on the island, through additional track capacity, electrification, increased speeds and higher service frequencies. Furthermore, the vision involves the construction of new rail lines, particularly in the North Midlands and North West, widening accessibility and connectivity.

[grahame]

I have mirrored for members the summary:
http://www.passenger.chat/mirror/all-island-vision.pdf

and the full report:
http://www.passenger.chat/mirror/e716ec64-4732-48ed-97cf-4395af2fb1f7.pdf

[Red Squirrel]

Well that’s quite something..!

[eightonedee]

What a refreshing contrast to what has gone before, and the attitude over here since 2016......

[CyclingSid]

Nice to see a government investing in improved rail services https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/1029/1477875-dublin-belfast-rail/

There will now be 15 services in each direction between Belfast and Dublin from Monday to Saturday.

Until now there had been only eight daily services each way.

On Sundays, there will be eight services each way, up from six previously.

[JayMac]

The world's slowest capital to capital international express train.

[grahame]

The world's slowest capital to capital international express train.

Have you tried Budapest to Ljubljana?