Dating back to 1834, the first ever commuter railway line in the world started its operations between Westland Row located in Dublin and what is currently known as Dun Laoghaire’s ferry terminal. Over the last 190 years, such commuter rail systems have strained to fuel the growth of major cities globally. These rapid and trustworthy trains handle hundreds of millions of commuters on a daily basis across the globe. They were instrumental in fostering suburban expansion, thereby simplifying the commute for people to their work or educational institutions. Currently, they play a vital role in combating climate change, promoting the essential shift from automobile dependency.
The independent Irish state has failed in its obligation to provide its citizens with sufficient public transport facilities. This is highlighted by the ongoing reliance on antiquated, pre-Victorian infrastructure to cater to the transport needs of the entire south-eastern population to and from the capital. According to recent reports, the National Transport Authority (NTA) is mulling over the prospect of halting Wexford origin trains either at Greystones or the town of Wicklow. From there, passengers would switch to the suburban Dart service. The justification provided for the consideration is the incapacity of the line to accommodate increasing demand.
The passenger count from Wexford and Enniscorthy has sharply risen in the past few years. Acknowledging the escalating demand, Irish Rail commenced a new nocturnal service between Gorey and Connolly in 2022. This growth has been predicted by anyone keeping an eye on the population trends in the region for the last two decades.
The direct line closure from Wexford to Harcourt Street in the 1950s is clearly not the fault of the NTA. However, its current line of thought looks equally narrow-minded. The advocacy group for passengers, South East on Track’s opinion that most passengers will find this plan “almost unusable” and would be pressed into using the overcrowded N11, is hard to counter.
The NTA should consider improving the capacity on the line by utilising third tracks for passing trains more efficiently. The present recommendations point towards a repeat of past failed strategies.