Railway connections between Wexford and Dublin

Dear Sir,

Regarding the article “Potential Termination of Direct Rail Services from Wexford to Dublin Under NTA Review” (News, April 2nd), it’s intriguing to observe the more than twofold increase in passenger numbers that the Wexford-Dublin train has witnessed over the past decade. With its viability now being threatened between Dublin and Greystones, it appears travellers may need to disembark and switch to a Dart train.

One wonders if a more successful train service over the past few years would warrant entirely discontinuing it? Regards,

Finbar Kearns,
Piercestown,
Co Wexford.

Dear Sir,

The proposed idea of operating Rosslare trains as a shuttle service, with travellers required to transfer at Greystones, signifies a deterioration in service since this change would lengthen the trip by a minimum of seven minutes and cause disruption. The current service is already deemed to be the poorest in the Greater Dublin Area.

Simultaneously, Eamon Ryan, Minister for Transport, is cancelling the N11 upgrade, while promoting a higher usage of public transport along the same avenue!

Six years past, I developed a strategy for tripling the capacity of rail during peak hours on this line, with a minimal cost, which Irish Rail has disregarded. A previous shuttle service from Bray to Greystones failed to appeal to commuters. An appropriate strategy to enhance the service, inclusive of some double-tracking, is necessary. Regards,

Councillor Derek Mitchell,
Fine Gael,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.

Dear Sir,

The report that the National Transport Authority is looking into terminating train services from Rosslare and Gorey at either Wicklow or Greystones – with travellers requiring to switch to the Dart for the rest of the journey – is truly baffling.

An Irish Rail spokesperson has justified this by stating that it’s always been a difficulty to increase the frequency of the Rosslare to Dublin line due to the high-frequency Dart service – a challenge likely to increase as the Dart service in Greystones improves.

Their solution? Degrade the service when there is an increase in demand to reduce the number of potential users. It’s understandably bewildering.

The challenge lies in coordinating the Rosslare trains with the slower Darts, which frequently stop. The present speed at which Rosslare trains operate between Connolly Station to Bray demonstrates the impossibility of surpassing them, given the current track configurations.

The suggestion is to construct a few passing loops, to enable faster and more frequent runs of the Rosslare trains, by bypassing the Darts, which would pause momentarily every hour. There exists enormous space owned by Irish Rail for an additional track both preceding and succeeding the Grand Canal Dock station. Moreover, the side of Dún Laoghaire station facing the city has adequate space for an extra track. As a more ambitious objective, the Luas green line, which currently ends at Bride’s Glen, could potentially be extended by 3km to the rail station being constructed at Woodbrook. This would facilitate a link to the Dart and the Rosslare trains stopping there.

The pre-existing third lane at Bray could consequently be utilised as a bypass for Rosslare trains. Merging the Luas and Dart would permit commuters from the southeast to reach Sandyford Business Park, Dundrum, and the southern inner-city area. However, these modifications might render the surged influx of travellers ‘problematic’.

In line with this, it’s key to employ holistic thinking when scheduling the proposed train and Dart changeover at some location in Co Wicklow. The connection service should ideally be prepared to ferry passengers within five minutes of their arrival, with prior announcements of any potential delays. This contrasts to the situation at bus terminuses at Luas and other transport spots, where incoming passengers frequently observe their connecting buses departing.

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