[20/09/2010] Waterford to Limerick Jn: Better journey times & connections

[Colm Moore]

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=907 Waterford to Limerick Jn: Better journey times & connections from Mon 20th Sept by Corporate Communications

A new rail schedule will operate on the Waterford to Limerick Junction route from Monday 20th September coming.

The new schedule will offer customers improved journey times and better connections with other trains at Limerick Junction and Waterford.

A full timetable is available here, http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/printed_timetable_pdfs/2010/Rosslare%20Europort%20Limerick%2010%202.pdf and customers can also get timetable details from the journey planner at www.irishrail.ie .



A summary of the changes to be introduced are:



06.30 Waterford/Limerick Junction Deferred to depart at 06.40 - faster journey time by 4 minutes, and improved connection at Limerick Jn to 07.30hrs Cork/Heuston (wait time reduced from 19 minutes to 13 minutes)

12.30 Waterford/Limerick Junction Deferred to depart at 12.40 - faster journey time (4 mins faster), and improved connection at Limerick Jn into 13.30 Cork/Heuston (18 minutes wait reduced to 12 minutes)

16.15 Waterford/Limerick Junction Deferred to depart at 16.45 - faster journey time (4 mins faster), and improved connection at Limerick Junction into 17.30 Cork/Heuston (wait time reduced from 33 minutes to 9 minutes)

08.50 Limerick Junction/Waterford - Faster journey time (3 mins faster)

15.10 Limerick Junction/Waterford Advanced to depart at 15.00 - faster journey time (27 mins faster), and improved connection at Limerick Jn off 13.00 Heuston/Cork (19 minute wait reduced to 9 mins) - also gives connection into 16.50 Waterford/Heuston

18.45 Limerick Junction/Waterford - faster journey time (2 mins faster)

[dowlingm]

Now if only IE could have worked out how to use only one train to do a 3 return schedule all along...

Edit - which set will work Enniscorthy-Rosslare-Enniscorthy in the mornings? They wouldn't keep a 2700 and crew down there just for that... would they?

[ACustomer]

dowlingm: to answer your question, there is an ICR set at Rosslare which operates the 0750 to Dublin. This has plenty of time to do a return trip to and from Enniscorthy in time.

Also, as long as the Rosslare-Waterford service necessitated that a set arrive at Wateford sometime shortly after 0830, then there was not much point in aiming at a one-set Waterford-Limerick Junction service. The 0630 from Waterford to Limerick Junction was necessary if Clonmel and Cahir were to have a half-decent morning service to Dublin, so a second set off the Rosslare service was automatically available in Waterford.

Good to see that the costs of the Waterford-L Jcn service are being reduced, but the improvements in the running time (2 to 4 minutes) are a bit of a joke.

[dowlingm]

Thanks ACustomer. Hopefully with automation IE will push a bit harder on the timetable side. The flat junction at LJ is always going to make it hard to be really efficient in respect of turnarounds etc. unless the Waterford line gets a platform which doesn't require crossing Cork-Dublin.