Sail & Rail

[Traincustomer]

Hearing on regional radio about a new 5 or 7 times daily bus service between Rosslare Port and Wexford Town operated by Local Link Wexford and it connects with the ferries.

May well cause problems for IE summer service.

The Local Link bus journey time from the port to Redmond Square in Wexford town is 50 minutes so even allowing for the walk from the terminal to station the train beats it by a large margin (23 minutes Europort-Wexford town)

Came through Rosslare earlier this week off the Fishguard ferry and on the way to the station saw the Local Link bus departing empty whereas at least three others transferred to the train (some may have missed it as the ship wasn’t in till about 18.10 and I wasn’t the only passenger who ended up running part of the way). I’ve come to the very general conclusion over the course of many trips that ferry passengers heading to places locally tend to get collected by friends/relatives with the train being the preserve of those travelling further afield.

Whilst a full sized bus is deployed on this Local Link route the service appears to be primarily designed to serve the villages. For instance it goes all around Rosslare Strand and goes into Killinick village (much safer than stopping at the side of the busy N25). There is also a three days a week connecting bus at Killinick to/from Lady’s Island, Carne etc...

“it connects with the ferries”
Not being smart but so do several/most trains. The critical difference is that Local Link Wexford are quite pro-active and have placed local media ads (for instance there’s a full page ad in this week’s Wexford People) to promote their service whereas IÉ would probably prefer to close the line south of Wexford rather than meaningfully promote it and properly develop its USPs.

There ought to be a common promotional fund for PSO services both rail and bus as the present situation is that some new/altered PSO services are marketed quite well whereas it genuinely feels others are being set up to fail. The last time I saw any IÉ promotion at Rosslare was a poster on the billboard on the hill out of the port about online fares from Limerick/Kerry etc… Irrelevant given one can’t access any of these places by rail from the port. I understand IÉ's printer broke down so the intended poster promoting the highly scenic run up the east coast to Dublin to our tourists had to be abandoned!!!

[Traincustomer]

The Dublin Bus service which Irish Ferries contract to operate from Terminal 1 to Busáras and Heuston and vice versa is not operating today and tomorrow (Thursday 8th & Friday 9th September 2016) due to the industrial action at Dublin Bus.

(The route 53 bus which operates to Irish Ferries is also not running).

As the bus connecting with Stena Line sailings is operated by a different company it is unaffected (the Stena Line terminal is circa ten minutes on foot the city side of the Irish Ferries terminal).

[Traincustomer]

Dublin Bus Ferry Connection
Published on Friday, February 17, 2017

We wish to advise customers that the Dublin Bus ferry connection between Heuston Station/Bus Aras and the Irish Ferries terminal in Dublin Port will no longer operate from Sunday 5 March 2017.

As an alternative option, Route 53 service provides an hourly connection between 07.00 and 19.00 Monday to Saturday and 7 departures between 11.00 and 18.00 on Sundays and public holidays.

Customers may contact Irish Ferries for alterative arrangements.
Irish Ferries,
P.O. Box 19,
Alexandra Road,
Ferryport,
Dublin 1 D01 W2F5
Website: www.irishferries.com
Tel: 0818 300 400

- See more at: http://dublinbus.ie/News-Centre/General-News/Dublin-Bus-Ferry-Connection/#sthash.MQ9oBJKj.dpuf

I believe there are efforts going on behind the scenes to secure a replacement service as Dublin Bus PSO route 53 is of little use for some sailings e.g. arriving off the Ulysses at 05.55 (02.40 ex Holyhead) one would have to wait until 07.30 for the first route 53 departure.

[Colm Moore]

I dropped a line to Irish Ferries.
Good morning Colm,

Thank you for your email.

We have been advised that there will be a replacement but I’m afraid we have no further information at the moment. Can you please advise when you are travelling?


Thanks and Regards,

[Colm Moore]

.Mortons coaches are now operating this service and they have a coach to meet all of the arrivals servicing Connolly & Westmoreland Street at 07:15hrs, 13:30hrs & 19:00hrs daily.

There is also the No 53 Bus Route, operated by Dublin Bus which operates to/from Talbot Street, terminating at Passenger Terminal No 1.

[Eddie]

I presume these are the same services used by Stena, which depart at 7.15am, 2pm and 7pm.

Might be awkward departing Dublin Port if either Adventurer or Ulysses is late running, assuming they are same services.

Dublin Bus could add an extra service at either end of their Monday to Saturday timetable and this would cover the extra sailings. You'd think these would be the busiest journeys!

[Traincustomer]

I understand the NTA were approached to provide 06.00 and 20.00 journeys on route 53 (the service bus via East Wall) but apparently have no plans to do so.

Regarding the connecting bus it is disappointing that the Heuston element of the route has been discontinued. I used it on a number of occasions and invariably there were several fellow passengers onboard. Off-peak especially early-morning off the 05.55 Ulysses it is a mere 4 minutes or so additional time from O'Connell Bridge to Heuston.

This bus transfer should be available as an integral part of the SailRail fare as it would avoid the faffing around and delay that goes on at times while passengers enquire the fare, the stops and whether sterling can be accepted etc...

Ferry - Bus Times
Express Bus Transfer to and from the Dublin Ferryport Terminal

Dublin Port is served by an Express Bus Transfer 7 days a week. The Express Bus Transfer service is operated by Mortons Coaches.

The fare is €3 for an Adult and €1.50 for a Child. Adult return is €5 and child return is €2.50, payable on board.

Outbound services will operate from the Mortons Bus Stop located on Westmoreland Street daily at 07:15hrs, 13.30hrs & 19:00hrs. This is the only outbound pick up location.

Inbound services a coach to meet all of our ferry arrivals with drop off points at Connolly & Westmoreland Street.
Bus service to and from the Dublin Ferryport Terminal

A regular public bus service also operates between the city center and Dublin Ferryport. The number 53 terminus is on Talbot street. Standard bus fares apply to this service and free travel passes may be used. Please click here for timetable and route.

Connections between Busarus and Heuston Station, where not shown, are possible by Luas light rail or local bus routes. These services are not included and are payable separately. Please note all bus times are subject to change. For any queries regarding this schedule, please call Dublin Ferryport at 01- 607 5519

Source: http://www.irishferries.com/ie-en/faq/Ferry-bus-times/ (http://www.irishferries.com/ie-en/faq/Ferry-bus-times/http://) Accessed: 18/03/2017.

[Traincustomer]

http://www.stenaline.ie/2eurodeal

A caveat though is that if travelling a distance by rail from the ports e.g. from Fishguard/Holyhead to London the SailRail fare will still work out considerably cheaper.

[Traincustomer]

Stena Line has just announced a revised timetable on its Rosslare – Fishguard ferry service which will see customers enjoying a choice of three day time sailings and one extended overnight crossing from 22nd May.

Following the evaluation of extensive customer research and feedback, Stena Line reviewed the existing schedule and has decided to introduce three, more customer friendly 3 hour 15-minute day time crossings, making Rosslare – Fishguard the shortest and fastest crossing between Ireland and South Wales.

From Monday 22nd May, Stena Line will operate the following revised sailing schedule between Rosslare and Fishguard:

Departure Arrival Crossing Time

Rosslare Departure: 08:00 Arrival: 11:15 Crossing Time: 3hr15

Fishguard Departure: 13:10 Arrival: 16:25 Crossing Time: 3hr15

Rosslare Departure: 18:10 Arrival: 21:25 Crossing Time: 3hr15

Fishguard Departure: 23:45 Arrival: 04:00 Crossing Time: 4hr15*

Ian Davies, Stena Line’s Trade Director, Irish Sea South commented: “The new timetable will reduce the crossing times on some of our sailings by 15 mins and provide a greater choice of convenient sailing times and better arrival times. The recent investment in the Stena Europe ship has further enhanced our service offering for 2017, providing new opportunities which currently do not exist in the market for our travel and freight customers.”

Ian added: “We have conducted a lot of research and spoken with many of our freight and travel customers, listening to what they had to say about our current sailing timetable and ways in which we might improve the service in the future. We believe we have now addressed the points raised and our staff are constantly engaging with customers to ensure a smooth transition. In fact, we have already received positive feedback and believe that the vast majority of our customers will welcome these changes.”


Extract from source at: http://news.stenaline.co.uk/pressreleases/stena-line-refreshes-its-rosslare-fishguard-ferry-timetable-1893581

In terms of rail-ferry integration at Rosslare 3 out of 4 sailings (present 2 out of 4) will be rail connected (and a decent interchange window of around 90 minutes each time to allow for modest delays and the walk between terminal and station):
04.00 arrival: onward train at 05.35 (M-F)

08.00 sailing: Local Link bus (route 387) from Wexford & Rosslare Strand arrival at 07.30 (but nothing from Waterford and it's my experience there's always a few off this bus for the ferry)

16.25 arrival: onward train at 17.55 (17.40 Sundays)

18.10 sailing: 16.26 train arrival (16.32 Sundays)

However unless there are changes in the offing on the Welsh side or adjustments can be made things don't look as great as at present integration wise at Fishguard.

Addendum: looking forward on National Rail Enquiries several timetable changes are evident from Fishguard from May so this sailing schedule change could be a very good thing and help grow business.

[Eddie]

A definite improvement and Irish Rail won't need to delay the last train from Rosslare in the summer months any more.

All we need now is an early morning train to get into Rosslare to meet the 8am departure... :D

[comcor]

So the train I've used in the past (the 10:58 ex Cardiff) is now showing as a 10:04 with a change in Swansea. The good news is that for the departure time coming forward 54 minutes, arrival into Rosslare is 95 minutes earlier. The downside is the 5 minute change in Swansea, which makes everything a touch tight.

Also, if you look on the Arriva Trains Wales website, the 17:55 ex Rosslare to Connolly is not showing up, meaning routings through Holyhead. As far as Bray, you are better off routing through Rosslare from Cardiff. From further west in Wales (and most notably Swansea), you're better off going through Rosslare even as far as Dublin.

I fear the first of these issues (the change in Swansea) may harm numbers overall, while the second one needs sorting out as it means a bad passenger experience and the trains are running anyway.

[berneyarms]

So the train I've used in the past (the 10:58 ex Cardiff) is now showing as a 10:04 with a change in Swansea. The good news is that for the departure time coming forward 54 minutes, arrival into Rosslare is 95 minutes earlier. The downside is the 5 minute change in Swansea, which makes everything a touch tight.

Also, if you look on the Arriva Trains Wales website, the 17:55 ex Rosslare to Connolly is not showing up, meaning routings through Holyhead. As far as Bray, you are better off routing through Rosslare from Cardiff. From further west in Wales (and most notably Swansea), you're better off going through Rosslare even as far as Dublin.

I fear the first of these issues (the change in Swansea) may harm numbers overall, while the second one needs sorting out as it means a bad passenger experience and the trains are running anyway.

The British rail times are still not fully confirmed online post the May timetable change date (21 May) so take what you see as a work in progress.

There is a GWR service out of London at 07:45 and Cardiff at 09:52 that arrives into Swansea at 10:45 which will offer a 15 minute connection into the 11:00 ATW service to Fishguard if you feel the later train is too tight.

The 10:04 service from Cardiff is a through train from Manchester which has a 10 minute wait at Cardiff (arriving there at 09:54) so there is recovery time built into the schedule.

Overall, in summary the revised sailings and rail connections are:

Depart Rosslare 08:00 Arrive Fishguard 11:15
Rail connection to Cardiff (Mon-Sat) via Swansea avoiding line (connection to London)
Rail connection on Sunday tbc
No rail connection at Rosslare

Depart Fishguard 13:10 Arrive Rosslare 16:25
Rail connection from Swansea (Mon-Sat) avoiding Carmarthen (connection from London and Cardiff)
Rail connection from Carmarthen (Sun) (Connection from Cardiff)
Rail connection to Dublin Connolly (Mon-Sun)

Depart Rosslare 18:10 Arrive Fishguard 21:25
Rail connection to Carmarthen only (Mon-Sun); No onward connections
Rail connection from Dublin Connolly (Mon-Sun)

Depart Fishguard 23:45 Arrive Rosslare 04:00
Rail connection from Manchester Piccadilly (Mon-Sat) (Connection from London)
Rail connection from Swansea (Sun) (Connection from London & Cardiff)
Rail connection to Dublin Connolly (Mon-Fri mornings)

[Traincustomer]

Foot passengers travelling via Rosslare Fishguard later this weekend would do well to be able to access a crystal ball to predict what may or may not happen with rail connections on “the other side”, Fishguard in this case.

Firstly the new sailing schedule only comes into effect at 08.00 Monday morning 22nd. That means the 02.30 sailing ex Fishguard runs as usual in the early hours of Monday.

The new UK rail timetables kick in on Sunday (21st).

On Sunday according to Arriva Trains Wales Journey Planner there is:
A 10.37 Cardiff Central – Fishguard Harbour train (arr. 14.00)
A 11.30 Cardiff Central – Fishguard Harbour bus (arr. 13.45)
A 11.32 Carmarthen – Fishguard Harbour train (arr. 12.28)

Really?

In the reverse direction there is a 12.40 Fishguard Harbour – Cardiff train (hopefully the ferry will be in on the dot of half twelve that day)

The 22.30 Cardiff – Fishguard is shown to be running as usual on Sunday night (connecting into the 02.30 sailing).

However it appears to be a case of tough luck for passengers on Sunday night’s 21.15 sailing ex Rosslare as the abovementioned train is not returning (at the usual 01.50 or thereabouts). The first train on Monday is shown as at 06.50.

[Traincustomer]

A positive late change is that the boat train connecting out of the evening sailing from Rosslare is now extended beyond Carmarthen to Swansea:

22.14 ex Fishguard Harbour M-F arriving Swansea 00.07
22.15 Sat (arr. 00.04)
23.03 Sunday (arr. 00.36)

There is perhaps a case for a Cardiff extension especially at weekends as it would also cater for domestic passengers between the key settlements in West and South Wales.

[comcor]

The 17:55 ex Rosslare is still not coming up on the Arriva Trains Wales if booking a journey that continues through Rosslare.

I went to see what would happen if I tried to book a journey from Wexford to a destination in North Wales to see if the train was in the system at all and that produced an even more concerning error. It shows it as possible to travel from Wexford on a 19:00 train to Dublin. There is no such train; the last departure is at 18:20.

On another note, are there any plans for Irish Rail to start offering destinations in the UK on the website?

[berneyarms]

The 17:55 ex Rosslare is still not coming up on the Arriva Trains Wales if booking a journey that continues through Rosslare.

I went to see what would happen if I tried to book a journey from Wexford to a destination in North Wales to see if the train was in the system at all and that produced an even more concerning error. It shows it as possible to travel from Wexford on a 19:00 train to Dublin. There is no such train; the last departure is at 18:20.

On another note, are there any plans for Irish Rail to start offering destinations in the UK on the website?

Sounds like they have the wrong timetable loaded onto their database. That was the old summer IE timetable which won't be needed this summer due to the earlier sailing times.

The adjusting of rail timetables by ATW at Fishguard in response to the revised shipping schedule has been very last minute and rather haphazard to say the least.

The sensible extension to Swansea from Carmarthen of the connecting train off the evening ferry from Rosslare has only been done after printed timetables have been published, and is currently in the booking system for the next fortnight only.

Extending it to Swansea was relatively easy, as they curtailed the train ahead of it (starting from Pembroke Dock) to Carmarthen. Extending it to Cardiff would be much more difficult given that sets and staff would be out of balance.

Hopefully it shall become a permanent timetable change.

[Jamie2k9]

Surely Stena Line should of discussed the sailing changes with the Welsh train operator?

[berneyarms]

Surely Stena Line should of discussed the sailing changes with the Welsh train operator?

I'm sure that they did, but we don't live in a perfect world unfortunately. We don't have a monopoly on things like this here despite what many people think.

Getting revised rosters agreed may have been an issue given the late notice of the changes.

The extension of the ATW evening connection from Fishguard to Swansea (instead of Carmarthen) seems to be being extended on a weekly basis in the system - it now operates up until June 9th.

On a more positive note, the UK national rail journey planner now has the correct times for the Dublin-Rosslare line.

[Mark Gleeson]

The ferry timetable change has been in the works for at least 5 years

[berneyarms]

The ferry timetable change has been in the works for at least 5 years

Well whatever about that, it is quite clear that the discussions between Stena and ATW clearly were not done until the very last minute, because all of the rail schedule changes were done in a rush.

The evening train to Swansea is now an STP (Short term plan schedule) in the UK national rail system, updated weekly and will remain as such for at least 3 months.

[comcor]

That 17:55 connection from the ferry in Rosslare is still not showing on Arriva Trains Wales or The Trainline. So in effect, they are not selling any connections on from Rosslare. All journeys are routing through Holyhead, even when it makes absolutely no sense (like an 18 hour, 7 change journey from Whitland to Wexford, which can be done in under 6 hours via Rosslare).

[berneyarms]

That 17:55 connection from the ferry in Rosslare is still not showing on Arriva Trains Wales or The Trainline. So in effect, they are not selling any connections on from Rosslare. All journeys are routing through Holyhead, even when it makes absolutely no sense (like an 18 hour, 7 change journey from Whitland to Wexford, which can be done in under 6 hours via Rosslare).

Given the issues that ATW had in getting the basic schedules up and running, I imagine that selling Sail/Rail beyond Rosslare in Ireland is somewhat down the pecking order but I'd imagine that it should be sorted out in due course.

That I imagine requires the commercial departments of ATW, IE and Stena to get together.

The GB National Rail website (and by default the individual train operating companies' sites) does at least now have the correct timetable for the Rosslare line loaded. The stations just need to have the Sail/Rail option via Fishguard & Rosslare added.

[comcor]

Through ticketing from Rosslare is still not possible.

Do we take this as being pat of Irish Rail's plans to run down passenger volumes on the line south of Gorey?

[berneyarms]

Through ticketing from Rosslare is still not possible.

Do we take this as being pat of Irish Rail's plans to run down passenger volumes on the line south of Gorey?

I know many Irish people like conspiracy theories, but my understanding is that the fault has been entirely down to Arriva Trains Wales and the Rail Delivery Group.

Irish Rail times have finally been uploaded, so I don't know what the issue is on the part of ATW precluding sale of tickets from beyond Rosslare via the Rosslare-Fishguard crossing.

You can purchase sail/rail from Rosslare Europort online.

[Mark Gleeson]

Updates to the UK fares/times database are ugly, certain deadlines, cut offs etc

Arriva Trains Wales have to be fair been really good when we have been in contact with them.

[Ronald Binge]

There has been an outage for some time of IÉ and NIR times on the National Rail planner, which has now been partly repaired.

Delving into the planner, journeys that travel via Dublin Heuston work perfectly fine. However, journeys via Dublin Connolly are inconsistent. Sligo line trains don't appear at all. Journeys from the Dublin - Belfast line are all routed via Belfast Port. Journeys from the Dublin - Rosslare line do work properly, if you are travelling via Dublin to GB..

[Traincustomer]

A number of improvements have been made recently...new seating both downstairs and upstairs (foot passenger lounge) with unique family table seats in the latter.

The former shop unit in the corner downstairs which for donkey's years still sported the Evening Press logo is now a customs office.

Though I've never felt unsafe at the port the shrubbery/bushes adjacent to the corner (on the right adjacent to the first corner walking from the terminal to the village/station) were removed last year so everything is now intervisible.

The Europort terminal is always pleasantly warm something I cannot say for Fishguard.

Good to see these touches as the building will be 30 years standing next year.

[Traincustomer]

The Jonathan Swift fast craft has been replaced by the Dublin Swift fast craft and there are some minor changes to sailing times as follows:

08.45 Dublin - Holyhead has been advanced to sail at 08.30.
11.50 Holyhead - Dublin has been advanced to sail at 11.30.
The afternoon sailings each way are unchanged (14.30 ex Dublin; 17.15 ex Holyhead).

Irish Ferries has significantly improved its fast ferry offering on the Dublin – Holyhead route with the introduction of the recently upgraded and larger, high speed craft ‘Dublin Swift’ which entered service today on the route following a full internal refurbishment. It replaces the ‘Jonathan Swift’ which has been in service since 1999. (27th April, 2018)

Source & further reading:
http://www.irishferries.com/uk-en/news-listing/irish-ferries-brings-new-dublin-swift-fast-craft-inservice-on-dublin-holyhead-route/
The fast ferry will no longer operate year-round and will cease for the year in early-October.

[Traincustomer]

From today, Monday 14th May 2018, the 15.10hrs Dublin - Holyhead sailing is advanced to depart at 14.50hrs. Crossing time remains unchanged at 3 hours 30 minutes.

The connecting Ferrylink bus for this sailing continues to depart Westmoreland Street at 14.00hrs.

[Traincustomer]

LeapCard being accepted on the Ferrylink (same as cash fares) and no Leap 90 discount.

[Traincustomer]

Transport for Wales Rail (https://tfwrail.wales/)commenced today Sunday 14th October, 2018 (replacing Arriva Trains Wales).

SailRail section riddled with outdated info such as showing the pre-May 2017 Rosslare-Fishguard sailing schedule as being current, references to the HSS (withdrawn 2014) and mention of Stranraer port (closed nearly seven years ago).

Some of the content seems to have been transferred over from the ATW site.

[danm14]

Transport for Wales Rail (https://tfwrail.wales/)commenced today Sunday 14th October, 2018 (replacing Arriva Trains Wales).

SailRail section riddled with outdated info such as showing the pre-May 2017 Rosslare-Fishguard sailing schedule as being current, references to the HSS (withdrawn 2014) and mention of Stranraer port (closed nearly seven years ago).

Some of the content seems to have been transferred over from the ATW site.

Considering to the best of my knowledge there's no obligation on KeolisAmey (TfW Rail) to continue to offer these tickets, I'm delighted they're at least attempting to publicise them.

As someone who travels by Sail and Rail due to a fear of flight (and therefore has little alternative other than separate full price boat and train tickets, or the inconveniently timed EuroLines bus) I was very concerned that the tickets would be abolished or made next-to-impossible to obtain when the franchise changed.

[Traincustomer]

I understand your concern. It would be very imprudent for any operator to suggest withdrawing these tickets as while the revenue is low on an individual basis revenue quickly stacks up over days and weeks.

Certainly the loss would be quite noticeable. For instance it is not unusual for the onboard spend of passengers on the ferries to equal or surpass the revenue from their fare (i.e. meals/shopping/Plus lounge/ cabin et cetera...)

On an aside WHSmiths in Holyhead terminal shut some months ago and the replacement facility (same unit) #EatDrinkShop remains open till approximately 01.30 nightly - useful for passengers going both ways.

[Traincustomer]

Rosslare - Fishguard

Allocations

The SailRail and foot passenger allocations are often sold out on Rosslare-Fishguard these days due to the usual ship, Stena Europe, being away in drydock. The smaller Stena Nordica is deputising. The Stena Europe is due to return Friday week, 26th July, 2019 on the 08.00 ex Rosslare.

Booking from UK

Booking SailRail online from the UK one needs to use the Advanced search on the Transport for Wales Rail site or access booking via the dedicated SailRail page (https://tfwrail.wales/ticket-types/sailrail) as Rosslare Europort is not listed in the homepage booking facility.

Upstairs lounge at Rosslare

The foot passenger lounge upstairs in Europort previously open nearly all day is now only open from 2 hours before sailing time.




Dublin-Holyhead


Holyhead Terminal

The terminal in Holyhead is sometimes closed in the early hours – but this doesn’t affect passengers arriving around 00.45 on the train for the 02.30~ish sailings to Dublin. Also passengers arriving off the midnight ferry arrivals from Dublin will be allowed to remain in the terminal until their train. This seems to be due to instances of antisocial behaviour from the town over spilling into the terminal.

The comfortable former Dún Laoghaire HSS lounge upstairs in the terminal is still in frequent use for Dublin-bound passengers after check-in.


Ferrylink bus (https://www.ferrylink.ie/) (Dublin)

Fares increased in the Spring. The adult single fare from the port to Connolly/Westmoreland St. is €3.50 single and €6 return (return valid almost a week; a return issued for instance today 15th on the 2pm bus from Westmoreland St. will expire 23.59hrs 21st). Tickets for the bus can also be bought online but there is a booking fee of 45c to do so which for low value fares negates any benefit of buying online unless one is stuck without either cash or a LeapCard.
The anomaly of no return Ferrylink bus service from either Heuston or Connolly to the port continues (return bus runs direct from Westmoreland Street to the port).

[Traincustomer]

After 22 years of serving the North Wales route Virgin Trains bow out this Saturday, 7th December, 2019, with Avanti West Coast (https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/) taking over on Sunday.

Same trains and insofar as I'm aware the same staff and management team.



At ferry check-in there is a new requirement to give your date of birth. When I enquired I was informed it is to do with Brexit but further research indicates it is a new EU law (https://www.stenalinefreight.com/news/mandatory-date-of-birth/) coming into effect just before Christmas.

[Traincustomer]

The Ferrylink bus (Morton's) has been replaced with a service operated by Nolan's on behalf of the ferry operators to/from Connolly (the inbound extension to Heuston as operated by Morton's has been dropped though from my journeys I observed there would nearly always be several fellow passengers going through to Heuston).

The first bus ex Connolly at 06.45 (for 08.05 Ulysses & 08.15 Stena) is a tad early and misses the vast majority of inbound buses and trains (Ferrylink didn't depart Westmoreland Street till 07.15 and this half an hour makes a critical distance for those who have to make a public transport journey into the city)

Tickets must be purchased from the ferry operators and cannot be purchased onboard the bus. In the case of Stena Line ex Dublin journeys they can be bought over the phone (€3 add-on) when purchasing a SailRail (just have your booking reference/confirmation e-mail for the bus) and inbound to Dublin can be purchased from guest services onboard ship for £3.

Timetables:

https://www.stenaline.ie/routes/dublin-holyhead/dublin-port

https://www.nolancoaches.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Stena-Line-Shuttle-Bus-Timetable.pdf

https://www.nolancoaches.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Irish-Ferries-Shuttle-Bus-Timetable.pdf

Meanwhile at Rosslare the morning sailing to Fishguard has been advanced to 07.30 (previously 08.00) which means there is no public transport whatsoever reaching Europort in time for last check-in at 07.00.

In yet another passenger unfriendly move the walkway from the terminal to ship has been truncated resulting in the more cumbersome and often more time-consuming embarkation/disembarkation process via shuttle buses (open air collection of luggage and boarding buses)

PS:Hope everyone is doing ok.

[Eddie]

Since late 2019, a typical single Sail & Rail fare to London has risen from €47 to €59.

€6 of this increase seems to be the removal of a discount that applied if you booked more than a certain amount of time in advance (24 / 48 hours). I presume this was designed to increase revenue from the very limited number of passengers using the service during the pandemic.

€47 was brilliant value to get to any station in Britain as long as you had the time to spare for a 4 hour boat journey first. €59 less so. Let's hope they re-introduce the early booking discount soon.

[Traincustomer]

Good news is that a late night connecting bus was recently introduced off the 23.45 Stena Line arrival at Terminal 2 (20.30 ex Holyhead) plus there is a 00.40hrs bus departure from Connolly to Stena Line T2 to connect into the 02.15 sailing. Perhaps the paucity of taxis at night partly brought this about.

Passenger loadings not bad either with around ten inbound and two outbound the other night (the bus goes back to the port to park up anyway).

The fare of €3 single to/from Stena Line can now be paid onboard the bus but by card only - no cash is accepted.

For passengers travelling with Irish Ferries the bus is free.

It's still a pity there's no linkage to Heuston - granted there are connections at Connolly but when one is laden with luggage cramming into an often super busy Luas is not pleasant.

[Eddie]

Since late 2019, a typical single Sail & Rail fare to London has risen from €47 to €59.

€6 of this increase seems to be the removal of a discount that applied if you booked more than a certain amount of time in advance (24 / 48 hours). I presume this was designed to increase revenue from the very limited number of passengers using the service during the pandemic.

€47 was brilliant value to get to any station in Britain as long as you had the time to spare for a 4 hour boat journey first. €59 less so. Let's hope they re-introduce the early booking discount soon.

Good news - these fares have been reduced back down. Stena Line have updated their website and are quoting these new fares over the phone. London now €49 single as long as you're not travelling the same day. Irish Ferries don't seem to have updated their booking engine yet to take account of the reduction.

[Traincustomer]

Since the start of this month (October 2022) the city terminus has switched from Connolly to Georges Quay.

Unsure what prompted this change as it's less user-friendly than Connolly; many passengers are catching trains from Connolly or provincial buses from Busáras.

One step forwards and two steps back...

If Irish Rail, the bus company, Stena Line and Irish Ferries worked together towards a co-ordinated and promoted offering SailRail usage could be significantly grown from provincial towns.

[berneyarms]

Since the start of this month (October 2022) the city terminus has switched from Connolly to Georges Quay.

Unsure what prompted this change as it's less user-friendly than Connolly; many passengers are catching trains from Connolly or provincial buses from Busáras.

One step forwards and two steps back...

If Irish Rail, the bus company, Stena Line and Irish Ferries worked together towards a co-ordinated and promoted offering SailRail usage could be significantly grown from provincial towns.

The bus stop at Connolly LUAS is already full - try watching how cross-city routes 14 and 15 get blocked there.

[Traincustomer]

There's a public consultation underway regarding improvements to Holyhead Railway Station:

We are carrying out a six-week options consultation for the proposed Holyhead station WelTAG Stage 2 scheme, which aims to transform the station into a local transport hub.

It closes on 22nd December, 2022.

Further info:
https://haveyoursay.tfw.wales/holyhead-station

In other news the 20:20 Avanti West Coast train from Bangor to Birmingham now commences in Holyhead at 19:49 (useful for passengers off the 14:45 ex Dublin Stena Line sailing)