[Letter] Station on the move
 

More to the point, do RUI have anything to say?

Two years after the fact? What is there to say? If the ferry companies said nowt when it happened, I guess foot is not a major component of their business.

If the South Wexford line is closed and the Barrow bridge decommissioned I reckon they should cut back service to Wexford Station and convert the rest of the line to roadway. It would probably do wonders for people who actually live in Rosslare Town given the current road doglegs out to the N25.

as far as i remember the numbers going to/from train were very very tiny. that, of course, is the usual Irish Rail mismanagment way of doing things - run it so bad that no one uses it and then close it.

I'm told its 6 or fewer per ferry. The residents of Rosslare using the train vastly outnumber them.

The port is to be redeveloped which is likely to require the terminal to be moved anyway so there is logic on many levels to the move.

Last week I returned from Britain via Fishguard - Rosslare. The 2-car Sprinter (which takes over from the ex London High Speed Train at Cardiff Central) had circa 65 passengers the whole way to Fishguard. There were even standees in my carriage. The catering trolley did a roaring trade. The train belted along flat out for virtually the whole journey, apart from the final few miles into Fishguard where there is a lower limit (55mph to my knowledge).

Virtually all of the 65 then proceeded to embark on the ferry for the sailing to Rosslare. Needless to say nobody had the privilege (or dare I say right) to continue their journey by rail in Ireland as the 1755hrs. train scurried away just as the ship was approaching the berth.

And the latest station usage figures show that Fishguard Harbour has recorded an outstanding 60% growth.

The low figures at Rosslare are clearly a direct product of the general lack of co-ordination.

Call it Bus Eireann hourly service which runs nearly 24 hours to Dublin.

Even with perfect coordination on a Summer Saturday the best Dun Laoghaire manages is 30-40 tops getting the train and that was off the HSS which is rated for 1520 passengers. During the golden years in the mid 1990's, 4 fast sailings the platform was packed and I deliberately avoided the DART service after ferry arrival as it was wedged.

It must be accepted that cheap flights and the end to duty free killed the ferry business and save for the odd weekend the numbers aren't there and won't be there and you can't build a railway service to service that, you build on repeat daily business.

The rules of the game have changed and only die hards make the journey Dublin Holyhead London and even then I've priced Aer Lingus beating the fare even after accounting for the bus and underground costs

Irrespective of personal preferences all we are talking about to facilitate integration are minor changes to the ferry and or railway schedule of under 30 minutes, hardly detrimental or inconveniencing from any perspective.

Nobody expects the service to be changed to suit ferry needs but it must be accepted too that not all of us wish to go by plane for the short-haul to Britain for a variety of reasons.

Do you really need to knock the SailRail product like this? One thing to dislike it personally but no need for this. Please represent rail users and not yourself

are there any figures - official or otherwise - for the period before they moved the station?

i am interested in the 60 people, and wonder is that every trip?

then again we are dealing with a rail company which stated in the dail yesterday that they should be shut down as they cannot compete with either the bus or with new roads.

with that craven (no pun) attitude there will be nothing left but a glorified commuter service - with glorified commuter trains on the few surviving lines.