Will the last train soon depart Rosslare Europort?

AS A threat to its continued existence hangs over the Dublin – Rosslare rail route, a spokesperson for Irish Rail has described how the advent of low-cost airlines greatly hampered demand for foot passenger rail connections between the Europort and Ireland’s capital city.

Demand among ferry passengers for a ‘sail and rail’ option is, Barry Kenny described, “extremely low.”

The spokesperson was commenting in response to queries regarding the apparent lack of synchronization between rail service schedules and the arrival and departure time of ferries at the port.

At present, two rail services departing Rosslare in the morning and evening, respectively, do so shortly before ferries are scheduled to arrive in the port.

A situation which sees trains depart Rosslare hours before and after ferries are scheduled to arrive into the port on another two occasions during the day, meanwhile, has drawn into question the necessity of such offerings.

According to Mr. Kenny, Irish Rail “review schedules regularly and monitor demand to establish the best timetables to offer our customers.”

Read more in the Wexford Echo.