Is there an appetite for a South Eastern Greenway (Rosslare/Waterford Rail Line)

wexandproud

Del.Monte wrote: »

Whose talking about moving goods by rail? How's the fact that you can see the old 'good' depot at Wexford in anyway relevant to this topic. :rolleyes:

so sorry for my terrible mistake of using ''good'' instead of ''goods'' but your just being petty pointing that out as you knew exactly what i meant.The reason i referred to the old goods depot is that the line was also used to transport goods to waterford and cork via rosslare harbour where the turntable is /used to be but the service was a disaster and was stopped as road infrastructure improved and proved more efficient . The fact you used and would use the service again hardly makes it a viable option as there is a regular bus service which is probably cheaper than the rail service would be

Marhay70

As a native Dub, when I return to my home city I'm met with traffic chaos caused by the laying of tram tracks which will serve a very few areas.
I'm old enough to remember Dublin city when it was criss crossed with tram tracks until some wise owl decided they were old hat and would never be used again. The same could be said of rail lines to Navan and Cavan but wouldn't we like to have them now.
It's too early to even contemplate the removal of the rail line to Waterford and points West, who knows what the development of Rosslare Europort may bring but it seems like complete madness to me to dismantle a piece of infrastructure that will cost many millions to restore if and when the need arises.

Del.Monte

wexandproud wrote: »

so sorry for my terrible mistake of using ''good'' instead of ''goods'' but your just being petty pointing that out as you knew exactly what i meant.The reason i referred to the old goods depot is that the line was also used to transport goods to waterford and cork via rosslare harbour where the turntable is /used to be but the service was a disaster and was stopped as road infrastructure improved and proved more efficient . The fact you used and would use the service again hardly makes it a viable option as there is a regular bus service which is probably cheaper than the rail service would be

There's no longer a bus service from Enniscorthy to Waterford direct and you now have to travel from Enniscorthy to Wexford and change for Waterford - a delightful prospect that I have long fingered. And yes, I was being petty but I get cheesed off defending railways just because CIE are a bad joke. Apologies!

jackofalltrades

Del.Monte wrote: »

The service was woeful and it's a wonder anybody used it but it does not follow that because CIE can't run a piss-up in a brewery that railways are de facto bad.

I'm not saying railways are bad though. I think this route isn't viable.
And I think that will be the same no matter who runs it.

Forgetting all other arguments - with Brexit rapidly approaching plus Ireland's need to reduce its carbon emissions, or face massive fines, only an idiot would suggest removing a railway line to the port for Europe and replacing it with a cycle track.

So you're suggesting Rosslare will become a rail freight hub?
Has anyone put forward a viable plan for this?

jd

Irish Rail have some proposals for Rosslare in their submission for the NPF (http://npf.ie/)

purplepanda

How is a potential Rosslare to Waterford City Greenway going to operate without using the Barrow Bridge which is not designed for pedestrians & cyclists? It is still in use for passing ships at the present.

How would the Greenway users get from Waterford City to the Barrow bridge when the railway is still being used for goods traffic to Belview / Waterford Port?

The RS -WT line is also 50% owned by Stena Line Ferries, so who's going to pay for the purchase of the railway before adding the costs of Greenway conversion?

Far better to use the New Ross to Waterford closed rail line complete with a modernised New Ross Barrow river bridge as a Greenway project as mentioned in earlier posts.

The New Ross - Waterford Greenway, if successful could be extended along the original rail route to Macmine & onwards to Ferrybank & Wexford Town at a later date.

Surely the older rail route in the county should be the first candidate for potential Greenways before a recently closed rail line which still could be a vital transport link in future, especially post Brexit.

man98

jackofalltrades wrote: »

Who's this "we", since when is someone from Enniscorthy a spokesperson for Southern Wexford?
It was sanity that closed the line in the first place.
One round trip a day, each train carrying 25 passengers on average.
It's just not viable and the New Ross bypass opening will get rid of the only possible reason for bringing it back.

I've yet to talk to anyone who lives near that line talking about wanting it re-opened.
But plenty of them have visited or are planning to visit the Deise greenway.
Local businesses want customers, a greenway can deliver them.

I once posted my fare to Irish Rail head office. No conductor was commonplace on the route. How can you count numbers of tickets sold if you're not selling tickets? Of course let's not forget that originally the route was Enniscorthy - Rosslare - Waterford, until it was reduced to a 3 weekly one way service and cut by 2009 or so. IÉ went against numerous critical reports when they shut the line and it's a fairly ill thought out idea to get rid of the line. I'd use it... if I could.

wexandproud

Del.Monte wrote: »

There's no longer a bus service from Enniscorthy to Waterford direct and you now have to travel from Enniscorthy to Wexford and change for Waterford - a delightful prospect that I have long fingered. And yes, I was being petty but I get cheesed off defending railways just because CIE are a bad joke. Apologies!

as opposed to getting a train to rosslare and connecting there.

Del.Monte

wexandproud wrote: »

as opposed to getting a train to rosslare and connecting there.

The point being the railway only went to Rosslare Strand so changing there was inevitable. The road still goes between Enniscorthy and Waterford via New Ross but the bus is gone! The bus service was well patronised in my experience and its removal inexplicable save for the fact that Bus Eireann being part of CIE also has its head up its arse.

I forgot to mention that the journey - if connections actually connect - now takes 1 hour and 30 minutes compared to 1 hour previously - progress CIE style.

jackofalltrades

purplepanda wrote: »

How is a potential Rosslare to Waterford City Greenway going to operate without using the Barrow Bridge which is not designed for pedestrians & cyclists? It is still in use for passing ships at the present.

How would the Greenway users get from Waterford City to the Barrow bridge when the railway is still being used for goods traffic to Belview / Waterford Port?

All fair points, it just looks like the Wexford side is currently viable.

The RS -WT line is also 50% owned by Stena Line Ferries, so who's going to pay for the purchase of the railway before adding the costs of Greenway conversion?

It would be interesting to know what value is placed on this asset.

The New Ross - Waterford Greenway, if successful could be extended along the original rail route to Macmine & onwards to Ferrybank & Wexford Town at a later date.

Surely the older rail route in the county should be the first candidate for potential Greenways before a recently closed rail line which still could be a vital transport link in future, especially post Brexit.

The older route from New Ross to Macmine seems to be very patchy in places.
Where as the Wexford section of the Rosslare-Waterford line is unused and completely intact.
I can't see Rosslare harbour changing from a RORO port post brexit.
While rail freight is mentioned, I've yet to see anyone put forward a viable, costed plan.

end of the road

jackofalltrades wrote: »

Who's this "we", since when is someone from Enniscorthy a spokesperson for Southern Wexford?
It was sanity that closed the line in the first place.
One round trip a day, each train carrying 25 passengers on average.
It's just not viable and the New Ross bypass opening will get rid of the only possible reason for bringing it back.

I've yet to talk to anyone who lives near that line talking about wanting it re-opened.
But plenty of them have visited or are planning to visit the Deise greenway.
Local businesses want customers, a greenway can deliver them.

del.monty being a very knowledgable person in terms of the railways, especially those around wexford, is the perfect spokes person for the people of wexford in terms of rail services. i know i'm certainly happy to have him speak the truth in terms of how the waterford rosslare line was ran, a line which it wasn't sanity which closed but possible railway/CIE politics. there were a lot more then 25 passengers who used the service according to a number of sources (no links availible unfortunately) with illedged lax ticket checks. it's viable and the new- ross by-pass won't get rid of the many reasons for bringing it back.
a greenway along this part of the last remaining cross country link will deliver few customers to the very few businesses. the old new-ross line will be the only potential line that could be turned into a greenway and have modest success.

wexandproud wrote: »

plus cie proved decades ago that moving goods by rail in a small country like ours is not viable . goods used to be transported to wexford by rail , deliveries always took days , were usually late and damaged plus deliveries were usually short due to theft and loss . The old good depot can be seen between the station and bridge in wexford

CIE didn't prove anything of the sort. CIE didn't want the hassle of being involved in rail traffic and got out of as much freight as it could. parts of it went dispite CIE but a huge amount of it CIE got out of because it wanted rid of the yards, probably hoping to sell the land. CIE, who do not have a good track record of running railways isn't proof of anything i'm sorry to say.

wexandproud wrote: »

so sorry for my terrible mistake of using ''good'' instead of ''goods'' but your just being petty pointing that out as you knew exactly what i meant.The reason i referred to the old goods depot is that the line was also used to transport goods to waterford and cork via rosslare harbour where the turntable is /used to be but the service was a disaster and was stopped as road infrastructure improved and proved more efficient . The fact you used and would use the service again hardly makes it a viable option as there is a regular bus service which is probably cheaper than the rail service would be

the replacement bus service is as irregular as the train, takes double or more the time (the new-ross by-pass won't change that) and isn't priced with attraction of customers in mind. it's nothing more then a tocan jesture to shut people up and was never designed to be a good public transport option. i don't even think it has many users unlike the laughable rail service, which had a good few and some bit of potential.

angiogoir

I wouldn't give up on the railway line yet.
But apart from that. It would be a good idea. There is certainly room for a greenway along from Rosslare Harbour into Wexford town and beyond. There are many coastal walks and closed off roads which could be adapted.