Councillor calls for changes to Tipperary train service's timetable to attract more passengers
Iarnród Éreann has no plans to invest in improving the Waterford/Limerick Junction rail service for Tipperary’s rail passengers due to the low number of people travelling on the route.
The rail service that links Carrick-on-Suir, Clonmel, Cahir and Tipperary Town with Waterford and inter-city services stopping at Limerick Junction resumed on Monday, the same day as the Limerick to Ballybrophy train service that serves north Tipperary.
In line with Covid-19 prevention restrictions, the two train services are operating at 50 per cent capacity and all passengers must wear face coverings.
However, it was a bumpy ride on the first day back for the Waterford/Limerick Junction service as a mechanical fault with the train meant that passengers for the 7.20am Waterford to Limerick service and 9.40am return Limerick to Waterford service ended up being transferred by bus to their destinations. The route’s evening services are 4.25pm Waterford to Limerick and 6.40pm Limerick to Waterford.
The restoration of the two Tipperary rail services has been welcomed by local politicians who have also made renewed calls for more investment in making the services more attractive and accessible for Tipperary people.
Clonmel Fianna Fail Cllr Siobhán Ambrose, a long time advocate for greater investment in the Waterford/ Limerick Junction rail service, said she very much welcomed its restoration but called for its timetable to be modified to make it more relevent to commuting workers, college students and people visiting cities for hospital appointments.
She said the current timetable made the rail service suitable only for passengers travelling at their leisure.
“The timetable is not conducive with working times. There is no point getting to Dublin at 11am when you need to be there for a 9am meeting.
The number of passengers using the service are low and why wouldn’t it be. You don’t have to be Albert Einstein to know why,” she told The Nationalist. She complained that a lot of Clonmel rail passengers end up travelling to Thurles to get a train to Dublin because the timetabling is more suitable. “You go to Thurles Train Station and it’s like a Clonmel reunion on the platform. Clonmel is the biggest town in the county but people have to go to Thurles to use a service that should be on their doorstep.”
LONG OVERDUE
Tipperary Sinn Fein TD Martin Browne said the resumption of the two Tipperary rail services was long overdue and called on the Government to invest in improving them.
He pointed out it was impossible to ignore the disparity in the restoration of the “limited” rail service in this county and the announcement of significant investment in the Dart service in Dublin.
“It seems once again Government transport investment is leaving rural Ireland behind.
“If the Minister is serious about reducing carbon emissions then rural Ireland needs a first class public transport system," he added.
Iarnród Éireann spokesman Barry Kenny responded that it has for many years, both at times of economic growth and recession, operated varying levels of train services on the Waterford / Limerick Junction route and promoted them nationally and locally but without significant uptake.
“It is a low density route, and given the pre-Covid dramatic increases in demand on other routes, and pressure on capacity on those, this is where service and capacity expansion is intended to be prioritised,” he explained.
In relation to timetabling, Mr Kenny said the Waterford/ Limerick Junction timetable was designed to link up with the inter-city services that stop at Waterford and Limerick Junction. He stressed that Iarnród Éireann will continue to promote all routes and engage with local communities to seek new business opportunities.