Waterford-Wexford train may not happen
On the left is the All-island Rail Review published in 2021 and on the right is the plan published this week.
A recent report published by the Department of Transport has not mentioned the Waterford-Wexford train line re-opening in the plan for rail in the country.
A public transport advocacy group South East on Track said on social media that they were "dismayed" by the new development.
They said: “This line is in good condition for re-opening and would not only connect Wexford and Waterford but also the entire south eastern region of Ireland.”
In 2024, the reported that the government signed off on an all-Ireland strategic rail review, which promised €30 billion for Ireland’s rail infrastructure. It also included plans to build new rail lines in the north-east of the country, as well as the re-opening of Waterford to Wexford railway line.
In a new report, that line does not appear in the list of projects, and other routes, such as Portadown to Mullingar, which were in the original plan have been removed.
In 2021, the government committed to a spending ratio of 2:1 for public transport to cars. This commitment was scrapped last month, alongside plans to re-open the Waterford to Wexford train line. This line would have connected Waterford to Rosslare and Wexford to Limerick and Dublin.
The 2021 legislation was heavily influenced by the Green Party's stint in government at the time so many Green Party politicians have spoken out against this new report.
Dublin Green Party Councillor Feljin Jose said on social media: "They've done it again, they've cut more rail projects. The most criminal one for me is cancelling the reopening of the Waterford-Wexford/Rosslare line."
Waterford Council of Trade Unions also took to social media to express their disappointment. They wrote that the move would be, “depriving our region of over €100 million in infrastructure investment in the short term. Major employers such as Nolan Transport have called on the government to improve rail infrastructure to no avail. The South Wexford rail line only closed in 2010 and is actively maintained.”
Waterford TD David Cullinane said the move was a “real slap in the face” for the south-east region.
“Unless people have alternatives, then they have to use the car,” Deputy Cullinane added.
However, it's not all bad news for Waterford. The new report suggests that in the next 10 years, the train from Waterford to Dublin will take a little over 1 hour and 20 minutes. The journey currently takes just under 2 hours.
In the same time period, the Department of Transport also hopes to electrify all routes from Waterford and increase the frequency of the Waterford to Limerick train.
The report also published some statistics about the current state of the rail service in Ireland. At the moment, less than 3% of the rail network is electric.
2024 saw the highest ever recorded number of rail passengers at 64 million.
Rail only makes up 1% of all passenger kilometres.
The Department for Transport was reached for comment but did not reply at the time of print.
