Strong Case Made to Re-Open Wexford-Waterford Railway
Wexford Today
The South East On Track Group has today published their business case for re-opening the rail connection between Wexford and Waterford.
The line from Rosslare Strand to Belview (just outside Waterford) was closed in 2010, and since then the line has seen little activity other than maintenance and inspection trains passing over it.
WexfordToday covered the 10th anniversary of the closure of the line back in September 2010. You can read that article here: South Wexford Railway – 10th Anniversary of Closure | WexfordToday.com
As argued in the article, there appeared to be little will within Irish rail to make the line viable. In fact, it appeared as though the powers that be did everything they could to make the line unattractive to passengers.
In recent times Wexford County Councillors, in their wisdom, have been fawning over the idea of tearing up the track altogether.
However, the South East on Track Group has published a detailed piece of analysis, making the business case for re-opening the line as a railway. Their case centres around the provision of a Wexford Town to Waterford service, rather than a Rosslare Europort to Waterford service. They argue that the commuter and leisure travel demand would be realised if there was a direct link between the two major urban centres in the area, Waterford City and Wexford Town.
This would involve the re-instatement of a direct curve at Felthouse junction to allow trains travel directly from Wexford to Waterford rather than having to go via Rosslare Strand. They argue that this, along with replacing old track, upgrading level crossings and generally improving the speeds achievable on the line, would make the line compare very favourably with other forms of transport and lead to sustainable levels of passenger traffic.
You can read the full report here:
SEOT+Business+Case+FINAL+Final.pdf (squarespace.com)
https://wexfordtoday.com/2021/02/10/strong-case-made-to-re-open-wexford-waterford-railway/