Additional services Clonmel - Waterford and vice versa
 

In conjunction with the Winterval festival and events in Waterford city there are three extra trains operating on Fridays and Saturdays starting today and running up until and including the Saturday before Christmas.

The train times are:

12.10 Waterford to Clonmel
13.05 Clonmel to Waterford
20.40 Waterford to Clonmel
All three services will serve Carrick-on-Suir and are in addition to the existing two trains each way.

Good to see these extra targeted services which offer an attractive alternative to what can be the drudgery of a car or bus journey along the N24.

While the primary purpose of the trains are to bring people to and from Waterford it's a pity the actual timings couldn't have been adjusted slightly to facilitate connections to and from Kilkenny/Dublin e.g. trains arrive into Waterford from the Dublin line at 12.20 and 20.48. Why not 12.25 and 20.55 Waterford - Clonmel?

http://www.irishrail.ie/waterfordwinterval

Platform restrictions, would require to many movements to facilitate low connection numbers. Extending staff costs by 2 hours to, so deferring it an extra 15 minutes will likely require extra pay. Would imagine its by the hour pay is calculated as.

This is in the best Waterford tradition of near connections ! In fairness the gutted station layout makes providing connections difficult as there is only one operarational platform.

"The following additional service will operate every Friday and Saturday" because it's a sin to run trains through the Golden Vale on a Sunday for any reasons... :rolleyes: I mean - what if people *weren't going to the festival* but back to college or to work in Dublin instead! They might want it every week! :eek:

Last time I was in Plunkett over a month ago the train used platform 5. Is platform 6, the other bay, used much (or at all) or is everything set up signalling/access wise for platform 5?

Only two operational lines available currently. P5 and 4 (main platform) which is freight only now. The other bay Is disconnected currently.

They have started an extension to platform 5. I really hope thats not all they plan to do.

The train being the best mode of transport to Waterford and Kilkenny is fast running out so IE will pay big time in 2015. Suggestion a new private operator has being granted a licence for an express bus route taken in Kilkenny to.

Thanks. In my view the other bay (P6) should be reconnected but perhaps this is cumbersome/unrealistic from a signalling perspective at the moment.