Quote:
Originally Posted by Colm Moore
If there was meaningful services, might they?
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Leaving aside the current lack of integration at Rosslare I think the key reason for no SailRail on this route is that Pembroke Dock station is some distance from the Irish Ferries terminal (approximately a mile). There used to be SailRail on this route some years ago. Furthermore the Pembroke to Rosslare sea passage is half an hour longer than Fishguard-Rosslare. Following on directly from this is the fact that trains to/from Rosslare have a greater need to connect with the Stena Line sailings to/from Fishguard due to the Fishguard route offering an integrated and ease of transfer facility (ferry & rail station same building - ship literally overshadows the terminal-station).
Fishguard has trains connecting both to and from the daytime & overnight conventional ferry (Stena Line) to/from Rosslare seven days a week.
Additional trains are to be introduced to Fishguard this September. Whilst primarily catering for the population of North Pembrokeshire one train each way will offer a connection into the seasonal Stena Express to/from Rosslare.
Holyhead which has a far superior level of train service daytime doesn't even offer an overnight train to London (one would have to wait around from after midnight till 0425).
The Pembroke-Rosslare ferry (Irish Ferries) now facilitates two coach routes between Britain and Éire - the longstanding Eurolines Route 890: Cork-Waterford-Wexford-Cardiff-London and the very recently launched Megabus Rosslare-Carmarthen-Swansea-Cardiff-Newport-Bristol-London route.
However there is a proposal (in the public domain) to move the ferry operations to Milford Haven (also rail connected) which would offer a shorter sea passage and presumably a better rail connection.