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Unread 05-12-2009, 15:00   #15
Traincustomer
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: ar an traein
Posts: 600
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The central theme is the lack of a co-ordinated approach between the ferry and rail companies for their mutual benefit to retain and generate traffic.

This can equally be said of the more popular central corrridor sea routes viz. Dublin/Dún Laoghaire to Holyhead where apart from two Sunday trains, 1150 & 1250 ex Holyhead to London and the 0910 weekdays (0850 Sat) Euston-Holyhead no through Holyhead to London trains connect with a ferry/fast ferry. (All Holyhead-London through services are operated by Virgin Trains).

The Holyhead to Euston journey can be done in 3 h 40m and with serious plans for high speed rail already afoot for a significant section of the route towards Holyhead this may well reduce quite considerably in the years ahead. The route to Holyhead, both rail and road I understand is designated as part of the TEN, Trans-European network.

The entrepreneurial gentlemen who developed the Rosslare to Fishguard route and the rail links at both ends were ahead of their time in the best way possible but succeeded. Why? Because of a can do attitude.

Yet 103 years on from the route's inception what we see today is shameful both in terms of train services and the user-unfriendly station.

The old adage of if you fail to plan you plan to fail comes to mind.
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