After all the bad news about train travel in Ireland recently, I'm sure we're all devastated to read the above.
What IE simply don't get, and never have got, is the idea of putting the passenger first. In fact, in this country, the paying passenger comes last when travelling by rail. For decades, the advantage enjoyed by Irish Rail over other forms of transport here was it's speed. Long distance, short distance, rush hour or slack hour, you could rely on it, plan your journey time around it, and spend more time at home, than using the bus.
Twice a year since 2006, I've gone to LOI games in Galway, and used the Friday evening express service which would take you from Heuston to Galway in just 140 minutes. This year, the departure time was brought forward, and 2 more stops added, equating to a 20 minute delay on the route, despite more powerful engines and better quality trains. By comparison, the bus route from Dublin to Galway is faster, cheaper, and more frequent. For the first time going to Galway yesterday, I went there by plane instead of using the train, because of the above reasons.
When the Malahide Viaduct collapsed last year, Irish Rail needed the bus to help them run a Northern Commuter Service. When the bridge was ready again, the business failed to pick up, as people preferred using the bus. Why? Cheaper, faster, more frequent. Currently Bus Eireann run 20-odd daily services between Rosslare Europort and Dublin. The service is available, and it is used. IR run a handful of services in both directions each day, the last one leaves both destinations in evening rush hour, and so people desert the service in favour of the bus. After decades without a service, Limerick and Galway are once again connected by rail. But the road network can do the journey in half the time at a fraction of the price. You don't get those passengers back without a few changes.
The way forward is to give your customers what they want, roll the trains out 24/7, run direct inter city services between the major cities in order to compete with other modes of transport. Cut fares at stations, away from the "book online" method. The market is there to use rail transport, but not the services. Vast swathes of the country are served by a single rail line, further reducing frequency and quality of service. As seen by the viaduct collapse, all it takes is one incident to paralyse the network. Overnight trains are an idea completely alien to IR, despite it been standard practice across Europe.
There is one service between Waterford and Rosslare every day, and obviously it isn't going to attract business, because of how it's run. The closure of a rail line is never a happy event, however the Waterford-Rosslare line's imminent demise is not the fault of passengers, but due to Irish Rail's complete inflexibility with it's schedule, and abject failure to react to market forces in the region over a considerable period of time.
Put your passenger first, not last.