[JamesK]

Like other contributors to this thread, my view is that in the medium term, the Waterford to Rosslare route should be part of a Galway to Rosslare (or Wexford) service that has convenient connections at each point where a radial route from Dublin is crossed. Unfortunately, it is obvious that this is not going to happen in the short term.

From the point of view of Irish Rail, the main savings that will arise from withdrawing the current service will be under the following headings:
(a) Withdrawal of staff from level crossings
(b) Withdrawal of staff from Wellingtonbridge Station
(c) Taxi fares for crew transfers
(d) Maintenance of track and buildings
Bearing in mind that the line is to remain in situ, there will still be some expenses under (d). In addition, there will be an expense in providing whatever alternative bus service is put in place.

From the point of view of the customer, the main advantage of this route is that it offers very significant time savings: in the evening peak for example, the train from Waterford reaches Campile in 23 minutes as against 65 minutes for the corresponding Bus Eireann service. Travel times by train are also significantly lower than the best that can be achieved by car.

Bearing in mind the time advantage achieved by the train by virtue of using the Barrow bridge and the expenses currently being incurred by Irish Rail in providing this service, I am surprised that no suggestion has emerged to retain train service between Waterford and (say) Campile with a dedicated bus service with through ticketing operating onwards from there including to places of significant size that are not currently served by the railway. Implementing such a proposal would mean ‘mothballing’ the greater part of the route which would achieve a significant proportion of the savings in (a) – (d) above; yet, the significant time savings that customers are currently enjoying would be retained.

It goes without saying that a revised service of the type suggested above should run more frequently than at present and offer convenient connections to/from Dublin at Waterford. It should use railcar sets/crews that are laying over at Waterford between runs to/from Limerick Junction. If such a service was a success, it would in time provide the argument for extending train service back towards Rosslare.

In a nutshell, my view is that while Irish Rail currently finds itself in a situation where money must be saved, it should attempt to do this in such a way that its customers can continue to avail of the major time savings and associated fuel savings and environmental benefits that this route confers. Of course, I agree with the other contributors to this thread who feel that the present situation would probably not have arisen if Irish Rail had made a serious attempt to develop this route by utilising the resource that it represents in a more enlightened way.