Sail & Rail

[Colm Moore]

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Originally Posted by Irish Ferries

Mortons coaches are now operating this service and they have a coach to meet all of the arrivals servicing Connolly & Westmoreland Street at 07:15hrs, 13:30hrs & 19:00hrs daily.

There is also the No 53 Bus Route, operated by Dublin Bus which operates to/from Talbot Street, terminating at Passenger Terminal No 1.

[Eddie]

I presume these are the same services used by Stena, which depart at 7.15am, 2pm and 7pm.

Might be awkward departing Dublin Port if either Adventurer or Ulysses is late running, assuming they are same services.

Dublin Bus could add an extra service at either end of their Monday to Saturday timetable and this would cover the extra sailings. You'd think these would be the busiest journeys!

[Traincustomer]

I understand the NTA were approached to provide 06.00 and 20.00 journeys on route 53 (the service bus via East Wall) but apparently have no plans to do so.

Regarding the connecting bus it is disappointing that the Heuston element of the route has been discontinued. I used it on a number of occasions and invariably there were several fellow passengers onboard. Off-peak especially early-morning off the 05.55 Ulysses it is a mere 4 minutes or so additional time from O'Connell Bridge to Heuston.

This bus transfer should be available as an integral part of the SailRail fare as it would avoid the faffing around and delay that goes on at times while passengers enquire the fare, the stops and whether sterling can be accepted etc...

Ferry - Bus Times
Express Bus Transfer to and from the Dublin Ferryport Terminal

Dublin Port is served by an Express Bus Transfer 7 days a week. The Express Bus Transfer service is operated by Mortons Coaches.

The fare is €3 for an Adult and €1.50 for a Child. Adult return is €5 and child return is €2.50, payable on board.

Outbound services will operate from the Mortons Bus Stop located on Westmoreland Street daily at 07:15hrs, 13.30hrs & 19:00hrs. This is the only outbound pick up location.

Inbound services a coach to meet all of our ferry arrivals with drop off points at Connolly & Westmoreland Street.
Bus service to and from the Dublin Ferryport Terminal

A regular public bus service also operates between the city center and Dublin Ferryport. The number 53 terminus is on Talbot street. Standard bus fares apply to this service and free travel passes may be used. Please click here for timetable and route.

Connections between Busarus and Heuston Station, where not shown, are possible by Luas light rail or local bus routes. These services are not included and are payable separately. Please note all bus times are subject to change. For any queries regarding this schedule, please call Dublin Ferryport at 01- 607 5519

Source: http://www.irishferries.com/ie-en/faq/Ferry-bus-times/ Accessed: 18/03/2017.

[Traincustomer]

http://www.stenaline.ie/2eurodeal

A caveat though is that if travelling a distance by rail from the ports e.g. from Fishguard/Holyhead to London the SailRail fare will still work out considerably cheaper.

[Traincustomer]

Stena Line has just announced a revised timetable on its Rosslare – Fishguard ferry service which will see customers enjoying a choice of three day time sailings and one extended overnight crossing from 22nd May.

Following the evaluation of extensive customer research and feedback, Stena Line reviewed the existing schedule and has decided to introduce three, more customer friendly 3 hour 15-minute day time crossings, making Rosslare – Fishguard the shortest and fastest crossing between Ireland and South Wales.

From Monday 22nd May, Stena Line will operate the following revised sailing schedule between Rosslare and Fishguard:

Departure Arrival Crossing Time

Rosslare Departure: 08:00 Arrival: 11:15 Crossing Time: 3hr15

Fishguard Departure: 13:10 Arrival: 16:25 Crossing Time: 3hr15

Rosslare Departure: 18:10 Arrival: 21:25 Crossing Time: 3hr15

Fishguard Departure: 23:45 Arrival: 04:00 Crossing Time: 4hr15*

Ian Davies, Stena Line’s Trade Director, Irish Sea South commented: “The new timetable will reduce the crossing times on some of our sailings by 15 mins and provide a greater choice of convenient sailing times and better arrival times. The recent investment in the Stena Europe ship has further enhanced our service offering for 2017, providing new opportunities which currently do not exist in the market for our travel and freight customers.”

Ian added: “We have conducted a lot of research and spoken with many of our freight and travel customers, listening to what they had to say about our current sailing timetable and ways in which we might improve the service in the future. We believe we have now addressed the points raised and our staff are constantly engaging with customers to ensure a smooth transition. In fact, we have already received positive feedback and believe that the vast majority of our customers will welcome these changes.”

Extract from source at: http://news.stenaline.co.uk/pressrel...etable-1893581

In terms of rail-ferry integration at Rosslare 3 out of 4 sailings (present 2 out of 4) will be rail connected (and a decent interchange window of around 90 minutes each time to allow for modest delays and the walk between terminal and station):
04.00 arrival: onward train at 05.35 (M-F)

08.00 sailing: Local Link bus (route 387) from Wexford & Rosslare Strand arrival at 07.30 (but nothing from Waterford and it's my experience there's always a few off this bus for the ferry)

16.25 arrival: onward train at 17.55 (17.40 Sundays)

18.10 sailing: 16.26 train arrival (16.32 Sundays)

However unless there are changes in the offing on the Welsh side or adjustments can be made things don't look as great as at present integration wise at Fishguard.

Addendum: looking forward on National Rail Enquiries several timetable changes are evident from Fishguard from May so this sailing schedule change could be a very good thing and help grow business.

[Eddie]

A definite improvement and Irish Rail won't need to delay the last train from Rosslare in the summer months any more.

All we need now is an early morning train to get into Rosslare to meet the 8am departure...

[comcor]

So the train I've used in the past (the 10:58 ex Cardiff) is now showing as a 10:04 with a change in Swansea. The good news is that for the departure time coming forward 54 minutes, arrival into Rosslare is 95 minutes earlier. The downside is the 5 minute change in Swansea, which makes everything a touch tight.

Also, if you look on the Arriva Trains Wales website, the 17:55 ex Rosslare to Connolly is not showing up, meaning routings through Holyhead. As far as Bray, you are better off routing through Rosslare from Cardiff. From further west in Wales (and most notably Swansea), you're better off going through Rosslare even as far as Dublin.

I fear the first of these issues (the change in Swansea) may harm numbers overall, while the second one needs sorting out as it means a bad passenger experience and the trains are running anyway.