Waterford Councillors Call For Reinstatement of Rosslare To Waterford Train Services

A Waterford councillor says the reopening of Rosslare to Waterford railway line would be ‘major gamechanger’ for the region.

According to Waterford Live, Independent councillor for Waterford City Declan Barry says he wants to see a meeting with Irish Rail officials to bring the line back into play.

The route has been closed since 2010 with mixed messages coming from the Government regarding the possibility of reopening.

An All Island Strategic Rail Review in 2023 suggested the line should open back up but the project has been missing from recent discussions.

A petition was recently established by the former Mayor of Wexford Joe Ryan calling on the Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien to implement the recommendations of that rail review and bring trains back to South Wexford.

One of the main stumbling blocks to reopening is the status of the Barrow Bridge.

The bridge contains a mechanism allowing it to open to sea traffic and it has been kept in the open position due to the lack of trains running on the route.

Then Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said he was "dismayed" to hear that was the case and said he would have liked to have seen the route back in use.

The Waterford City and County Council Director of Services Gabriel Hynes agreed with Councillor Barry and says they have requested a meeting with rail bosses to discuss ways to reopen the line.

That report was funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.