Waterford is losing out when it comes to passenger numbers on Irish Rail. That's according to Councillor Jason Murphy, who says more needs to be done to address the shortage.
Cllr. Murphy raised his concerns at a recent Plenary meeting of Waterford Council, saying factors outside of Waterford are contributing to the problem.
"My point is about the Irish Rail service from Dublin to Waterford and the constant overcrowding on that service. People may not be aware, that intercity services across the country are serviced by eight carriages, but the service from Dublin to Waterford is only six carriages. This is causing huge problems with overcrowding.
"We're losing out on nearly two thousand passengers a day coming from Dublin and the same goes in the opposite direction. This is because the platform at McDonagh Station in Kilkenny is too short to take the eight carriages, it can only take six. The reason being is that the end of the platform was sold to McDonagh Junction Shopping Centre some time ago."
Preliminary figures from Iarnród Éireann show rail passenger journeys in 2023 also grew significantly, as the post Covid recovery continues. An estimated 45.5 million passenger journeys were made by rail during the past 12 months, up from 35.8 million in 2022.
Cllr. Murphy continued,"Given the context of the new railway station we will be getting on the North Quays, I think we should have a service that other major cities have in the state, and I think we need to collaborate with Kilkenny and Ionroid Eireann."
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