Limerick–Rosslare railway line
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The Limerick–Rosslare Main Line is a railway route in the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
that linked the city of
Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
on the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
coast with
Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort ( ga, Europort Ros Láir) is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeasternmost point of the island of Ireland. The port is the premier Irish port serving the European Contine ...
on the coast of the
Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
. It also serves the city of
Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
, and at it connects with the
Dublin–Cork railway line The Dublin–Cork Main Line is the main InterCity railway route in Ireland between Dublin Heuston and Cork Kent. In 2018, 3.46 million passengers travelled on the line, a 10% increase from 2017 figures. About The line is one of the longest in ...
. Since 2010 there has been no service between Waterford and Rosslare Europort, and all trains terminate at . Rosslare (Europort and Strand) and Wexford have still at least three trains a day to Dublin, and three back (morning, afternoon and evening). The line between Rosslare and Waterford is closed to passenger trains since September 2010, though it is still maintained by
Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and fr ...
.


History

Construction of the route was begun in 1848 for the
Waterford and Limerick Railway The Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway (WL&WR), formerly the Waterford and Limerick Railway up to 1896, was at the time it was amalgamated with the Great Southern and Western Railway in 1901 the fourth largest railway in Ireland, with a mai ...
and completed in 1854. It is one of the oldest railways in Ireland, and the first to have been authorised by the
UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremac ...
. The company was renamed the Waterford, Limerick and Western in 1896 and merged with the
Great Southern and Western Railway The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland from 1844 until 1924. The GS&WR grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the ...
in 1901. The section between Waterford and Rosslare was completed in 1906 and coincided with the construction of Rosslare Harbour. Both
Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort ( ga, Europort Ros Láir) is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeasternmost point of the island of Ireland. The port is the premier Irish port serving the European Contine ...
and this section of rail line remain the property of the Fishguard & Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company, which is jointly owned by
Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and fr ...
and
Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...
. It is the only main line railway in the Republic not wholly owned by the State. The Waterford to Rosslare section includes the
Barrow Bridge Barrow rail bridge, (or the Barrow viaduct), is a pratt truss type of railway bridge that spans the river Barrow between County Kilkenny and County Wexford in the south east of Ireland. This rural landmark with a length of is the longest ...
, the longest rail bridge in the Republic of Ireland. At the time of construction, the line from Waterford diverged at Killinick, allowing for direct Waterford to
Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...
trains to bypass Rosslare Strand. A notable feature on the line is the
Cahir Cahir (; ) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is also a civil parish in the barony of Iffa and Offa West. Location and access For much of the twentieth century, Cahir stood at an intersection of two busy national roadways: the Dublin ...
Viaduct across the
River Suir The River Suir ( ; ga, an tSiúr or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of . The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2.
in
County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...
. It was built in 1852 and has three iron spans borne on stone abutments. The viaduct partly collapsed in 1955 and partly collapsed again in 2003 (see below). Iarnród Éireann renewed the viaduct at a cost of €2.6 million, and the line was reopened in September 2004. Train services have remained infrequent for more than 100 years. By 2003 the line was carrying fewer than 100 passengers a day. When IÉ reopened the line it introduced new railcars and a service of three journeys in each direction on weekdays, which was a greater service frequency than the line had for much of its history. There is no Sunday service.


Route

Between and Limerick Junction, trains between Limerick and Dublin also serve the line. The speed limit on much of the line is less than , but the speed limit west of Limerick Junction is a higher .


Waterford – Rosslare section

The Waterford to Rosslare section was traditionally a busy freight line, transporting 150,000 tonnes of
Sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...
via the handling facility at
Wellingtonbridge Wellingtonbridge (), also spelled Wellington Bridge, is a village in south County Wexford, Ireland. It lies some 24 km west of Wexford and 28 km east of Waterford, at the intersection of the R733 and R736 regional roads. It was his ...
until the demise of the Sugar Industry in 2006. As a result of this significant freight traffic, passenger services were reduced over the years. On 12 March 2010 it was announced that Iarnród Éireann would review the service between and because few passengers were using it. Timetabling was poor. There was only one train each way daily from Monday to Saturday, leaving Rosslare early in the morning and returning from Waterford early in the evening. The trains made very poor connections with other rail services. They connected with the Stena Line ferry service to and from
Fishguard Harbour Goodwick (; cy, Wdig) is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, immediately west of its twin town of Fishguard. Fishguard and Goodwick form a Community (Wales), community that wraps around Fishguard Bay. As well as the two towns, it consists o ...
, but due to the poor onward connections at Waterford few passengers used this. The exception was during the volcanic ash crisis of 2010, when trains were fully loaded and had standing room only. The last train between Waterford and Rosslare ran on 18 September 2010. Iarnród Éireann provided a four-car 2700 class
diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
for the service, instead of the usual two-car unit. The National Transport Authority requires IÉ to maintain the now-disused line.
Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidia ...
revised the timetable and route of bus service 370 to offer alternative passenger transport from 20 September. Buses on the route are branded "370 Connect". As of 2020, a campaign exists in the local area to reopen the rail line. In 2021, it was confirmed that the route would be examined for reopening as part of an All-Island Strategic Rail Review.


Services

IE 22000 Class The 22000 Class "InterCity Railcar" is a diesel multiple unit in service with Iarnród Éireann in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. They are the first IÉ DMUs built specifically for InterCity (Iarnród Éireann), InterCity routes, although they can ...
InterCity railcars usually operate services on the line. Between 2012 and 2013 IÉ operated
IE 2800 Class The 2800 Class is a type of Diesel Multiple Unit operated on the Irish railway network by Iarnród Éireann, used mainly for short-haul InterCity and Commuter services. Description The 2800 Class were built in Japan by Tokyu Car Corporation. ...
railcars on the line. From 2004 until 2012 IE 2700 Class railcars operated most services. Until 2003 IÉ operated most trains with a 141 class or 181 class
diesel-electric locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conv ...
hauling Cravens coaches.


Notable incidents

*In 1955 an out-of-control train crashed through the buffers in the loop at and fell through the deck of the viaduct. The driver and fireman were killed. *In 2003 a train of 22 cement wagons was derailed on the viaduct. The locomotive and driver safely crossed the bridge, but 13 of the wagons behind the locomotive fell through the deck of the bridge into the river. The
Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
's Interim Railway Safety Commission investigated the accident and found that timber supporting the rails was rotten, which may have allowed the rails to spread and the wagons to fall between the rails. Services resumed in September 2004 with diesel railcars, but further engineering works dogged services, requiring frequent bus replacements of the train services. *In 2012 a young girl was hit and injured by a train near
Tipperary Town Tipperary Town (; ) is a town and a civil parish in County Tipperary, Ireland. Its population was 4,979 at the 2016 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical baron ...
which was travelling from Limerick Junction to Waterford. She was taken to hospital. No-one aboard the train was injured.


References


Bibliography

*


External links


South Tipperary by rail


See also

* Dublin-Rosslare railway line {{DEFAULTSORT:Limerick-Rosslare railway line Railway lines in Ireland