[Article] Extra Waterford train service begins

Victor

http://www.iarnrodeireann.ie/news_centre/general_news.asp?action=view&news_id=6

Extra Waterford train service begins by Press Office

Waterford, Kilkenny and Carlow rail services received a boost today (27th March) with the introduction of an extra train each way on the Waterford-Dublin route.

This included a new daily early morning service from Waterford, which will also for the first time deliver a commuter rail service for Kilkenny residents working in the capital, and give Carlow commuters a second morning train option.

From March 27th 2006– Waterford, Kilkenny and Carlow

There will be a new early service from Waterford to Heuston, which will be Carlow’s second morning commuter service, and provide a commuter rail service from Kilkenny for the first time.

The new service will depart Waterford at 06.05hrs. It will leave Kilkenny at 06.49hrs, allowing those who travel daily to Dublin to use rail for the first time. It will call at Carlow at 07.18hrs, giving Carlow commuters an option to the existing 06.30hrs service. It arrives in Heuston at 08.39hrs.

An extra Dublin to Waterford service will also operate daily at 16.25hrs, an extension of the current Carlow evening service, calling at Carlow at 17.39hrs, Kilkenny at 18.12hrs and Waterford at 18.59hrs.

The new services bring the frequency on the Waterford-Dublin route to six each way per day, and both services will operate Monday to Saturday.

It is the latest frequency improvement to be delivered on the route, which now carries over one million passengers annually.

There’s more good news planned for customers along the route, with new trains entering service through 2007 and 2008, to ultimately deliver a service every two hours all day.

The new Intercity railcars, under construction in Japan and Korea, are part of the largest ever Intercity fleet investment in the history of Ireland’s railways.

Between now and 2008, this will transform our Intercity fleet from the oldest in Europe to the newest.

An Iarnród Éireann spokesperson said “yet again this year we are directly bringing the benefits of our investment programme to a record and growing number of rail customers. We will continue this process year on year to ensure every route and every community we serve shares in the development of our rail services. With the support of funding under Transport 21, the Government’s 10-year infrastructure programme, we are building a world-class rail service for our customers.”