STRATEGIC REVIEW OF WATERFORD-ROSSLARE RAIL LINK “WARRANTED”
Waterford News & Star
THE proposed re-purposing of most of the Waterford to Rosslare rail link to a regional greenway should be delayed until the Government’s Strategic Rail Review is completed.
That’s the view of the volunteer-based South East On Track (SEOT) group, which has made its case for reviving passenger and freight services on the line in a comprehensive 72-page report, which was launched today.
Pointing out that 2021 has been declared the European Year of Rail, the SEOT Business Case refers to the all-island rail review which Transport Minister Eamon Ryan announced last month.
Speaking in the Dáil on January 20, Minister Ryan said the review will “consider all relevant issues in relation to inter-urban rail, inter/intra-regional rail and rail connectivity to our international gateways, with the latter considering the role of rail freight”.
This review will be conducted on an all-Ireland basis with officials from departments on either side of the border currently developing the review’s terms of reference. Minister Ryan hopes that these terms and the review’s procurement process will be launched by the end of March.
Calling for a delay on greenway decision
SEOT believes the Waterford to Rosslare link should form part of this review, adding: “any progress on the proposal for a greenway should be delayed until this is complete. Similarly, maintenance of the link should be continued until a point that a decision is made regarding its future”.
At last Wednesday’s Piltown Municipal District meeting, Councillors were informed that a planning application for a 57-kilometre greenway connecting Rosslare to Waterford via Belview is set to be submitted to An Bord Pleanála (ABP) “in the coming months”.
However, as Kilkenny County Council Economic Director of Services Sean McKeown noted: “The CIE hasn’t given permission for all of that line to be used as a greenway.”
The end of sugar beet production in Ireland back in 2006 also had negative consequences for the Waterford-Rosslare railway line.
Voicing its support for greenways on “long disused rail links” such as Waterford to Dungarvan and Waterford to New Ross, SEOT feels the Rosslare to Waterford line, which closed to passenger services in 2010, “does not fall into this category”.
The report references Wexford County Council’s issuing a tender in September 2017 for consultancy services regarding the proposed Rosslare to Waterford Greenway, which was awarded to Roughan & O’Donovan (ROD) Consulting Engineers.
ROD is charged with the “preparation of a feasibility study, route selection report, environmental assessment, planning and related consultancy services for the greenway”.
The line includes “upwards of 190 bridges” including the Barrow Bridge (a protected structure), the longest rail bridge in the country.
‘Critical mass for re-opening’
The Business Case authors write: “At the time of this tender and proposal, the Wexford County Development Plan (2013-2019) stated: ‘The Council regrets that services on the Rosslare Harbour/Waterford line closed in 2010 and will continue to support campaigns to restore the service. Similarly, in January 2017, the Submission by Wexford County Council to the Public Consultation on the Rail Review Report stated: ‘The Settlement Strategy focuses on developing population centres along the county’s existing transportation network so as to provide the critical mass to support the maintenance and further development of the network, and in the case of the Rosslare-Waterford railway line, provide the critical mass and demand for its re-opening in the future, which would be to the benefit of the county and the region as a whole.’
“It is unknown why, in the space of a few months Wexford County Council decided on such a radical policy shift from advocating re-opening the rail line in question to project-managing its removal. It is worth noting at this juncture that this particular greenway proposal has some flaws that should be examined.”
A SEOT spokesperson confirmed that their report is being furnished to the Department of Transport, the National Transport Authority, Iarnród Éireann (including Rosslare Europort), the Port of Waterford “and the relevant elected officials in the region”.
The spokesperson told the Waterford News & Star that it also hopes to secure feedback from business and academic stakeholders situated across the South East.
https://waterford-news.ie/2021/02/10/strategic-review-of-waterford-rosslare-rail-link-warranted/