Double speaking Greens go dumb on rail closure.

When the Irish Times contacted Minister Ciaran Cuffe about the possibility of closing the Rosslare Waterford rail line the Minister was unavailable to speak to the journalist other than to say that the matter was one for Iarnród Éireann alone. 2 days before he was appointed a minister, Ciaran Cuffe said that if a socio economic case for retention existed he’d listen to it. Now that doesn’t mean that he’d commit to retaining it he only said he’d listen to it. When Ciaran was nominated I sent him a copy of a report on the line asking that he’d respond, 3 months later I’m still waiting despite assurances from local greens that he’d contact me.


Lets face it Fianna Fail have the greens round their little finger. The core green issues such as Stag Hunting and puppy farming don’t wash with the electorate, Fianna Fail will happily let their junior partner “progress” these issues to keep them onside while Fianna Fail get on with running the country for their developer, banker and business buddies.
The Greens of course understand this and are happy to keep their heads down until issues like the Rosslare Waterford rail line turn up and show them up now for what they once said. Here’s Dan Boyle in 2007; “Sinister decisions relating to rail freight have been made in recent years. For example, in my constituency, the freight hub in Cork depends on the Norsk facility, which has been put up for sale. In recent years, the rail turntable, which allowed freight trains to change direction, because Cork is a terminus, was dismantled. This was an attempt to disentangle the rail freight infrastructure.” How right he was so what is he doing about returning freight to rail?

Ciaran Cuffe when he was in opposition knew exactly what had to be done; Green Party 2007 Rail Transport Policy “We must allow the regions to develop their economic and social potential. We believe that the Island's rail network should be used as a basis for informing the location of significant new development over the next twenty years." “urban generated rural settlement and low-density suburban development appears to be increasing, and this pattern needs to be reversed. It is unsustainable to provide large numbers of on-off houses and ribbon development in the country-side. We must revive our rural areas, but we do not wish to see people commuting long distances by car to our towns and cities.”


Minister Mary White could tell us last year that “The Government has a commitment to investment in public transport, another form of environmentally friendly infrastructure. Almost €1 billion is being spent this year on public transport projects and the safeguarding of future public transport projects will ensure jobs are sustained and that our travelling and commuting trends will be sustainable.” So where is that money for the South Wexford line now? The line qualifies for EU funding towards upgrading as I and Nessa Childers discovered at our meeting with the EU in June. Look even if you buy the Iarnród Éireann line that there is no market for passengers what about freight?

I’m aware of a real plan to put freight on the line. Not a word in support from the greens, surprising as in 2007 Dan Boyle knew what to do; “the next Government should at the very least seek to achieve the same balance between road and rail freight as other European countries, which is 77% by road and 23% by rail. A timeframe of ten years should be set down to achieve that. It will mean investment and a reversal of policy “ Have you seen a change in policy in the last 3 years? But wait there’s more from Dan “Ports such as Rosslare, Waterford, Foynes and Cork should be used more because they have rail links, which could be connected to the national system, thereby providing for more freight to be carried. The State should move away from a radial rail system, which comprises only lines in and out of Dublin, and restore the remnants of the rail system.”

That was then and this is now. The silence of any green TD to speak out on this issue in the last 3 months speaks volumes n how suppliant the party has become. Call it Stockholm Syndrome or urban Gombeenism the greens are wrapping themselves up in knots. They’re entitled to do it but the reality is that the Rosslare Waterford rail line is gong off the tracks because of their attitude. So if you’re wondering where the money should come from to support lines like the Rosslare Waterford line I’ll leave the final word to Dan Boyle from one of his newsletters in 2007; In Government we will redress the chronic under investment in bus, rail, cycling and pedestrian facilities and we will redirect the roads budget to improve road safety and traffic management.

Let the train take the strain

I can accept where the government is coming from when they say that the national roads program will see no new starts in 2010. The logic of not building new roads as demand is now dropping contrasts the argument that building now gives you better value due to reduced costs.
I make these points because a High Court case will soon decide the future of the New Ross bypass. At a price tag that is about €500M I’d imagine that Finance officials may well be hoping that the case will be appealed to Europe whatever the outcome as it would postpone another payment (if at all) and be one less drain on the limited amount of cash. I wonder how a by-pass of a large provincial town can cost so much. Is there a worthwhile benefit to the national economy of cutting a few miles off the journey time to Waterford at a cost in excess of the school building budget? Can a cheaper by-pass be built closer to the town?

The answer of course to many of our transportation difficulties is right before our eyes. It’s the train. We still have a viable rail network that connects Waterford to Wexford and all the main towns in the region. Where is the commuter service? Last October I put a motion to WBC that we write and ask the CEO of Irish Rail what he intended to do about links to Waterford. Alas the commuter service ended in November and while you can go to Waterford from Wexford in the train we have the farcical situation that you cannot return on the train! The Greens have gone to ground on the matter and the response to my motion read at this weeks WBC meeting did not address the substantive issue of my motion. It seems that they are only interested in public transport in the Dublin area. Outside the pale we don’t matter!
Anyone who needed reminding of the lack of vision need only have watched RTE’s Nationwide this week because all week they featured Ireland’s railways. Friday night’s final piece saw Damien Tiernan on the Rosslare Waterford red-eye special talking to commuters about the service.

There remains a loyal passenger base. What is needed is extra services on the line. It’s crazy to think that when the commuter train arrives in Waterford it waits a few hours before continuing on to Limerick Junction. When the Western Rail services starts in March it will be possible to go from Wexford to Galway by train. However the journey will take 13 hours, requiring long stopovers at Waterford and Limerick. After all that investment who’s prepared to spend a whole day travelling less than 300 Km when you can comfortably do the same journey in 4 hours by car?
Surely there’d be a better return on the money spent on the Western Rail corridor by integrating the services at Limerick Junction? While the speed restriction on track can’t match that achievable on a motorway, what about the public transport alternative?

In the short term we need a return service between here and Waterford three times a day and we need promotional fares as well as promtion of the service itself. Few people knew it was there, what business man would establish a service and not promote it? As someone discussing the present government said to me only recently “if only there was a party with a commitment to public transport in power”. We may have to wait however by the time Labour does get into power will the decisions have been taken and will the unsustainable progress of the car have seen off the rail network in the south east?

Heuston, we’ve got a problem

When I started this blog last year the first issue I raised was the lack of public transport in Wexford. I focused on rail because the county still retains a lot of its rail infrastructure unlike many other counties and its something I want to see developed in terms of passenger and freight.
So the forthcoming rail timetable is a document I pour over as closely as a programme for government. I want to see how my town is affected for good or for bad. A timetable reveals what management believe is important. Publishing a timetable outs the management to the travelling public. The forthcoming timetable sees increased trains to Wexford from Dublin. I welcome that and it’s good to see that. Wexford is becoming a destination which allows a speedy turn around and return. Trains only take in revenue when they run, so keep the train moving is my motto. Which is why I’ve always pressurised management to run trains to Waterford. When I came to Wexford in the mid 90’s there were 3 return trains between Rosslare and Waterford, now we’re done to one train. The south Wexford line was particularly busy with sugar beet, now it’s a quiet back water since the demise of that industry.
The absence of freight presents huge opportunities to Irish Rail. To be fair to them they introduced a connection between the town and Waterford in response to my lobbying. I've travelled on the train myself one morning last year. Imagine my surprise when the train stopped in the middle of nowhere, the driver got out, crossed the road, opened the gates, drove the train across the road and the dismounted oncemore to shut the gate before resuming the journey to Waterford. But next month will see the retreat from Wexford as the service is scalled back.

The new timetables for implementation in September shows that while Irish Rail will provide a commuter service to Wexford to Waterford there will be no return service in the evening. While trains will leave Rosslare Europort as the connecting ferry service is docking at the pier making it impossible for passenger to connect as the rail company re-located the rail station about 600 M from the ferry terminal. The new timetable as a total mess.
The new timetable fails not just to integrate trains with ferries but even trains with trains. It’s incredible, a child could do better. Irish Rail has failed to promote in the local media the Wexford Waterford commuter link even though the return fare is cheaper than Bus Eireann. Next year rail services to the west will be extended but the chance to integrate to Wexford has been lost. Students who wish to commute to Waterford IT will find themselves marooned at Rosslare Strand on the return journey having missed the last connection to Wexford by 20 minutes. As a timetable it’s unworkable and will result in fewer passengers taking the train. When I heard about the potential cutbacks to train service I wrote to the 2 Green Ministers and the Transport Minister Noel Dempsey. The best response I got was that it had been referred the matter to Irish Rail who replied from Hueston Station to advise that the CEO was on holidays!

I’m also astounded that Irish Rail spent over €30K in 2008 taxiing train crews from Rosslare Europort to Waterford rather than running an evening service back to the city from Rosslare Europort. Given the low customer base in South Wexford, incurring such a high overhead on staff transport insured from the outset that the Rosslare Waterford rail service could never be viable, cutting the service in half insults the travelling public. This is a service that was set up to fail. Coupled with the severing of the New Ross line from the network, I wonder what is the commitment to the future of rail services out of Waterford? When will Irish Rail learn that we all don’t want to go to Dublin?

Bond's Quantum of Solace hits Wexford first!

I’ve never been to a film premier before however the Irish Premier for the latest James Bond film “Quantum of Solace” was held last night in Wexford. Rosemary Hayes and Padraig Grant organised the show in support of Iceaid. The film was packed out and was well received. Security was tight, it reminded me of a councillors meeting in the Green Party. You were searched to make sure there were no recording devices! Such are the concerns at the possibility of piracy these days.
James Bond has always been a format of girls, action and gadgets and this one sort of strays from this format although I wouldn’t go so far as one critic who said Bond is dead. He’s down to 2 women and in a nod to the recessionary times we’re in, his credit card is withdrawn when he disobeys orders. Quantum of Solace almost sounds a modern parable for the relationship between Brian Cowen and Bertie Ahern. Bond has been betrayed at the death by his former side kick and as a result ends up cynical and not trusting anyone. All around him chaos follows as his popularity plummets with his bosses. If you close your eyes for a minute and remind yourself that our new Taoiseach is at present dealing with a banking crisis where sharks are short selling shares and cutting one another’s throats, you get the drift. Bond goes on a solo run seeking vengeance under the assumption that a philanthropist (Greene) has an interest in overthrowing a South American government for the purpose of accumulating oil only to discover that it’s really water that he covets. M makes the most interesting observation when she counsels Bond to trust neither friend or foe. At one stage M is called in to the Foreign Secretary who lays it on the line to her that Bond can not get in the way of dealing with any reprobate around the world. Along the way Bond steps over the bodies. Anyone with an interest in Irish politics will be naturally drawn to the latest bond flick. Perhaps the Green Party may take note.

Iceaid is a charity that does outstanding work in West Africa. It is a joint Irish Icelandic organisation that is run by Wexford man Padraig Grant and Glumur Balvinsson. It has been supported by the well known Wexford children’s writer Eoin Colfer. Iceaid is involved in vocational training in Liberia and also has other projects in Africa. Iceaid is chiefly a charity that addresses medical needs such as malaria and HIV Aids. They also have an orphanage in Monrovia, Liberia. Liberia suffered a long running and vicious civil war that left tens of thousands dead. Irish Army personnel are currently serving in the country and the former Wexford town priest and presently army chaplain Fr Pat Mernagh was back for the big night. The money raised in the premier will go directly to these projects. As Rosemary Hayes said before the film, “It’s gratifying to know that even when times are tough, people still find the money for those less fortunate.” Well said. Thanks a mil for a really enjoyable night. The pictures show some of the work that Iceaid carry out in Africa. More details can be got at www.iceaid.org