South East on Track

@seontrack.bsky.social

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Campaigning for better rail transport in the South East of Ireland.

Irish Rail maintenance train at Wellingtonbridge station on July 8 2026
Recent passenger statistics reveal an unprecedented surge in commuter demand along the Rosslare-Dublin rail line since 2019, exposing a disparity between passenger growth and Iarnród Éireann and the National Transport Authority’s continued failure to increase service frequency. As commuters flock to public transport, they are met with overcrowded carriages, stagnant timetables, and chronic underinvestment on a critical route in the South East. Despite ongoing campaigns by local representatives and South East on Track, capacity on the South Eastern rail line remains fundamentally unchanged. The latest figures show explosive growth across all major stations on the line since 2019, the last pre-COVID year, with Gorey experiencing passenger increase of 70% and Rathdrum experiencing passenger increase of over 60% between the sum of origin and destination trips. In these six years only one late night trip from Dublin has been added on the line, a service which doesn't run to Enniscorthy, Wexford Town, or either of the Rosslare stations. Conversely, the latest you can leave Dublin heading south of Gorey is now earlier today than it was in 2019. Wexford Town continues to be the busiest station south of Greystones.
Rosslare route • Dublin to Rosslare line is reopening between Greystones and Wicklow following clearance of extensive debris on the line • Bus transfers are in place for earlier services, but full services are resuming.
DART line closed between Lansdowne Road and Bray - Leap Cards are valid on all TFI services operating on routes in affected areas, subject to capacity. Delays to other DART services. Dublin to Rosslare line closed between Greystones and Kilcoole due to debris on line, and between Enniscorthy and Wexford - We are working to arrange bus transfers, but significant delays may result. 16:28 & 17:28 Connolly Rosslare will amalgamate and serve as a bus transfer from Connolly to Wicklow a train will operate from Wicklow to Rosslare. 18:28 Connolly to Wexford will be a bus transfer from Connolly for the full journey 20:08 Connolly to Gorey will be a bus transfer from Connolly for the full journey
Map showing new and reopened stations in the South East
People are standing often from Arklow or Wicklow all the way into the city. The times don't need to change, it's the number of journeys available and carriages need to change. It is ridiculous that there are only 4 trains available per day, and then complaints that everyone is driving up to Dublin for work. This is why.
A video of a train pulling into Wexford station on Christmas Eve.
Front page of Wexford people with headline “Wexford ‘abandoned’ in latest rail strategy”
South East on Track were dismayed to read reports about the apparent cancellation of the re-opening of the Wexford-Waterford line, as previously set out in the All-Ireland Strategic Rail Review (AISRR), in 2024. This line is in good condition for re-opening and would not only connect Wexford and Waterford but also the entire south eastern region of Ireland. Works on the line would be partially paid for by insurers, taking away cost from the tax payer, owing to a ship strike on the Barrow Bridge in the recent past. As recently as this week, Engineers Ireland called on the government to re-prioritise spending on public transport over new motorways in order to give people the choice to take the environmentally friendly option when it comes to transport and commuting.
The Government’s announcement today of the Sectoral Investment Plan for Transport includes many welcome developments, including the commitment to invest between €500m to €1bn in reactivating the Western Rail Corridor between Athenry and Claremorris. Since 2000, new rail has been constructed to support development around four of Ireland’s five cities. Only Waterford and the South East are left behind - having had a reduction in rail infrastructure due to the unnecessary closure of the Wexford-Waterford rail line during the Financial Crisis in 2010. The line has continued to be maintained by Iarnród Éireann, while its reactivation is backed at European level by the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and nationally by the Strategic Rail Review. Yet, despite this strong policy support, investment for the re-opening of this key rail link has not been secured for the South East, in contrast to the progress achieved in the West where elected representatives successfully championed the restoration of their rail corridor. This highlights a clear imbalance in rail development and future-proofing across the regions. It is disappointing that the infrastructure deficit facing the South East and Waterford City will persist for several more years. We are calling on elected representatives across our region to prioritise the reactivation of the Wexford–Waterford rail line and to work together to ensure it is included in future National Development Plan funding.
A screenshot of Irish Rail’s Fares calculator showing: Tickets From Greystones To Howth Ticket Adult Leap Card Adult Single Price €3.90 €5.10
SOUTH EAST ON TRACK I refer to the matter you raised in Parliamentary Question No. 190 of 25 September last, which has been referred to the National Transport Authority (NTA) for reply. We note that the Minister provided a substantive response to this Parliamentary Question. To add to the Minister's response, the NTA's Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2022-2042, adopted in 2023, includes a recommendation to extend the DART service to Wicklow Town. It is intended to provide this extension initially through the use of battery-electric DART carriages, which will be able to operate using the overhead electrification as far as Greystones and can then operate under battery power between Greystones and Wicklow
Screenshot of adjusted timetable for 21:35 ex. Wexford service
Iarnród Éireann is pleased to confirm that we will again operate over 50 extra train services this year during Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann to/from Wexford, allowing more people to attend the country’s leading traditional music festival. An extra Dublin Connolly to Wexford train will operate each day between Tuesday 5th and Sunday 10th August, and an extensive range of shuttle services between Arklow and Wexford, up to a final service at 23:00hrs approx from Wexford to Arklow each evening. Additional trains The additional trains will operate from Tuesday 5th to Sunday 10th August, as follows: Tuesday 5th to Friday 8th August 10:34hrs Dublin Connolly to Wexford 19:00hrs Wexford to Dublin Connolly 21:35hrs Wexford to Dublin Connolly 14:40hrs and 17:10hrs Arklow to Wexford 13:40hrs, 16:00hrs and 23:00hrs Wexford to Arklow
South East on Track are disappointed that Iarnród Éireann has not confirmed any additional train services to/from Wexford for Fleadh Cheoil na h-Éireann 2025, and are calling on Iarnród Éireann to step up and provide more services. Last year, 50 additional services were put in place to bring people to and from Wexford for the week. There were similar additional services put in place for previous Fleadhs in Mullingar and Drogheda. An advertised "additional service" on Iarnród Éireann's website is merely the delaying of the normal 9:25pm departure from Wexford O'Hanrahan for Dublin to 9:35pm. You can already catch this "additional train" for the other 51 weeks of the year. Iarnród Éireann sent out an email on July 23rd advising attendees that, "There are numerous car parks in place on the outskirts of Wexford Town with free shuttle buses operating to the town centre."
Picture of a Christmas tree in front of Wexford O’Hanrahan train station on Christmas Eve.
Picture of crowded interior of train carriage
Graphic showing rail added in Ireland since 2000. Dublin plus 52km. Cork plus 10km. Galway plus 58km. Limerick plus 42km. Waterford minus 56km.
Strategic Rail Review Journey Times Graphic: CORK - WATERFORD: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES LIMERICK - WATERFORD: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES WEXFORD - WATERFORD: 30-35 MINUTES