New Evening Train Service between Dublin and Waterford Commences
Press Release 20th August 2024
Waterford T.D. Marc Ó Cathasaigh has welcomed the commencement of new evening train services on the Waterford to Dublin Route, which will see the first services commence on Monday 26th August.
The extra Dublin to Waterford service in each direction will leave Dublin at 20:20 hours and serve stations to Carlow, and additional stations of Muine Bheag, Kilkenny and Thomastown on its way to Waterford every day from Mondays to Saturdays. The new late service from Waterford to Dublin will leave at 20:20 hours and these new services will run Monday to Saturday. There will be a new additional each way Dublin/Waterford/Dublin on Sundays bringing the services to 5 in each direction.
Ó Cathasaigh said “It is very heartening to see these new evening services between Dublin, Kilkenny and Waterford come on stream. This is something I have been advocating for with my colleague and Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan and Jim Meade, CEO of Irish Rail. Frequent services are a necessity if we want our regions to thrive. Transport connectivity will attract employers and employees to Waterford and the South East, particularly as working from home is embraced by businesses. It is especially important to see good connectivity between Kilkenny and Waterford, for students and commuters alike.”
Ó Cathasaigh continued “We have seen train passenger numbers grow significantly over the past several years, recovering well from the pandemic, with the 16.40, 17.35 and 18.65 services from Dublin Heuston to Waterford Plunkett serving 1,564 passengers each journey in 2023, up from 1,269 in 2022 and 707 in 2021. The new 20.20 service will likely see comparable numbers and I am confident that passenger numbers on both evening services – from Waterford to Dublin and from Dublin to Waterford – will grow significantly over the coming year.”
