The Irish Times view on the Wexford to Dublin line: a damning indictment of State’s failure

In 1834 the world’s first commuter rail line was opened between Westland Row in Dublin and the ferry terminal in what is now Dún Laoghaire. In the 190 years since then, commuter rail services have been the engine that powered the expansion of the world’s great cities. Across the planet, fast, reliable commuter trains move hundreds of millions of people every day. They enabled the growth of suburbs from which people could travel with ease to their place of work or education. They now form an indispensable part of the fight against climate change and the necessary shift away from car culture.

There could hardly be a more damning indictment of the independent Irish State’s failure to build adequate public transport services for its people than the fact that that it continues to rely on this pre-Victorian infrastructure to transport the population of the entire south-east to and from the capital. Now reports this week suggest that the National Transport Authority is considering proposals to stop trains from Wexford at Greystones or Wicklow town, where passengers would transfer to the suburban Dart service. The reason given is the lack of capacity on the line to deal with rising demand.

Passenger numbers from Wexford and Enniscorthy have grown strongly in recent years, and Irish Rail introduced a new night-time service between Gorey and Connolly in 2022 to meet demand. None of this should come as a surprise to anyone who has been observing population trends in the region over the past two decades.

The NTA cannot be blamed for the closure in the 1950s of the direct line from Wexford to Harcourt Street. But its thinking seems equally shortsighted. It is hard to disagree with the passenger advocacy group South East on Track, which said the proposal would make the service “almost unusable” for most passengers, forcing them onto the congested N11.

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The NTA should look at enhancing capacity on the line itself through better use of third tracks to enable passing trains. The current proposals are redolent of the failed policies of the past.