THE BOARD of the National Transport Authority (NTA) is to meet later this week to decide the fate of the Rosslare to Waterford rail line, which Iarnród Éireann is proposing to shut down.
Iarnród Éireann, which has said the route is no longer economically viable, cannot proceed without the authority’s approval.
The NTA is a statutory body, established by the Minister for Transport, with “responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger land transport service”, including the “provision of subvented bus and rail services by Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Irish Rail”. It is chaired by former Dublin city manager John Fitzgerald, an accountant by profession, who is also chairman of An Post.
A spokeswoman for the NTA said the board would meet on Friday to consider submissions regarding the proposed closure.
Iarnród Éireann says the Rosslare-Waterford service – which is served by just one train daily in each direction – is losing money, attracts only about 25 passengers a day and has lost most of its freight business.
However, business leaders and local authorities in the southeast have been campaigning for its retention and an enhanced timetable with extra services.
They want “a community rail partnership” based on a UK model, which would mean Iarnród Éireann continuing to run the trains but allowing “the local authorities and local communities” to assist in promoting and marketing the service.
Mayor of Wexford Joe Ryan (Lab) called on the authority to “reject the closure application”.
He accused Iarnród Éireann of being “all over the place” and claimed its submission supporting the closure contained “flawed” data. Iarnród Éireann has proposed replacing the railway service with a daily bus service.
