Later trains set to serve Kilkenny on Dublin - Waterford line

Kilkenny commuters received welcome news last week when Irish Rail announced that they’re on track to roll out additional evening train services in August.

Until now, the latest train going further south than Carlow Town left Heuston station at 6.35pm.

With new carriage sets now coming on track, the extra capacity these are allowing has opened up the possibility for these new services.

The new timetable proposes an additional late Dublin - Waterford service in each direction between Monday and Saturday, as well as an additional train service on Sunday.

The existing 8.15pm Dublin-Carlow service that runs Monday to Saturday will be deferred to 8.20pm and also extended to serve Muine Bheag, Kilkenny, Thomastown and Waterford.

As well as that, the existing 9.37pm Carlow-Dublin Heuston that runs Monday to Saturday will soon depart from Waterford instead at 8.20pm and serve Thomastown, Kilkenny and Muine Bheag on the way to Dublin.

Also planned is an additional service each way Dublin-Waterford-Dublin on Sundays bringing Sunday service levels to five in each direction.

The news was welcomed by Cllr Pat Fitzpatrick who thanked Irish Rail for addressing the need for later services, but the councillor is also calling for an additional early service from Kilkenny to Waterford to follow.

“It’s great that Irish Rail are taking our feedback into account but we also need an additional early service for students and commuters,” he said.

“I’m also calling on Irish Rail to provide additional parking around MacDonagh Train Station and hope that they will consider extending the platform in Kilkenny to accommodate more carriages,” he added.

“I know many people from North Kilkenny will commute into the city and take the train down in the morning for various reasons so we have to ensure the facilities are there for them.”

MEP Grace O’Sullivan said that the additional services have been ‘a long time coming for the people of the South-East, who may have had to cut short their time in Dublin to make the last train home’.

“The eventual goal on this line is to have a minimum hourly frequency, and I’m delighted that this was the agreed goal laid out in the All Island Strategic Rail Review published last year,” she added.

Green Party TD Malcolm Noonan said that these enhancements to the existing service ‘will give more people greater freedom to move around on the weekends, to travel not just to Dublin but Waterford as well, and to enjoy more of what our region has to offer’.

The planned timetable alterations are due to come into effect from August 25 and has invited the public to submit feedback to Irish Rail in advance of the finalisation of the new timetable.

Full draft timetables, and the consultation feedback form are available here.