Editorial: Kilkenny train station deserves better - when will investment be delivered?

The ongoing lack of investment into Kilkenny’s MacDonagh Railway Station is continuing to cause considerable inconvenience to commuters and those who wish to travel by rail.

The basic issues appear to centre around a lack of funding to carry out essential works.

There were celebrations, and rightly so, a number of years ago when MacDonagh Train Station was recognised as Ireland’s First Age Friendly Train Station. Additions such as two age-friendly parking spaces and the new connecting ramp to MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre, were welcome additions.

However, juxtapose that with a lift that has not been operational in 18 years, and jam-packed carriages with no available seats, and it’s easy to see why rail travel remains a non-runner for some older people or those with mobility issues.

There remains a capacity issue on the rail service between Heuston Station and Waterford, with Kilkenny being the problem. In 2009, the platform capacity was reduced to just six carriages.  It is hard to fathom why the Minister for Transport has not deemed the station worthy of funding to rectify this crippling restriction.

Anyone who has been on trains coming back from Dublin in the afternoon or early evening will be aware of how seriously overcrowded those services are —people standing right through the aisles of carriages, or hemmed in sitting on the floors blocking access and egress, nowhere to go.

It has been pointed out previously that visitors from the UK and mainland Europe are shocked when they first encounter our anaemic public transport system. If we are to be serious about giving people the option, a major upgrade of this type of basic infrastructure is paramount.

It is high time the Government commit to improving public transport and reducing our reliance on the private car. The best time to invest in public transport infrastructure was years ago; the second-best time is now.
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