The Limerick–Rosslare Main Line was a railway route in the Republic of Ireland that linked the city of Limerick on the Atlantic coast with Rosslare Europort on the coast of the Irish Sea. It also serves the city of Waterford, and at it connects with the Dublin–Cork railway line. Since 2010 there has been no service between Waterford and Rosslare Europort, and all trains terminate at. Rosslare and Wexford have still at least 3 trains a day to Dublin, and Three Back. The line between Rosslare and Waterford has now been abandoned including the stations,.
History
Construction of the route was begun in 1848 for the Waterford and Limerick Railway and completed in 1854. It is one of the oldest railways in Ireland, and the first to have been authorised by the UK Parliament. The company was renamed the Waterford, Limerick and Western in 1896 and merged with the Great Southern and Western Railway in 1901. The section between Waterford and Rosslare section remains the property of the Fishguard & Rosslare Railways and Harbours Company, which is jointly owned by Iarnród Éireann and Stena Line. It is the only main line railway in the Republic not wholly owned by the State. The line's most notable feature on the line is the Cahir Viaduct across the River Suir in County Tipperary. It was built in 1852 and has three iron spans borne on stone abutments. The viaduct partly collapsed in 1955 and partly collapsed again in 2003. Iarnród Éireann renewed the viaduct at a cost of €2.6 million, and the line was reopened in September 2004. Train services have remained infrequent for more than 100 years. By 2003 the line was carrying fewer than 100 passengers a day. When IÉ reopened the line it introduced new railcars and a service of three journeys in each direction on weekdays, which was a greater service frequency than the line had for much of its history. There is no Sunday service. Between and Limerick Junction, trains between Limerick and Dublin also serve the line. The speed limit on much of the line is less than. In November 2016 it was announced that the section of the line between Limerick Junction and Waterford section may be closed in future along with the line linking and, part of the Wexford line, and the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line.
Waterford – Rosslare section
On 12 March 2010 it was announced that Iarnród Éireann would review the service between and because few passengers were using it. Ticket revenue met only 2% of the line's operating costs. About 25 passengers per day were by using the service. Timetabling was poor. There was only one train each way daily from Monday to Saturday, leaving Rosslare early in the morning and returning from Waterford early in the evening. The trains made very poor connections with other rail services. They connected with the Stena Line ferry service to and from Fishguard Harbour, but due to the poor onward connections at Waterford few passengers used this. The exception was during the volcanic ash crisis of 2010, when trains were fully loaded and had standing room only. The last train between Waterford and Rosslare ran on 18 September 2010. Iarnród Éireann provided a four-car 2700 classdiesel multiple unit for the service, instead of the usual two-car unit. The National Transport Authority requires IÉ to maintain the now-disused line. Bus Éireann revised the timetable and route of bus service 370 to offer alternative passenger transport from 20 September. Buses on the route are branded "370 Connect".
Notable incidents
In 1955 an out-of-control train crashed through the buffers in the loop at and fell through the deck of the viaduct. The driver and fireman were killed.
In 2003 a train of 22 cement wagons was derailed on the viaduct. The locomotive and driver safely crossed the bridge, but 13 of the wagons behind the locomotive fell through the deck of the bridge into the river. The Department of Transport's Interim Railway Safety Commission investigated the accident and found that timber supporting the rails was rotten, which may have allowed the rails to spread and the wagons to fall between the rails.
Services resumed in September 2004 with diesel railcars, but further engineering works dogged services, requiring frequent bus replacements of the train services.
In 2012 a young girl was hit and injured by a train near Tipperary Town which was travelling from Limerick Junction to Waterford. She was taken to hospital. No-one aboard the train was injured.
