Transport in Waterford
This article deals with transport in Waterford city in Ireland. The city is connected by road, rail, bus, air and sea. There are currently proposals for a bus rapid transit (BRT) system, consisting of bus trams, or streetcars, to be used in future.
Contents
Rail
| Regional Rail Services from Waterford | |
|---|---|
Rail services in Waterford are provided by Iarnród Éireann, Ireland's national railway system. Rail services run from Plunkett Station Waterford. The station is located across Rice Bridge on the North side of the city. Services are provided to Dublin, Limerick, Rosslare Europort, Kilkenny, Clonmel. Freight services are also provided to Dublin, Port of Waterford and Rosslare Europort
There are seven daily services to Dublin including an express service which departs at 07:10 and takes 1 hour 50 minutes. Other services take around 2 Hours 10 Minutes. On Sundays there are four services.
There are two daily services to Limerick Junction via Clonmel. All services connect with Limerick, Cork (city), Ennis and Galway.
There used to be one daily service to Rosslare Europort. The service connected with Stena Line and Irish Ferries sailings to Fishguard and Pembroke Dock in the UK respectively. This rail service ceased after the operation of the evening train on Saturday 18 September 2010.[1] It was replaced by a revised Bus Éireann Route 370 service from 20 September 2010. However this bus service does not serve Waterford Railway Station [2]
The 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Waterford & Suir Valley Railway[3] follows 8.5 km of the old Waterford to Dungarvan - Cork route on a narrow gauge line. It is a heritage route that runs between Waterford and Kilmeaden. The panoramic views from this line are considered to be exceptional.
Coach
Eurolines Coach route 890 operates from the tourist office.
| Number | Locations Served | |
|---|---|---|
| 890 | Pembroke Dock, Kilgetty, Carmarthen, Pont Abraham, Cardiff, Bristol, Reading and London Victoria Coach Station |
Bus
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Bus Éireann and JJ Kavanagh & Sons provide bus services around Waterford city centre and to other towns and cities in Ireland. All regional bus services depart from the Waterford Bus Station on the quay and city centre services run throughout the city.
Planning for Bus lanes in the city centre are at an early stage and bus lanes will be on Parnell Street, Manor Street, The Mall, and the South Quays. A bus lane will be in each direction. On street parking will be removed from Parnell Street to facilitate the lanes. This is part of the city centre green plan.[4]
Bus Éireann City services
| Number | Route |
|---|---|
| 601 | Clock Tower - WIT - Ballybeg |
| 602 | Patrick Street - Saint John's Park - Avondale |
| 603 | Clock Tower - Brown's Road - WIT (and serves Ballybeg after 18:00) |
| 604 | Clock Tower - Logloss |
| 605 | University Hospital Waterford - Clock Tower - Hillview |
J. J. Kavanagh & Sons Waterford City Service
| Number | Route |
|---|---|
| 607 | Tesco Ardkeen - Williamstown Road - Ballygunner - Dunmore Road - Clock Tower - Train Station - Newrath - Rockshire Road - Ferrybank - Abbey Park |
| 617 | Ballygunner - Dunmore Road - Clock Tower - Train Station - Ferrybank - Slieverue |
| 627 | Ballygunner - Dunmore Road - Clock Tower - Train Station - Ferrybank - Abbey Park |
Bus Éireann Regional services
| Number | Route |
|---|---|
| 4/X4 | New Ross - Waterford - Carlow - Dublin - Dublin Airport |
| 40 | Waterford - New Ross - Wexford - Rosslare Europort - (east) |
| 40 | Waterford - Dungarvan - Youghal - Cork - Killarney - Tralee (west) |
| 55 | Waterford - Clonmel - Limerick - Shannon Airport |
| 73 | Waterford - Athlone - Longford |
| 360/A | Waterford - Tramore |
| 362 | Waterford - Kilmacthomas - Dungarvan |
| 365 | Waterford - Thomastown |
| 366 | Waterford - Cappoquin - Lismore |
| 367 | Waterford - Carrick-on-Suir, Clonmel |
| 370 | Waterford - New Ross − Campile - Duncannon − Wellingtonbridge - Wexford - Rosslare Strand - Rosslare Europort |
| 371 | Waterford - New Ross - Adamstown |
J. J. Kavanagh & Sons
| Number | Route |
|---|---|
| 736 | Waterford - Carlow - Dublin - Dublin Airport |
| --- | (WIT) - Thurles - Roscrea - Cashel - Clonmel - Nenagh |
Dublin Coach
| Number | Route |
|---|---|
| 600 | Waterford - Kilkenny - Dublin |
Suir Way Regional services
| Number | Route |
|---|---|
| 611 | Waterford - Dunmore East |
| 608 | Waterford - Passage East |
| 609 | Waterford - Portlaw |
Roads
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Over the last number of years the road network in Waterford have improved greatly. The city is connected to Cork, Dublin, Kilkenny, Dungarvan, Limerick, Wexford, Rosslare Europort and Clonmel and Tramore.
On 19 October 2009 the N25 Waterford City Bypass opened. The route consists of 23 km of High Quality Dual Carriageway as well as 14 km of Single carriageway and a second crossing over the River Suir. The road was designed as a Toll Road.[5][6]
On 22 March 2010 a section of the M9 opened as part of the new Motorway linking Waterford with Dublin. The final section between Carlow and Knocktopher was opened on September 9, 2010, which completed construction of the 116.5 km route.[7] Journey times have been cut between Kilkenny, Carlow and Dublin.[8]
In 2007 the R710 outer ring road opened. The road is a dual-carriageway which connects Ardkeen with the Butterstown roundabout which connects to all major primary routes from Waterford. The main airport road is also connected. The R709 forms the Inner Ring Road around the south of the inner city. The airport is located on the R708 road which can be accessed from the R710 outer ring road.
| Road | Route | E-Route |
|---|---|---|
 |
Kilkenny - Carlow - Dublin | --- |
 |
Clonmel - Tipperary - Limerick | --- |
 |
New Ross - Wexford - Rosslare Europort (east) | E-30 |
|
Dungarvan - Youghal - Cork (west) | E-30 |
 |
Waterford City - Port of Waterford | --- |
Cycling
Waterford City Council are in the early stages of planning to have Cycle tracks in the city centre as part of the city centre green plan. There are other cycle tracks in the city but they are not in the main city centre. The new cycle lanes will be on Parnell Street, Manor Street, The Mall, and the South Quays. There will be a lane in each direction.
In July 2010 Waterford City Council have started to put cycle lanes around the city. Currently there is a cycle lane in both directions on the Cork road. They start from Ballybeg and contuine into the city centre. There are also lanes being put on the quays.
Waterford Port
Port of Waterford is located in Belview on the N29 on the north bank of the River Suir. The Port is the closest to mainland Europe from Ireland. Waterford Port is one of the busiest ports in Ireland.
The port is very important for tourism in Waterford. Between April and September 2010 25 Cruise Ships will dock in Dunmore East, Waterford Port and the quay in Waterford City Centre.[9] In September 2008 a new 190-metre quay was built that cost €11 million.
In 2008 the port of Waterford handled 2.5 million tons of cargo passed through the port.
The port hosted the Tall Ships race in 2005 and will do so again in June 2011.
The closest passenger port is Rosslare Europort in County Wexford [10] (72 km (45 miles) away by road), which has services to Fishguard, Pembroke Dock, Cherbourg, Roscoff and Le Havre.
Air
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Waterford Airport is located 9 km south-east of Waterford. The airport serves Waterford and the south east region. VLM is currently the only carrier operating out of the airport. The airport provides routes to fly between Waterford and London Luton and Birmingham in the UK.
There is an air sea rescue service operating out of Waterford Airport from a dedicated Irish Coastguard base.[11] This operation is currently contracted to a private operator, CHC Ireland. Rescue cover is provided by a Sikorsky S-61. A reserve S-61 helicopter is also based here.
See also
References
- ↑ http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/general_news.asp?action=view&news_id=900
- ↑ http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1284376415-370.pdf
- ↑ The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway Official Homepage
- ↑ http://www.waterford-today.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4245&Itemid=10359&ed=413
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.nra.ie/News/PressReleases/htmltext,17283,en.html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Rosslare Europort official homepage
- ↑ CHC Ireland
External links
- Bus Eireann
- Irish Rail
- JJ Kavanagh
- Port of Waterford
- Suir Way
- Waterford Airport
- South Tipperary Rail & Bus Website(Waterford-Clonmel-Limerick Junction)
.jpg){kind=link}
