Direct Dun Laoghaire London Train Service Finished
by Ro
(London)
Where have all the foot passengers gone?
The oldest named rail route in the world was the Irish Mail, running from Euston in London to Dun Laoghaire in south County Dublin via Holyhead. It was established in 1848.
In 2009, it ended; there is now no direct train service to London Euston via Holyhead, and no service at all in the opposite direction.
I have to travel regularly between London and Dublin, and several years ago I switched from flying to train and ferry from London Euston to Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire, which is just a short bus ride away from my destination in Dublin.
Not only is this better for the environment, and not very much longer door to door than flying, but much more pleasant than hanging around airports for hours.
The train is comfortable, the scenery beautiful..
I've been telling people for years to make the switch from budget flights.
As these flights become more and more expensive and less and less comfortable, and as people become more environmentally aware, the need for an alternative has never been greater.
Now that alternative has been taken away, and day trips between Holyhead and Dun Laoghaire are also gone, with implications for trade and commerce in those two great ferry ports.
Ferry journeys from Holyhead are now almost exclusively into Dublin Port.
Not only is this hugely inconvenient for foot passengers, unlike Dun Laoghaire ferry port which is right beside train and bus links, but it funnels lorries and cars into the already overcrowded streets in the centre of Dublin.
More short-haul flights, more road traffic in city centres.. Progress? I don't think so.
And, in my case, one fewer visitor to Holyhead, alas.
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