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Very poor train and ferry connections at Rosslare Harbour in Ireland.

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Flying Snail

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I think Pembroke Dock is still very convenient. It is only a very short and easy fifteen minutes walk between the railway station and the ferry terminal. I know the railway station and the ferry terminal are not right next to each other like at Fishguard Harbour but it is still almost as easy and convenient.

A 15 min walk that someone without local knowledge or a map would easily get lost on is not almost as convenient as a same building connection. Anyway a 15 minute walk is not much good when there are no connecting trains.

Also it is not a recognised connection so unlike Fishguard where every ferry has a corresponding train the connections at Pembroke are poor and any delays on one mode will not be accommodated by the other, this is a particular issue with the IF service as it has tight turnarounds due to the longer crossing so is less able to recover delays. This may be the only scenario where the long waits for a connection at Fishguard are useful

At Fishguard the connections in both directions are all around 1h. At Pembroke the connections are slightly longer.

22.24 weekdays (21.36 Sun) for the 02.45 ferry and 12.20 weekdays (11.41 Sun) for the 14.45 ferry.

There is no train for the 00.45 ferry arrival, 7am Mon-Sat and 12pm Sunday, The 12.45 arrival won't make the 13.09 train so it is 15.09 or 16.25 on a Sunday.

Not all foot passengers use Sail Rail tickets. I have used both the Fishguard Harbour services and the Pembroke Dock services (and the Holyhead to Dublin services as well) quite a few times before and have always just bought my train tickets and ferry tickets separately on the day.

Unless you are a priv holder then you are likely spending more than you need to by doing that.

A Sail Rail can be as cheap as a standalone ferry foot passenger fare and is certainly cheaper than many standalone rail fares for long distance journeys to/from the Welsh ports, it is far cheaper than combining separate tickets in all but the most extreme cases.
 
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A 15 min walk that someone without local knowledge or a map would easily get lost on is not almost as convenient as a same building connection. Anyway a 15 minute walk is not much good when there are no connecting trains.

Also it is not a recognised connection so unlike Fishguard where every ferry has a corresponding train the connections at Pembroke are poor and any delays on one mode will not be accommodated by the other, this is a particular issue with the IF service as it has tight turnarounds due to the longer crossing so is less able to recover delays. This may be the only scenario where the long waits for a connection at Fishguard are useful

At Fishguard the connections in both directions are all around 1h. At Pembroke the connections are slightly longer.

22.24 weekdays (21.36 Sun) for the 02.45 ferry and 12.20 weekdays (11.41 Sun) for the 14.45 ferry.

There is no train for the 00.45 ferry arrival, 7am Mon-Sat and 12pm Sunday, The 12.45 arrival won't make the 13.09 train so it is 15.09 or 16.25 on a Sunday.



Unless you are a priv holder then you are likely spending more than you need to by doing that.

A Sail Rail can be as cheap as a standalone ferry foot passenger fare and is certainly cheaper than many standalone rail fares for long distance journeys to/from the Welsh ports, it is far cheaper than combining separate tickets in all but the most extreme cases.

I do see your point. The Fishguard Harbour option is generally more convenient than the Pembroke Dock option. However i wouldn't really say that this route is inconvenient. The first time that i did this route i found it fairly easy to find my way to walk between the railway station and the ferry terminal. And nowadays most people have Google Maps on their smartphone or there are usually people you can ask for directions. The connections between the trains and ferries are probably the main thing that makes the Fishguard Harbour option is a bit more convenient than the Pemboke Dock option.

Aren't Sail Rail tickets advance tickets? I think you have to book them in advance and get restricted to a certain train? Personally i always completely avoid purchasing advance tickets and always just turn up at the station and purchase train tickets and ferry tickets on the day (from a ticket office or from a Guard) no matter how far i am travelling. I don't like being restricted to certain trains or TOCs or routes. I prefer to just turn up at the station and decide on the day whichever trains i wish to take (it just makes it much easier and flexible and you don't have to worry about being restricted to a certain train). And i also very often like to break my journey as well. But for people who don't mind buying advance tickets then it is indeed probably cheaper.
 

radamfi

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Aren't Sail Rail tickets advance tickets? I think you have to book them in advance and get restricted to a certain train? Personally i always completely avoid purchasing advance tickets and always just turn up at the station and purchase train tickets and ferry tickets on the day (from a ticket office or from a Guard) no matter how far i am travelling. I don't like being restricted to certain trains or TOCs or routes. I prefer to just turn up at the station and decide on the day whichever trains i wish to take (it just makes it much easier and flexible and you don't have to worry about being restricted to a certain train). And i also very often like to break my journey as well. But for people who don't mind buying advance tickets then it is indeed probably cheaper.

You can get SailRail Advance or SailRail Standby. SailRail Standby doesn't require a reservation for the train but it does require one for the ferry. You can buy it on the day.

https://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/SailRail/FAQs/
 

Bungle965

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I do see your point. The Fishguard Harbour option is generally more convenient than the Pembroke Dock option. However i wouldn't really say that this route is inconvenient. The first time that i did this route i found it fairly easy to find my way to walk between the railway station and the ferry terminal. And nowadays most people have Google Maps on their smartphone or there are usually people you can ask for directions. The connections between the trains and ferries are probably the main thing that makes the Fishguard Harbour option is a bit more convenient than the Pemboke Dock option.

Aren't Sail Rail tickets advance tickets? I think you have to book them in advance and get restricted to a certain train? Personally i always completely avoid purchasing advance tickets and always just turn up at the station and purchase train tickets and ferry tickets on the day (from a ticket office or from a Guard) no matter how far i am travelling. I don't like being restricted to certain trains or TOCs or routes. I prefer to just turn up at the station and decide on the day whichever trains i wish to take (it just makes it much easier and flexible and you don't have to worry about being restricted to a certain train). And i also very often like to break my journey as well. But for people who don't mind buying advance tickets then it is indeed probably cheaper.
I didn't think that you could get a Standby off the guard?
Sam
 

berneyarms

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I do see your point. The Fishguard Harbour option is generally more convenient than the Pembroke Dock option. However i wouldn't really say that this route is inconvenient. The first time that i did this route i found it fairly easy to find my way to walk between the railway station and the ferry terminal. And nowadays most people have Google Maps on their smartphone or there are usually people you can ask for directions. The connections between the trains and ferries are probably the main thing that makes the Fishguard Harbour option is a bit more convenient than the Pemboke Dock option.

Aren't Sail Rail tickets advance tickets? I think you have to book them in advance and get restricted to a certain train? Personally i always completely avoid purchasing advance tickets and always just turn up at the station and purchase train tickets and ferry tickets on the day (from a ticket office or from a Guard) no matter how far i am travelling. I don't like being restricted to certain trains or TOCs or routes. I prefer to just turn up at the station and decide on the day whichever trains i wish to take (it just makes it much easier and flexible and you don't have to worry about being restricted to a certain train). And i also very often like to break my journey as well. But for people who don't mind buying advance tickets then it is indeed probably cheaper.

Let's be honest here - how many people are going to want that level of flexibility in terms of planning such a trip?

The vast vast majority are going to want to travel on a particular sailing, and as such plan their trip accordingly.

That's before you take into account the price difference.

A couple of examples:

Fares for Rail/Sail from Euston to Dublin via Holyhead are £51 (Standby) or £46 (Advance) for example- buying separate rail and ferry tickets would cost over double that (£97 for an off-peak single and £31 for the conventional ferry).

Fares for Rail/Sail from Paddington to Rosslare are £48 (Standby) or £41 (Advance). Separate tickets would cost £67.50 off-peak single and £40 for the ferry.

Why would anyone pay those kind of fares unnecessarily for such a trip?

I find it somewhat ironic that you are prepared to criticise people for example in another thread for using Heathrow Express travelling to/from Heathrow, yet you are prepared to pay a significant premium unnecessarily for a trip such as this.

At the same time, most people will not want to traipse around Pembroke Dock for 15 minutes (with luggage) when they can have a direct transfer from ship to train at Fishguard.

The Standby fare is available from booking offices on the day of travel incidentally.

While it is correct that Sail/Rail tickets do not allow break of journey (except for connections), again I -can't see that being an issue except for a very small number of travellers.

Your examples are far from representative of the vast majority of travellers to be honest about it. It does really sound like you're coming up with problems for the sake of it.
 

reb0118

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I didn't think that you could get a Standby off the guard?
Sam
I sell you one. It's rare but it does happen. You will however also be "issued" with a caveat. That without a reservation for the ferry your conveyance is not guaranteed.

In the real world however you're 99.9% likely to board with no problems.
 
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Its all about personal preference. Some people might prefer Fishguard Harbour to Pembroke Dock because they don't have to have a fifteen minutes walk. But other people (like myself) wont mind either option. I have done both options before and personally find them almost as convenient as each other.

I always buy the cheapest possible tickets as long as you can buy it on the day and it is not an advance ticket and it allows a break of journey. What i said in the other thread about Heathrow Express is completely different as there are cheaper options available to buy on the day (such as the Heathrow Connect services and the Piccadilly Line services). And the Heathrow Express is ridiculously overpriced.

What i have always done at the moment is buy normal train tickets from the Guard (as my local station has no tickets offices or TVMs) or from a ticket office if i use a different station. And then buy a ferry ticket at the ferry terminal when i arrive. This seems to be the most convenient option for me.

I wasn't aware that standby Sail Rail tickets were available though. So if you purchase the standby Sail Rail ticket on the day does this allow you to take any train and any route that you want from your starting station to the ferry port station? And does that also allow you to break your journey as well?
 

berneyarms

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Its all about personal preference. Some people might prefer Fishguard Harbour to Pembroke Dock because they don't have to have a fifteen minutes walk. But other people (like myself) wont mind either option. I have done both options before and personally find them almost as convenient as each other.

I always buy the cheapest possible tickets as long as you can buy it on the day and it is not an advance ticket and it allows a break of journey. What i said in the other thread about Heathrow Express is completely different as there are cheaper options available to buy on the day (such as the Heathrow Connect services and the Piccadilly Line services). And the Heathrow Express is ridiculously overpriced.

What i have always done at the moment is buy normal train tickets from the Guard (as my local station has no tickets offices or TVMs) or from a ticket office if i use a different station. And then buy a ferry ticket at the ferry terminal when i arrive. This seems to be the most convenient option for me.

I wasn't aware that standby Sail Rail tickets were available though. So if you purchase the standby Sail Rail ticket on the day does this allow you to take any train and any route that you want from your starting station to the ferry port station? And does that also allow you to break your journey as well?

With respect - you're an exceptionally unusual case and totally unrepresentative of the vast majority of passengers who frankly want a trip that is direct and avoids long walks around towns en route.

Sail/Rail tickets do not allow break of journey - but again how many people are going to want that when making a trip to/from Ireland?

If you're happy to unnecessarily pay way over the odds as I have highlighted, then frankly you really cannot criticise others who choose to use services like Heathrow Express. That's down to personal preference too. Sail/Rail is available on the day as already mentioned.
 
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THC

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A very informative thread, thanks to the OP and everyone who has made it so. :)

A propos of nothing at all, I'm travelling from Waterford to Birmingham at the end of this month via Rosslare, Fishguard and the Heart of Wales line. Waterford to Rosslare would once have been easy enough by train but this time I'll be going via Dublin for the spin rather than face the (admittedly direct) bus. Because of the awkward ferry times, and the fact that I want to avoid a night sailing (did this every summer as a child when heading back to family in Sligo and/or Cork) or a six-hour wait at Fishguard Harbour station, I'll be staying in Rosslare on the first night and Goodwick on the second. Might take a while but I'm almost as excited about the journey back as I am a trip to the old country... :D

THC
 
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krus_aragon

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Fair point. It's the day connections that are non existent, but ISTR even in the days of boat trains from London the night boat was the busier.

I find it interesting that the night ferry connection at Fishguard/Rosslare has been maintained better than the day, whereas arriving on the night ferry at Holyhead now leads to a four hour fester on the platform.
 

Flying Snail

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A very informative thread, thanks to the OP and everyone who has made it so. :)

A propos of nothing at all, I'm travelling from Waterford to Birmingham at the end of this month via Rosslare, Fishguard and the Heart of Wales line. Waterford to Rosslare would once have been easy enough by train but this time I'll be going via Dublin for the spin rather than face the (admittedly direct) bus. Because of the awkward ferry times, and the fact that I want to avoid a night sailing (did this every summer as a child when heading back to family in Sligo and/or Cork) or a six-hour wait at Fishguard Harbour station, I'll be staying in Rosslare on the first night and Goodwick on the second.

I don't know where you have gotten that idea from but I assure you there is no 6 hour wait at Fishguard to/from any sailing. The Sunday day sailing has a 2 hour wait with the inbounnd train arriving only 30mns before the sailing departs, every other connection is in the 1h-1h20 region.
 

Flying Snail

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I find it interesting that the night ferry connection at Fishguard/Rosslare has been maintained better than the day, whereas arriving on the night ferry at Holyhead now leads to a four hour fester on the platform.

Fishguard has thankfully kept all of it's connections, when the fastcraft ran an additional sailing on the route there was no rail connection for it and a few years ago Stena pulled their sailings for several weeks for Stena Europe's scheduled drydock but apart from that the connections have been maintained very well. No HSTs anymore sadly.

You are correct about the Holyhead overnight connection, it hadn't been great for a long time, for many years there was a 2 hour wait with First North Western and then Virgin to Birmingham in time for the first New Street - Euston train until Virgin cancelled it leaving the current unacceptably long wait.

The only progress is that Stena now take foot passengers on their second ferry and (as long as you can make your own way to the ferry terminal) the 02.15 sailing from Dublin is a much better option for sail rail passengers with a Cardiff and direct London service as connections from it.

In the other direction ATW intentionally timed forward the previous connection to miss the ferries for their own reasons. I did see some BS excuse given about anti-social behaviour from drunken ferry bound passengers but the current non-connecting trains are less than pleasant with locals returning from Chester particularly at weekends.

Really what business does a 00.40 departure have from Chester if it is not a ferry connection? Very few other lines have services that late and in the opposite direction the latest service from Holyhead is at 20.30
 

THC

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I don't know where you have gotten that idea from but I assure you there is no 6 hour wait at Fishguard to/from any sailing. The Sunday day sailing has a 2 hour wait with the inbounnd train arriving only 30mns before the sailing departs, every other connection is in the 1h-1h20 region.

There is in order to connect into a daytime trip up the Heart of Wales line. I'll be on the 0750 from Fishguard, changing at Llanelli at 0930-ish.

THC
 

Greenback

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Its all about personal preference. Some people might prefer Fishguard Harbour to Pembroke Dock because they don't have to have a fifteen minutes walk. But other people (like myself) wont mind either option. I have done both options before and personally find them almost as convenient as each other.

Some wont have the luxury of personal preference. Mobility issues, luggage, chidlren in tow or perhaps soemthing else may mean that an interchange like that at Fishguard Harbour is the only realistic option.

Choice is great, but some people don't always have a choice.
 

Groningen

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I found the Dublin - Rossleare - Fishguard - London connection better than the London - Holyhead - Dublin route i took in January. It is still better than the Calais - Dover both ways. Maybe later i talk about that. Trauma!
 
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Some wont have the luxury of personal preference. Mobility issues, luggage, chidlren in tow or perhaps soemthing else may mean that an interchange like that at Fishguard Harbour is the only realistic option.

Choice is great, but some people don't always have a choice.

I agree with your point and fully understand that Fishguard Harbour may be more convenient than Pembroke Dock for some people such as what you have mentioned. However what i am saying for some other people they wont mind. There may even be some people that prefer Pembroke Dock to Fishguard Harbour for some reason.
 

berneyarms

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I agree with your point and fully understand that Fishguard Harbour may be more convenient than Pembroke Dock for some people such as what you have mentioned. However what i am saying for some other people they wont mind. There may even be some people that prefer Pembroke Dock to Fishguard Harbour for some reason.

The numbers for whom Pembroke Dock would be more convenient than Fishguard will be miniscule in number - I am struggling to understand your logic here.

There are no night time rail connections, no direct port/rail connection and instead a 15 minute walk, a longer ferry journey, a longer rail journey, and as a result an overall journey time that is much longer, e.g. from Cardiff, a minimum of two and a half hours longer.

Take your enthusiast hat off and start looking at this as a commercial prospect - it isn't going to be a runner compared with the Fishguard route.

Your notion of what is convenient and what most people's notion of what is convenient I suspect are rather different. Clearly the rail and shipping companies take the majority view as it is not considered as a Sail/Rail route.

Pembroke Dock is more suited to vehicular traffic due to it being closer to the start of the M4 than Fishguard.
 

jopsuk

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with Pembroke v fishguard, is there history here? the old GWR promoted the Fishguard route. As a Stena route, I'm guessing it was run by Sealink in BR days? Has Pembroke ever had a history of sensible connections?
 

berneyarms

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with Pembroke v fishguard, is there history here? the old GWR promoted the Fishguard route. As a Stena route, I'm guessing it was run by Sealink in BR days? Has Pembroke ever had a history of sensible connections?

Rosslare-Fishguard is the traditional rail/ferry route to and from Ireland.

Ferry services only started at Pembroke only started in the 1980s and I have never been aware of any effort to promote it as a rail/sail route due to the longer journey times and the lack of any direct rail connection to the ferry terminal.

As I posted above - its usefulness is that it is closer to the start of the M4 than Fishguard.
 

Greenback

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I agree with your point and fully understand that Fishguard Harbour may be more convenient than Pembroke Dock for some people such as what you have mentioned. However what i am saying for some other people they wont mind. There may even be some people that prefer Pembroke Dock to Fishguard Harbour for some reason.

Yes, there might be, but I don't understand why :lol:

Could the attraction be having a look around Pembroke Dock, perhaps? I dislike the place myself, it has no appeal for me.

The trains don't seem to have very good connections with the ferries either, given the distance between the two and the ferry check in times.

As you say, each to their own. It would be interesting to see a comparison of the foot passenger numbers for each route. I believe that Eurolines uses this route rather than Fishguard, which will probably boost them a bit. I remember taking the mv Julia in 2010 betwen Swansea and Cork. My wife and I were the only two foot passengers being shuttled to the ship! Everything was set up for vehicle traffic, and I put Pembroke Dock into the same category.
 
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Yes, there might be, but I don't understand why :lol:

Could the attraction be having a look around Pembroke Dock, perhaps? I dislike the place myself, it has no appeal for me.

The trains don't seem to have very good connections with the ferries either, given the distance between the two and the ferry check in times.

As you say, each to their own. It would be interesting to see a comparison of the foot passenger numbers for each route. I believe that Eurolines uses this route rather than Fishguard, which will probably boost them a bit. I remember taking the mv Julia in 2010 betwen Swansea and Cork. My wife and I were the only two foot passengers being shuttled to the ship! Everything was set up for vehicle traffic, and I put Pembroke Dock into the same category.

I have been to Ireland via Rosslare eight times and have done both routes four times each (i tend to alternate between each route every time i go to Ireland so i get a bit more variety). And what i definitely noticed each time is that Fishguard Harbour route definitely had more foot passengers than Pembroke Dock does so i agree with you on that. However whilst Fishguard Harbour gets more than Pembroke Dock neither route seems to have very large numbers of foot passengers. You certainly never get large crowds of foot passengers on either route.

Do Irish Ferries and Stena Line publish their usage statistics? I cant seem to find them? I would also be interested to see the exact statistics for both foot passengers and vehicle passengers for both routes.

Passengers who live in the Pembroke Dock / Pembroke / Lamphey / Manobier / Penally / Tenby / Saundersfoot / Kilgetty / Narbeth areas are certainly going to find Pembroke Dock far more useful and convenient than Fishguard Harbour is. Similarly passengers who live in the Fishguard Harbour / Fishguard & Goodwick / Clarbeston Road / Clunderwen areas are certainly going to find Fishguard Harbour far more convenient than Pembroke Dock is.

As for the many passengers who are coming from longer distances its worth noting that Pembroke Dock has direct trains to and from a lot more places than Fishguard Harbour does. So many passengers might prefer it as they wont have to change trains.

I never knew there was a Swansea to Cork ferry! Does this still operate at the moment?
 

berneyarms

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I have been to Ireland via Rosslare eight times and have done both routes four times each (i tend to alternate between each route every time i go to Ireland so i get a bit more variety). And what i definitely noticed each time is that Fishguard Harbour route definitely had more foot passengers than Pembroke Dock does so i agree with you on that. However whilst Fishguard Harbour gets more than Pembroke Dock neither route seems to have very large numbers of foot passengers. You certainly never get large crowds of foot passengers on either route.

Do Irish Ferries and Stena Line publish their usage statistics? I cant seem to find them? I would also be interested to see the exact statistics for both foot passengers and vehicle passengers for both routes.

Passengers who live in the Pembroke Dock / Pembroke / Lamphey / Manobier / Penally / Tenby / Saundersfoot / Kilgetty / Narbeth areas are certainly going to find Pembroke Dock far more useful and convenient than Fishguard Harbour is. Similarly passengers who live in the Fishguard Harbour / Fishguard & Goodwick / Clarbeston Road / Clunderwen areas are certainly going to find Fishguard Harbour far more convenient than Pembroke Dock is.

As for the many passengers who are coming from longer distances its worth noting that Pembroke Dock has direct trains to and from a lot more places than Fishguard Harbour does. So many passengers might prefer it as they wont have to change trains.

I never knew there was a Swansea to Cork ferry! Does this still operate at the moment?

Let's not get carried away here - the numbers of potential sail/rail in those areas are minuscule. Let's be realistic - that's looking at this with exceptionally rose tinted glasses and not even remotely thinking commercially.

Also the daytime boat trains to/from Fishguard operate from Newport and to Cardiff bypassing Swansea. The night time boat trains connect directly into and out of a GWR HST at Swansea. I'd hardly call that offering poor connections at all.

You are kidding yourself if you can possibly think of justifying Pembroke Dock as a viable sail/rail route - it's a nonsense. Just looking at the "connections" between rail and ferry there and you will see that. I'm beginning to think you're just posting this kind of stuff for the sake of it.

There is a very small market left these days for sail/rail - the arrival of Ryanair and low cost air travel from Ireland to Britain pretty much rendered it a niche market - the vast majority of people fly nowadays.

As I mentioned above a rail connection at Rosslare out of the daytime Stena sailing is provided in the summer to Dublin to facilitate tourists but the numbers using it have been very small.

B & I Line operated Cork/Swansea for many years and then a new company operated it seasonally but it fell through.
 

berneyarms

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Yes, there might be, but I don't understand why :lol:

Could the attraction be having a look around Pembroke Dock, perhaps? I dislike the place myself, it has no appeal for me.

The trains don't seem to have very good connections with the ferries either, given the distance between the two and the ferry check in times.

As you say, each to their own. It would be interesting to see a comparison of the foot passenger numbers for each route. I believe that Eurolines uses this route rather than Fishguard, which will probably boost them a bit. I remember taking the mv Julia in 2010 betwen Swansea and Cork. My wife and I were the only two foot passengers being shuttled to the ship! Everything was set up for vehicle traffic, and I put Pembroke Dock into the same category.

You're correct - the Eurolines coach from Cork to London operates via Rosslare and Pembroke Dock - presumably for the reason I've already outlined - the shorter driving distance.

The companies aren't going to divulge passenger numbers as it's commercially sensitive information.
 

30907

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I never knew there was a Swansea to Cork ferry! Does this still operate at the moment?

It was running as far back as 1972, so predates Pembroke-Rosslare, but has had an on-off history. And on the Fastnet Line website it appears to be in OFF mode again.

Back to Fishguard: various comments on these forums suggest that a Class 150 is insufficient for the day boat connection in high season. I was on the Eastbound train from Llanelli midweek in August 2015 and noted 150+158 as moderately loaded (less than 50%). Can't prove the others were all ex Rosslare, but there was certainly plenty of baggage.
 
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Groningen

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In Rosslare i had also the chance to travel to Pembroke, but the connection in Fishguard to London seemed me to be better. I see that in Pembroke i had to wait untill 6.58 to catch a train to Cardiff. With a change there i would arrive 5 hours later compared with the route via Fishguard.
 

Greenback

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You certainly never get large crowds of foot passengers on either route.{/QUOTE]

Agreed! Foot passenger number son all routes are small percentage of what they used to be.

Passengers who live in the Pembroke Dock / Pembroke / Lamphey / Manobier / Penally / Tenby / Saundersfoot / Kilgetty / Narbeth areas are certainly going to find Pembroke Dock far more useful and convenient than Fishguard Harbour is.

Similarly passengers who live in the Fishguard Harbour / Fishguard & Goodwick / Clarbeston Road / Clunderwen areas are certainly going to find Fishguard Harbour far more convenient than Pembroke Dock is.

You are right, but I wonder how many people there are in either of these areas that would actually travel as a foot passenger to Ireland?

As for the many passengers who are coming from longer distances its worth noting that Pembroke Dock has direct trains to and from a lot more places than Fishguard Harbour does. So many passengers might prefer it as they wont have to change trains.

Almost all of the Pemrboke Dock trains run to and from Swansea. One or two begin and end at Carmarthen. I think there is one weekday service that makes it as far as Tenby from Manchester. Passengers for stations between Tenby and Pembroke Dock have to change.

There are the Saturday trains from London, but that's all I can think of, so I reckon that most long distance passengers will have to change somewhere to ge tto either Fishguard or Pembroke Dock. At least the day time trains to the former from Cardiff don't stop at every lamp post like the Pembroke Dock trains!

People are always goign to decide to use what they see as the best option for them. That might be speed, convenience comfort, cost or a combination of any or all of those things. I'm sur ethat there will be a minority who decide to use Pembroke Dock and Irish Ferries, but I think that the majorty of what is quite a small market will prefer Fishguard. (Prefer Fishguard is not a phrase I ever thought I'd type!)

I never knew there was a Swansea to Cork ferry! Does this still operate at the moment?

The ferry service was very regular when I was a lad in the 1970's. It wa sindeed operated by B & I. The ship used in those days was called the Innisfallen. I think it ended around 1989, but it was revived in 2009 in an attempt to stimulate the economies on both sides of the Irish Sea.

It was a mistake. There were problems in sourcing a vessel and the service proved to be economically unviable.
 

Billy A

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B & I ran a Cork/Swansea service until 1979 when they switched to Pembroke (shorter sea crossing). A different company took over the Swansea route from 1987 to 2006. There was then a gap until 2010 when the Julia ran the service in that year and 2011, at which point the owners pulled out due to high fuel prices. There are sadly no plans for any further services.
 

Hornet

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16 Jul 2013
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Stena Line has just announced a revised timetable on its Rosslare – Fishguard ferry service which will see customers enjoying a choice of three day time sailings and one extended overnight crossing from 22nd May.

Following the evaluation of extensive customer research and feedback, Stena Line reviewed the existing schedule and has decided to introduce three, more customer friendly 3 hour 15-minute day time crossings, making Rosslare – Fishguard the shortest and fastest crossing between Ireland and South Wales.

From Monday 22nd May, Stena Line will operate the following revised sailing schedule between Rosslare and Fishguard:

Departure Arrival Crossing Time

Rosslare Departure: 08:00 Arrival: 11:15 Crossing Time: 3hr15

Fishguard Departure: 13:10 Arrival: 16:25 Crossing Time: 3hr15

Rosslare Departure: 18:10 Arrival: 21:25 Crossing Time: 3hr15

Fishguard Departure: 23:45 Arrival: 04:00 Crossing Time: 4hr15*

Ian Davies, Stena Line’s Trade Director, Irish Sea South commented: “The new timetable will reduce the crossing times on some of our sailings by 15 mins and provide a greater choice of convenient sailing times and better arrival times. The recent investment in the Stena Europe ship has further enhanced our service offering for 2017, providing new opportunities which currently do not exist in the market for our travel and freight customers.”

Ian added: “We have conducted a lot of research and spoken with many of our freight and travel customers, listening to what they had to say about our current sailing timetable and ways in which we might improve the service in the future. We believe we have now addressed the points raised and our staff are constantly engaging with customers to ensure a smooth transition. In fact, we have already received positive feedback and believe that the vast majority of our customers will welcome these changes.”

http://news.stenaline.co.uk/pressre...ts-rosslare-fishguard-ferry-timetable-1893581
 
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