Rail firm under fire over revamp

THE Green Party in Waterford has accused Iarnród Éireann of abandoning a transport plan for the city by pressing ahead with a proposal to upgrade the existing railway station.

A study earlier in the decade recommended the development of a major new transport hub, involving rail and bus services, on the north quays to the east of Plunkett Station.

However, Iarnród Eireann has secured planning from Waterford City Council to renovate the station. This is under appeal to An Bord Pleanála by An Taisce and Brendan McCann of the local Green Party branch.

Mr McCann said: “The new rail platform would be linked with the city centre, within walking distance, and the overall transport strategy envisaged that, at the edge of the city, there would be a park and ride facility.”

The latter would link up with a bus service along the N25 and also serve the new rail hub in the city centre. “The bus service was meant to interchange with this new platform at the north quays,” said Mr McCann.

A decision on the Plunkett Station appeal is expected in the autumn.

A spokeswoman for Iarnród Éireann said yesterday that the transport interchange wasn’t in the city council’s most recent development plan, and that the company was “very happy” the station redevelopment would go ahead.