‘Death trap’ trains still run in Wexford
August 1987
Timber framed carriages which are in use on the two rail lines through County Wexford have been branded ‘death traps’ by a leading politician.
But just as Senator Seamus Cullimore launched a stinging attack on the national rail company, accusing them of deliberately neglecting Wexford, the firm announced the new ‘super trains’ would be on the Dublin-Rosslare line within six months.
The two lines into Rosslare (to Dublin and to Limerick, via Waterford) are currently the only ones in the country which carry the old-style Park Royal carriages. Six years ago, the report into the Buttevant Rail Disaster, where 18 people were killed and more than 70 injured, singled out these carriages as a main contributor to those deaths and injuries, and recommended that they be replaced at the earliest opportunity.
They have since been taken off all rail lines in the country except those serving Co. Wexford. This week Senator Cullimore said it was ‘a disgrace’ that the worst rolling stock in Ireland was being used on the busy tourist route to Rosslare.
‘We have the oldest carriages in the country and it’s just not good enough,’ he said. ‘It creates a terrible first impression of Ireland for visitors who have just arrived. Also, if an accident similar to that on the Waterford-Dublin line on Monday morning happened with these older carriages on the Rosslare instead, there would be very serious consequences. The wooden carriages would just crumble.’
He said that when he visited Rosslare on Tuesday evening, every single carriage on each of the three trains he saw was wooden and more than 30 years old. Only the guard’s carriages were made of steel.
This week, Irish Rail admitted they are unhappy with the quality of carriages on the line. ‘Obviously we would like to have better carriages and we will replace them as soon as possible, as we have an ongoing programme,’ said a spokesman.
He predicted that the Dublin-Rosslare line will have new air conditioned ‘super trains’ within six months, and said the Rosslare-Limerick line will get them ‘at some stage’ too.