Iarnród Éireann has announced that the number of rail journeys made on the Waterford to Dublin line has reached a record high.
There were 1.92 million journeys made on the intercity route last year, up from 1.74 million journeys the year previous.
It comes as Iarnród Éireann said 2025 was also a record year for the overall number of journeys taken across its Intercity, Commuter and DART network.
A total of 55.04 million journeys were recorded across these services last year, up from 2024's previous record of 50.7 million.
Iarnród Éireann CEO Mary Considine said last year's figures show an "appetite" amongst commuters and communities for "high quality and high capacity" public transport.
Ms Considine added: "As passenger volumes continue to grow in 2026, all of us charged with delivering public transport in Ireland must continue to expand our services to meet the demand which exists today and to help more commuters switch to public transport.
"Our ongoing and planned investment programmes - in our network, in new trains and in our stations - are crucial to enabling that switch, right across the country.
"That investment will also allow more housing to be developed along our rail network for a more sustainable future, and the development of further investment programmes and projects under the All-Island Strategic Rail Review means rail as the backbone of Ireland's sustainable transport network is a vision we are on the way to realising."
Ms Considine thanked the 5,200 people working at Iarnród Éireann for the delivery of what she described as "safe, customer-focused services every single day".
The redevelopment of Plunkett Station in Waterford is ongoing and is set to be completed in 2027.
The works are taking place as part of Waterford City and County Council's North Quays development.
Flood relief works are also under way as the station is prone to flooding during inclement weather.
Services at Waterford station were suspended for a time in early December as a result of tidal flooding on the line during Storm Bram.
The latest figures from Iarnród Éireann come after the National Transport Authority (NTA) recently announced that 6% more passenger journeys were made across the Transport for Ireland network in 2025 when compared to the previous year.
The NTA said preliminary figures for 2025 show a combined patronage of 363.5 million passenger journeys on services operated by Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Iarnród Éireann, Luas, Go‑Ahead Ireland, and TFI Local Link.
The NTA said this represents an increase of almost 20 million journeys compared to 2024 and highlights a continuing shift towards sustainable travel and a growing confidence in public transport.
