Tomorrow morning
I await an announcement (?) with bated breath. Long overdue ... trains to connect with the boats. There are trains to Rosslare Europort ... and to my untutored eye they have seemed designed in a Beechingesque way to fail.
OK - thanks for the update to your original post ... see it now.
South Wales and South and West England to Dublin and the rest of Ireland by public transport is a logical journey - and I'm a very occasional user - Melksham (of course!) to the Dublin area. But only a very occasional user because the connections have been so crap that I usually take a deep breath and go via Holyhead. Were the service to connect decently right through, I would be much more than just a very occasional user.
From England to Dublin, it now works. Two sensible journeys per day.
07:49 Melksham / 12:30 - 13:10 at Fishguard, 16:25 - 17:55 at Rosslare, 20:44 in Dublin
16:37 Melksham / 22:02 - 23:45 at Fishguard, 04:00 - 05:35 at Rosslare, 08:46 in Dublin
Coming back, it's royally screwed.
I can leave Dublin at 13:36 and get as far as Carmathen ...
I can leave Dublin at 18:38 and get as far as Rosslare ...
Then both involve a hotel or a long wait at the port or station. NO thank you!
The former return at 16:37 from Dublin would have got me to Melksham for 07:48 - 2 nighttime changes but no waits. I now have to leave earlier (13:36 as against 16:37) and then spend those three extra hours in Carmarthen - the ex 01:50 from Fishguard now starting from there at 03:03
I am likely to use the route henceforth on my way to Ireland. On the way back, I probably won't.
But take a wider look. You have three transport providers making up the route, and for all three of them the through international public transport market has shrunk to the extent it's become insignificant.
The ferry company has used the speed of the boat, and perhaps the ability to turn around quicker, to remove the middle of the night arrival and departures at Fishguard - no bad marketing change for the leisure / car market who've probably not been thrilled with this timing on the end of a holiday.
Arriva Trains Wales appear to have removed one return trip to Fishguard Harbour (or have they just moved it earlier to match the boat?) - yes, it would have been perfect if it ran on - but to where, as services fade out at the end of the day ...
I don't think the Irish railways have changed much - if anything. Just that the arriving boats now connect with trains. Pity the the only departing boat with a connecting train doesn't have a good connection onwards in the
UK▸ .
Conclusion? None. Bit surprised that if this happened with "only 2 weeks notice" that Arriva Trains Wales were able to make changes - I suspect they were pre-alerted ...