Passengers Benefit from Fares War

The C.B. & P .R. was unable to reach full potential because of competition with the steamers and its passenger charges were 30 per cent below corresponding English lines in the mid 1850s. The R.S. C. escalated the fares war by introducing further reductions. The C.B. & P .R. responded by reducing the Cork to Queenstown return fare by a third and introduced a 2d. third class, fare to Queenstown. Although there was an appreciable increase in passenger numbers, financial returns decreased and the railway company was making just Y2 d. per mile.

This sort of competition could not continue so company representatives met in May 1856 and came to a private 'arrangement'. By 1860 this amounted to a monopoly on the river. The situation changed again within a few months when it was publicly announced that a new steamer company was to be established. Although the C.B. & P .R. and R.S. Co., reacted swiftly to this threat by reducing fares, interest in the new Citizens River Steamers Company Limited', (C.R.S.Co.) grew rapidly. By mid- September 1860 it was agreed to regularly establish the company on a capital of £20,000 but £8,000 would permit the commencement of operations by chartering vessels while new ones were being built. At the end of the month the company had seven directors with John Francis Maguire, MP, as chairman.

The Company was officially registered at the beginning of October, with a capital of £5,372, invested by 264 shareholders. By mid-November shareholders had increased to 520 and capital to £11,782. Just one month later the R.S. Co., admitting they could not meet the challenge, withdrew and sold their boats, goodwill and interest to the new C.R.S. Co., for £7,225. The C.R.S.Co. got three boats -the Prince of Wales, the Arthur and the Alice and an office, store and private quay at Queenstown. Business transferred to the C.R.S.Co., on 1 January 1861 and a new £2,600 cargo vessel was ordered a short time later .

Improvement to Journey Times

Utilising the steamer Prince of Wales, the C.R.S.Co., commenced operating on I February 1861. Fares were considered extremely reasonable -the Ist class fares between Cork and Queenstown was 6d, a 2nd class ticket cost 4d, and return tickets were, 9d. and 6d. respectively. The first of the company's new vessels the Citizen, arrived in Cork on 17 May. On Sunday 19 May she left Cork for Queenstown at 9.03 a.m. and returned at 10.50 a.m. -the return journey alone took just 47 minutes. She carried capacity loads with up to 600 passengers crowded on board. Four weeks later, a sister vessel, the Lee, arrived in Cork and made her first visit to Queenstown on 22 June. On 26 September a screw steamer Erin, intended for the luggage trade arrived; but when the venture into goods traffic failed, she was sold off. During 1862 the ageing Prince of Wales and Alice were also disposed of for a combined sum of £3,200.

Receipts for the Citizen's River Steamer Co., in 1861 amounted to £8,540 -about 20 per cent above the former company's 1859 figure of £6,635. The C.R.S.Co., carried 306,520 passengers in 1861 -an increase of 31,520 over the 1859 figure. The unusually bad summer and the company's low fares policy caused the disappointing returns. The C.B. & P.R. too had a disappointing season with a £1,387 shortfall on the previous returns. A fares reduction took the blame and subsequently rates were revised. Competition continued and the C.B. & P .R. half yearly report for May 1862 showed that even though 22,846 extra passengers were carried, receipts were down £421. The next report showed a similar reduction in receipts. Rivalry between the two companies occupied much valuable thought and time during the next 30 years. The final respite came in 1890 when the C.R.S.Co., was wound up and purchased for £1,465 by the C.B.&P.R. which set about redeveloping and extending its river services. Although the C.B. & P .R 's steamer service was the weakest part of the company's system, boats had to be available during the summer to cater for traffic increases.