No direct rail link and the planned cross border upgrade of the N/A2 road is the sole reason it's still running. It most likely probably will be around for 10 years at least.
If anything at this stage Kerry has good roads and good rail links to Cork and Dublin. Can't see this one being scrapped for political reasons.
If it weren't for offshore hydrocarbons, would Donegal airport still have a PSO route to Dublin as the nearest hub airport ? Or is the route driven primarily for the locals ?
For the region in general. Touching it politically wouldn't go down well unless major improvements are made to transport.
Average loads on both would be between 60-70%.