Western Rail Corridor

GerardKeating

invincibleirish wrote: »

Come off it would ya? the 'Intercity experience' is ruined by paying customers boarding trains? IE would be crazy to implement your proposal and deny customers the chance get on/off at Bray. Thats trainspotter talk if ever i saw it:).

Tis normal practice to seperate InterCity and commuter traffic, the Rosslaire line should not be provide "express" computer services between Connally and Bray.

At Bray, It should be a set-down only for Dublin bound services and pick up only for rosslaire services.

Nostradamus

Hungerford wrote: »

The Sligo line is an excellent illustration of the points you are making. Since the 22Ks have been introduced on the line, it seems that patronage (which was always healthy) has increased significantly.

Amazing what you discover on this board.

And here was me thinking the last half dozen times when I took this train that it was more or less a ghosttown with dozens of empty seats and almost no students getting on at Maynooth comapred to say 5 years ago. The only increase i have noticed is a huge growth in free travel passes. The last time I bought a train ticket at Ballymoate there was me and 8 other passengers. I was thew only one who paid cash. The rest were free travel passes.

You have a spectacular imagination when it comes to the reality of rail transport West of the Shannon I must say. Have you ever considered joining the CIA as a psychic remote viewer?

Hungerford

Nostradamus wrote: »

You have a spectacular imagination when it comes to the reality of rail transport West of the Shannon I must say. Have you ever considered joining the CIA as a psychic remote viewer?

My statements are backed up by official figures: passenger numbers on the Sligo line jumped by 8% last year to 1.3 million - a record for the route. It's now IE's third busiest intercity route, behind Dublin-Cork and Dublin-Galway [which also crosses the Shannon].

That said, they could be all faked as part of a big conspiracy.

Nostradamus

Oh Hungerford please put your tounge back in your mouth and please explain to me how a majority ridership of old folks on free travel passes is a successfull rail service. You are living in child-like world of lollipops and simplicity were you fail to accept that the real measure of a rail line's success is the amount of people paying for a ticket and the amount of industry paying for freight.

If anything the Sligo rail line is probably sucking Irish Rail finances dry.

But that'll be nothing compared to hemoraging they will experience when your beloved Limerick-Athenry INTER-CITY service calling at all hamlets in between is on the network. And I am not talking about the opening day when every easily media-manipulated bandwangon jumper, priest-ridden halfwit, TD and sexually-hysterial trainspotter shows up for opening day.

I am talking about say Feb in 2010 when the thrill and hysteria has died down and the cold wind from the Burren is blowing across the deserted platforms and barren carparks of Adrahan and similar hamlets. That's the day those of us living in the real world are waiting for before we declare the WRC a great success.

On your final snide comment my dear innocent child, I got news for you. Irish Rail management are shower of self-serving bull****ters and if they told me it was 5PM I would start making my breakfast. Then again, I do not live a child-like world of lollipops, teddy bears and my tounge hanging out everytime someone mentions the Western Rail Corridor...

corktina

i dont approve of your turn of phrase Nosta BUT what you say is in essense true. Its the bottom line on the balance sheet that matters, not the passenger figures.

ItsTheMan

Apologies if it is listed earlier on .. just wondering when Train from Limerick is launching and additionally the Timetables

Thanks for your help !

Carawaystick

Hungerford wrote: »

My statements are backed up by official figures: passenger numbers on the Sligo line jumped by 8% last year to 1.3 million - a record for the route. It's now IE's third busiest intercity route, behind Dublin-Cork and Dublin-Galway [which also crosses the Shannon].

That said, they could be all faked as part of a big conspiracy.

Does that jump in passengers include commuter services from Clonsilla to Sheriff St? or the Maynooth commuter passenger amount or is it only west of Maynooth?

thomasj

Carawaystick wrote: »

Does that jump in passengers include commuter services from Clonsilla to Sheriff St? or the Maynooth commuter passenger amount or is it only west of Maynooth?

No, the maynooth commuter line was classed in that report as the second busiest line for its passenger numbers although the numbers for the sligo would include passengers who got the intercity train from connolly to maynooth and the other way around, in particular university students.

Judgement Day

Why is that most critics of the WRC always end up resorting to hysterical ranting?

Incidentally, nostradamus you'll be old yourself one day and be glad that you're entitled to FREE travel - hopefully you will still have the option of rail travel.

Hungerford

Nostradamus wrote: »

Oh Hungerford please put your tounge back in your mouth and please explain to me how a majority ridership of old folks on free travel passes is a successfull rail service.

For a start, neither of us have any facts regarding the extent of free travel pass use on any element of the rail network. The only figures available are for overall passenger numbers.

I also can't see what your problem with free passes are either: practically every other European country has a similar scheme.

If anything the Sligo rail line is probably sucking Irish Rail finances dry.

Again you have no evidence for that statement as the profit/loss figures for individual routes aren't publicly available. Just because you believe it doesn't make it a fact.

But that'll be nothing compared to hemoraging they will experience when your beloved Limerick-Athenry INTER-CITY service calling at all hamlets in between is on the network. And I am not talking about the opening day

I don't think you read any of my previous posts, did you? I have been consistently arguing that the line, as currently planned, is unlikely to be a success, especially if they stop at every hamlet on the route. With a rethink, however, it could work.

Then again, I do not live a child-like world of lollipops, teddy bears and my tounge hanging out everytime someone mentions the Western Rail Corridor...

It's a good thing I didn't join this forum looking for rational discussion isn't it? Once again, you obviously hadn't read any of my posts - I am not in favour of most of the WRC scheme. I do believe that there could be a viable intercity line linking Limerick and Galway. In most other European countries, there already would be...

westtip

Judgement Day wrote: »

Why is that most critics of the WRC always end up resorting to hysterical ranting?

.

Not fair comment JD most of the rational argument against the WRC has been just that - rational argument. Hysterical ranting I think would be the likes of west on track.

Hungerford wrote: »

It's a good thing I didn't join this forum looking for rational discussion isn't it? ...

And BTW Hungerford welcome to the WRC debate only be going several years now on these boards alone - The proof of pudding will as they say be in the eating, and I confidently predict the WRC will be the greatest white elephant in Irish public transport in the history of the state. Not enough people to use it as a proper commuter service (and forget intercity - it is between two large towns), indirect route between the two large towns, too many stops, slow rolloing stock, brand new DC in competition between the two large towns, intermittent service, Not needed, recession, expensive compared with the bus, less frequent than aforementioned mode of transport, too many trainspotters on board with flasks of milky coffee and cheese and chutney sandwiches, single line route from Athenry to Galway, Being run by IE, Housing and settlement patterns in the west of Ireland, Anything else - oh yes the political will actually is not there to keep it going....McCarthy, other priorities.....etc etc etc

Is it groundhog day or what????

westtip

ItsTheMan wrote: »

Apologies if it is listed earlier on .. just wondering when Train from Limerick is launching and additionally the Timetables

Thanks for your help !

Was supposed to happen September but I got an email last month which I posted in this thread:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=61400031&postcount=2185

The short answer is no one knows when the train spotters day of glory will be, but it could be this year it could be next - who knows, who cares!!

GerardKeating wrote: »

Tis normal practice to seperate InterCity and commuter traffic, the Rosslaire line should not be provide "express" computer services between Connally and Bray.

At Bray, It should be a set-down only for Dublin bound services and pick up only for rosslaire services.

Why? on many commuter services around the world stations from outlying centres have express only trains from those stations into the city centre - it takes the pressure off the inbound stop at all stations services; and if there is capacity on the Rosslare service why not utilise it this way.

gjim

westtip wrote: »

Why? on many commuter services around the world stations from outlying centres have express only trains from those stations into the city centre - it takes the pressure off the inbound stop at all stations services; and if there is capacity on the Rosslare service why not utilise it this way.

Cause you don't want scummy "commuters" taking up the seat opposite you that you needed for your packed lunch. Rail travel is about long leisurely trips from small and remote towns where you can bring a flask of tea and a newspaper (admittedly it's never been the same since they banned pipe smoking). You want your trains populated by the right sort - people with leisure time and the elderly and retired. Why you expect such passengers to share seating with general working types who wouldn't know a thing about trains and their history, rushing hither and thither (often going to work of all things!) is beyond me. It destroys the experience entirely.

gjim

Just in case - :rolleyes:

skelliser

my 2 cents.
i used to get the ennis-limerick train and there was a minimum of 20 people on it.

also i never understood why they never linked shannon to ennis to limerick

corktina

20 ? it would have been cheaper to put them in taxis...

Judgement Day

corktina wrote: »

20 ? it would have been cheaper to put them in taxis...

Is that you Mr.Lynch?

corktina

nope...

but whatever you think, running a railway line for 20 people per train is just madness and the section north of Ennis will have fewer still. You couldn't fill a bus with the entire days passengers.... (imho of course)

Judgement Day

Hot from the Fossils' IRRS website: www.irrs.ie

Journal 169 Operations
Punctuality The month of January recorded many days of snow with consequent serious disruption to road and air transport. Rail traffic was largely unaffected and figures for Dublin-Galway line punctuality for January confirmed this, with 97.1% of trains arriving within 10 minutes of scheduled times. In comparison, the figure for 2008 was 92.3%. Figures for the Dublin-Westport line for January were 95.6% of trains arriving within 10 minutes of schedule, compared with 94.1% for 2008. The Tralee line achieved 95.4% of trains arriving with 10 minutes during January.
Passenger Numbers A record number of passengers travelled on the Dublin-Sligo line in 2008, with 1.34m using the service. This represents an 8% increase from 1.24m passengers in 2007. The Dublin-Sligo line is ranked as IÉ's third busiest InterCity service, after Dublin-Cork and Dublin-Galway. The passenger figures for 2008 represent a 41% growth in numbers travelling in 3 years, up from 950,000 journeys in 2005, and a doubling of passenger numbers in just five years.
The number of passengers using the Ennis-Limerick line dropped from 200,000 in 2007 to 170,000 in 2008. This was attributed to the line being closed for 7 weeks due to flooding at Ballycar.

I should think that 20 passengers per train would NOT be an average number.

westtip

gjim wrote: »

Cause you don't want scummy "commuters" taking up the seat opposite you that you needed for your packed lunch. Rail travel is about long leisurely trips from small and remote towns where you can bring a flask of tea and a newspaper (admittedly it's never been the same since they banned pipe smoking). You want your trains populated by the right sort - people with leisure time and the elderly and retired. Why you expect such passengers to share seating with general working types who wouldn't know a thing about trains and their history, rushing hither and thither (often going to work of all things!) is beyond me. It destroys the experience entirely.

Ha ha good post and bring back guards who wear ties and caps and call you sir and doff their cap as they pass through the first class dining car with proper waiters in starched aprons serving you with luncheon all washed down with a decent bottle of claret from the wine list. and lets have trains which have proper slamming doors, to wake you up from drowsing after luncheon, and slide down windows so when one puts ones head out the window you can play the lets not get decapitated game. I think we have somewhat lost the art of enjoying our train journeys after all, those chaps at WOT and all their train spotting chums, must be chumping at the bit to catch the old Burma Road express in a few years time. Tally Ho chaps.

T Corolla

I should think that 20 passengers per train would NOT be an average number. [/quote]

That number is more like the Limerck to Waterford rail line 54,000 passengers or 17 per service

Judgement Day

westtip wrote: »

Ha ha good post and bring back guards who wear ties and caps and call you sir and doff their cap as they pass through the first class dining car with proper waiters in starched aprons serving you with luncheon all washed down with a decent bottle of claret from the wine list. and lets have trains which have proper slamming doors, to wake you up from drowsing after luncheon, and slide down windows so when one puts ones head out the window you can play the lets not get decapitated game. I think we have somewhat lost the art of enjoying our train journeys after all, those chaps at WOT and all their train spotting chums, must be chumping at the bit to catch the old Burma Road express in a few years time. Tally Ho chaps.

If that's the best you can do on the humour front don't give up the day job! Most of what you mention is indeed lost and regrettably in my opinion . The subservient/polite official has been replaced by 'occasional' revenue protection officials who look down on passengers customers as a nuisance, buffet cars replaced by trolleys dispensing vastly overpriced tea/coffee and plastic hang sandwiches (served by badly paid, nose picking foreign nationals), and as you correctly stated no windows that you can let down to decapitate yourself or, indeed, get a breath of fresh air. The claret quaffing diner has been replaced by yobs shooting up with drugs in the toilets - yes, all changes for the better. Enough OTT stuff from me anyway.

Nostradamus

gjim wrote: »

Cause you don't want scummy "commuters" taking up the seat opposite you that you needed for your packed lunch. Rail travel is about long leisurely trips from small and remote towns where you can bring a flask of tea and a newspaper (admittedly it's never been the same since they banned pipe smoking). You want your trains populated by the right sort - people with leisure time and the elderly and retired. Why you expect such passengers to share seating with general working types who wouldn't know a thing about trains and their history, rushing hither and thither (often going to work of all things!) is beyond me. It destroys the experience entirely.

I see the IRN newsletter arrived early this month.

There articles in the Sunday Business Post which were not a million miles away from your satire when the Luas Green Line opened. Lots of unnamed sources telling us what a terrible form of train travel it was.

Nostradamus

Judgement Day wrote: »

If that's the best you can do on the humour front don't give up the day job!

I thought it was class myself. We need more of this kind of thing.

Nostradamus

westtip wrote: »

Ha ha good post and bring back guards who wear ties and caps and call you sir and doff their cap as they pass through the first class dining car with proper waiters in starched aprons serving you with luncheon all washed down with a decent bottle of claret from the wine list. and lets have trains which have proper slamming doors, to wake you up from drowsing after luncheon, and slide down windows so when one puts ones head out the window you can play the lets not get decapitated game.

and a piano bar lounge car on MetroNorth with a Noel Coward type singing "You put the lemon curd between my two slices...his love of the Class 121 is my kind of vices..."

Nostradamus

T Corolla wrote: »

I should think that 20 passengers per train would NOT be an average number.

That number is more like the Limerck to Waterford rail line 54,000 passengers or 17 per service[/quote]

It's a vital pubic service for some...sorry I meant to type "public".

westtip

Judgement Day wrote: »

If that's the best you can do on the humour front don't give up the day job! Most of what you mention is indeed lost and regrettably in my opinion . The subservient/polite official has been replaced by 'occasional' revenue protection officials who look down on passengers customers as a nuisance, buffet cars replaced by trolleys dispensing vastly overpriced tea/coffee and plastic hang sandwiches (served by badly paid, nose picking foreign nationals), and as you correctly stated no windows that you can let down to decapitate yourself or, indeed, get a breath of fresh air. The claret quaffing diner has been replaced by yobs shooting up with drugs in the toilets - yes, all changes for the better. Enough OTT stuff from me anyway.

JD no plans to give up the day job - but all tongue in cheek and in fact I would like to see a return to some real values of courtesy and care from staff on public transport - and I hate the service one gets from the overpriced buffet cars, (and I have an admission to make when I take the train up to the smoke from Sligo I do take a flask! and my own sarnies - but no I'm not making a note of every train number at the end of the platoform) and I do have fond memories of hanging out of train windows. In fact on the Sligo line I find the staff to be most courteous and as is ever the beauty of this country - it is the only train line I have been on in which you can get on first name terms with the guards/ticket inspectors. I would actually love to see the claret quaffing diner return to its former glory - but we all know tis the stuff of dreams. And by the way as I increasingly become older yes by the way I think national service would be a good idea - whilst we are on the rant thought I would drop this one in - so you see we are not a million miles away in thoughts!

Nostradamus wrote: »

and a piano bar lounge car on MetroNorth with a Noel Coward type singing "You put the lemon curd between my two slices...his love of the Class 121 is my kind of vices..."

Nosto couldn't have said it better myself old chap - what a spiffingly splendid idea.

Judgement Day

westtip I have to say it, you're nearly as much as a throwback/ reactionary as myself. I must say despite not agreeing with everything posted here recently it has made for entertaining reading. Do you think that this WRC thread will last longer than the re-opened line -when/if it ever does open? Should the WRC thread be moved to the Ranting & Raving forum?

CatacombKittens

corktina wrote: »

nope...

but whatever you think, running a railway line for 20 people per train is just madness and the section north of Ennis will have fewer still. You couldn't fill a bus with the entire days passengers.... (imho of course)

No it isn't. That's 20 people per hour, going both ways. Personally I make use of that train, I get sick travelling by bus so I'd be screwed.

Hungerford

T Corolla wrote: »

That number is more like the Limerck to Waterford rail line 54,000 passengers or 17 per service

I think you'll find it's nearer to 20 for Limerick Junction to Waterford. Still disastrous though.