Cork train got priority

patrickc

Hey all

I was on the 16.25 train from Dublin to Waterford today, I noticed that the 16.00 Cork train was delayed in coming in and we left before it..However the Waterford train had to stop in Hazelhatch and wait for the Cork train to "overtake" it.. should it not be a first come first served basis as such. as a result of this we were delayed by about 15 minutes. IMO it's riduclous yes Irish rail are promoting an express service to Cork but still unfair to us on the Waterford train

Wishbone Ash

patrickc2006 wrote:

Hey all

I was on the 16.25 train from Dublin to Waterford today, I noticed that the 16.00 Cork train was delayed in coming in and we left before it..However the Waterford train had to stop in Hazelhatch and wait for the Cork train to "overtake" it.. should it not be a first come first served basis as such. as a result of this we were delayed by about 15 minutes. IMO it's riduclous yes Irish rail are promoting an express service to Cork but still unfair to us on the Waterford train

I have no knowledge of the details but I'm sure it was for much more technical/operational reasons.

BendiBus

Could depend on how many passengers were on each train.

If there were 30 on the Waterford & 300 on the Cork then better to delay the Waterford train in order to minimise the number of passengers delayed.

At least that's how it should be imo.

Also, the Waterford train may have more slack in the timetable, thus allowing it to make up time easier.

Just possibilies. I've no idea of the actual reason.

godtabh

The Cork train would be more frequent. Rather than hold up lots of trains maybe it held up one.

patrickc

the Waterford as was packed to the rafters as always, didn't see as many people waiting on the Cork train as would of been on the Waterford one

SectionF

Cork people are more important. You should know that by now.

Chris_533976

If it was a new Mark IV on the Cork run, they'd probobly want to boast it as being faster, so let it through as quickly as possible.

KC61

If the 1600 Heuston-Cork left after the 1625 Heuston-Waterford, it was at least 30 minutes late. To leave it behind the Waterford would mean that it would lose even more time because:
1) The Waterford set can only operate at 75mph (as opposed to 90mph with the Cork train).
2) The Waterford train had to stop at Sallins, Newbridge and Kildare before branching off at Cherryville Junction, whilst the Cork service is non-stop to Thurles.

The set operating the 1600 Heuston-Cork then has to operate the 1930 Cork-Heuston, and, given that it has only got a 40 minute turnaround in Cork, to stay behind the Waterford service would have meant a late departure from Cork of the 1930, which would have implications for other Dublin-bound trains later in the evening.

Therefore, the decision would have been taken to loop the Waterford service at Hazelhatch which, whilst annoying if you were on the Waterford train, would be in my view correct. The only operational knock-on effect of holding the Waterford service would have been in passing the 1825 ex-Waterford at Ballyhale (the train operating the 1625 stays in Waterford overnight), but I would imagine that, given the excessive padding in the schedules, some of the time was made up en route.

Until the full KRP is delivered (i.e. four tracking to Kildare), this will continue to be a problem, although the new railcars will be capable of 90mph and this will improve the situation.

patrickc

KC61 wrote:

If the 1600 Heuston-Cork left after the 1625 Heuston-Waterford, it was at least 30 minutes late. To leave it behind the Waterford would mean that it would lose even more time because:
1) The Waterford set can only operate at 75mph (as opposed to 90mph with the Cork train).
2) The Waterford train had to stop at Sallins, Newbridge and Kildare before branching off at Cherryville Junction, whilst the Cork service is non-stop to Thurles.

The set operating the 1600 Heuston-Cork then has to operate the 1930 Cork-Heuston, and, given that it has only got a 40 minute turnaround in Cork, to stay behind the Waterford service would have meant a late departure from Cork of the 1930, which would have implications for other Dublin-bound trains later in the evening.

Therefore, the decision would have been taken to loop the Waterford service at Hazelhatch which, whilst annoying if you were on the Waterford train, would be in my view correct. The only operational knock-on effect of holding the Waterford service would have been in passing the 1825 ex-Waterford at Ballyhale (the train operating the 1625 stays in Waterford overnight), but I would imagine that, given the excessive padding in the schedules, some of the time was made up en route.

Until the full KRP is delivered (i.e. four tracking to Kildare), this will continue to be a problem, although the new railcars will be capable of 90mph and this will improve the situation.

I see your point but still IMO and many others on the train, even IR staff disagreed with it

popebenny16

yeah well the 18.40 to Thurles has to hang around Ballybrophy for ten mins every day to let the 19.00 Cork train go past so be glad it was a once off.

corktina

I think you should think of this move as SAVING time for the Waterford train...possibly if it had been kept to its proper path out of Heuston (ie behind the Cork train as per the WTT) it would have ended up even later overall....sending it on as far as Hazelhatch could have been nelpful and freed up a platform too...

corktina

SectionF wrote:

Cork people are more important. You should know that by now.

i wouldnt dare say that....


...i thought it though....:)

parsi

patrickc2006 wrote:

Hey all

I was on the 16.25 train from Dublin to Waterford today, I noticed that the 16.00 Cork train was delayed in coming in and we left before it..However the Waterford train had to stop in Hazelhatch and wait for the Cork train to "overtake" it.. should it not be a first come first served basis as such. as a result of this we were delayed by about 15 minutes. IMO it's riduclous yes Irish rail are promoting an express service to Cork but still unfair to us on the Waterford train

Trains to the Capital get priority over trains to an auld provincial town

patrickc

waterford is just as good as cork!! not that im going that far!!

KC61

To be honest, as I thought about it more, to leave the Cork behind the Waterford would have probably had knock-on effects with the 1650 Galway, 1700 Cork and 1705 Limerick all being affected too, so whilst it was frustrating it was the right decision!

Ham'nd'egger

KC61 wrote:

To be honest, as I thought about it more, to leave the Cork behind the Waterford would have probably had knock-on effects with the 1650 Galway, 1700 Cork and 1705 Limerick all being affected too, so whilst it was frustrating it was the right decision!

Not to mention the Tralee and Limerick changeovers for the rest of the evening, and all the additional Cork services that evening. Take it as a case of the needs of many outweighing those of a few..

The practice of holding back stopping trains to let late running faster services pass by has been going on since the first days of railways. It is hard to explain it fully as to the damage of letting the Waterford through ahead, maybe try think of the first late service being the first domino being toppled. The planning out of train movements is a little bit more complex than just allocating a time to leave and arrive; the other runnings of services, types of rolling stock in service, stops to be made, track repairs ongoing, trains to be met, and more, there is a lot to allow for. The gentlemen and ladies who work in railway signaling (One of the forgotten arts in transport) have this all down to a fine T, even if it may not seem as such to us all.

bk

Since the Cork trains are now one every hour. They have a relatively very quick turn around time that is more similar to an airline.

Basically train arrives, people get off, quickly cleaned, people get own and leaves again all in one hour. If one train is delayed it will have a knock on effect on all the Cork services for the rest of the day and other services too.

So yes it sucks, but it is for the greater good.

chazza_2007ie

SectionF wrote:

Cork people are more important. You should know that by now.

yes he should know that :d lol