Bloody Level Crossings!

faceman

maybe im just bein a moan, but do these bloody things get annoying for those of you in dublin? Ok i have no issue with trains getting priority (or any public transport for that matter)

the problem i do have is the length of time the barriers go down BEFORE the train comes. I count 5 minutes one time. Surely to jeebes that is totally unnecessary??

anyway rant over.

tc20

Agree full ywith you there. Witness continental crossings where the barriers drop c. 30 seconds before the train or tram comes thru', then raise again very quickly afterwards. Though, they dont have the same amount of chancers trying to get thru.

RobAMerc

totally agree - I waited close to 20 mins at the Ashtown gates the other night for 3 trains to pass with at least 6-7 mins between them.

traffic was backed up in both directions on the N3 and I imagine was backed up on the river road as far back as the rathoath road - feckin ridiculous.

I reckon the lad doing it could not be ar*sed opening it between trains - lazy f**k.

They also close it about 5 mins before the train even reaches the station going outbound - then it comes stops for a min and heads off - surely this is way too long.

fletch

See this all the time at Clonsilla level crossing. The gates shut even though you can't even see/hear the train coming. The train comin from Maynooth has to slow down, stop at the station, let passengers off, take new passengers aboard, close the doors, accelerate away, all the while the gates are closed for cars. Why the gates can't stay open until the train is at least stationary in the station is beyond me!

pclancy

Similar situation at the crossing at Coolmine station. If I hear the gates closing when im buying a ticket I know I have a comfortable 5 minutes until the train actually pulls into the station. Its mad.

Why there are still manual gates in this day and age amazes me! FFS surly its cheaper to put in an automatic system then have lads paid to stand there and open/close gates in between episodes of Oprah?

fletch

The Dart doesn't seem to have the same problems......why can't they use the same system for the trains???

Stark

tc20 wrote:

Agree full ywith you there. Witness continental crossings where the barriers drop c. 30 seconds before the train or tram comes thru', then raise again very quickly afterwards. Though, they dont have the same amount of chancers trying to get thru.

With Irish drivers, you'd proabably have people trying to beat the barriers and getting creamed by trains. Sort of like the situation with the Luas but with more fatalities.

MrPudding

fletch wrote:

Why the gates can't stay open until the train is at least stationary in the station is beyond me!

Just thinking, what if the train can't stop for some reason? Could that be it? Personally I reckon the chance of that happpening is quite slim, but in this litigious world......

MrP

fletch

MrPudding wrote:

Just thinking, what if the train can't stop for some reason? Could that be it? Personally I reckon the chance of that happpening is quite slim, but in this litigious world......

MrP

I'm guessing that's the reason alright but if that was the case we would never let cars on the same road...what if their brakes failed!

markpb

pclancy wrote:

Why there are still manual gates in this day and age amazes me! FFS surly its cheaper to put in an automatic system then have lads paid to stand there and open/close gates in between episodes of Oprah?

I think I read somewhere (probably the P11 forum) that installing automatic level crossing system costs in excess of €250,000 and has a hefty annual maintenance fee. That's in addition to the cost of repairing the gates every time a lorry driver drives into time (or maybe thats just merrion gates).

faceman

fletch wrote:

The Dart doesn't seem to have the same problems......why can't they use the same system for the trains???

not to the extent of some of the posts here but its still pretty bad. like i said in my op, 5 mins i timed one day!