How CIE/IE Can make savings: Your ideas.

Judgement Day

Ah lads, can you not come with some useful suggestions? A lot of the posts remind me of Association of Public Transport Users meetings that I used to attend in the early '80s where the meetings would invariably wander off into why the 46a was two minutes later the day before!!

Run_to_da_hills

luzon wrote: »

luzon wrote: »

I have a better solution why don't rail users put there newspapers in the bin like other people

and stop stuffing crap down the sides of the seats i'd
say that would save a fortune

Better solution that that, introduce a e50 on the spot fine for people that leave their disgarded free rags scattered about transit property.

DWCommuter

Judgement Day wrote: »

Ah lads, can you not come with some useful suggestions? A lot of the posts remind me of Association of Public Transport Users meetings that I used to attend in the early '80s where the meetings would invariably wander off into why the 46a was two minutes later the day before!!

In fairness, your post just encouraged the usual rants and then defense strategy from trainspotters.

Surely you are as bored as I am at this point?;)

westtip

KC61 wrote: »

Late night express services tend not to be successful as to fill them you need to stop at as many stations as possible.

While there might be demand for a later train to Galway than 1915, I'd be surprised if there was any real demand for a Cork/Limerick train later than the existing 2100.

Personally I think that a 2200 (or so) departure to Athlone, Carlow, Mullingar and Arklow would be a good idea, but they need to serve stations en route to carry sufficient numbers to be justifiable.

.

Thanks for your other comments all noted - on this issue - I don't agree about the 2200 late night train to towns in the pale, I think it needs to be a little later - City centres need to encourage people to come into the city using public transport - It should be a realistic option for people living in the towns you have mentioned to go up to Dublin on the train on say a Saturday evening and be able to get a train back home without missing the last ten minutes of a play for example. A 23.00 departure to the towns you mention may help on this issue. My suggestion of a late night train to Sligo and other end of the line destinations may well be excessive. But I for one living out in the west would do park and ride from somewhere like Edgeworthstown (say a train to Longford not Mullingar as you mentioned) to go to the theatre in Dublin on a Saturday night - provided I knew there was a reliable late night train out of town at about 23.00. It would save on the stress of driving into the city centre and parking etc

KC61

westtip wrote: »

Thanks for your other comments all noted - on this issue - I don't agree about the 2200 late night train to towns in the pale, I think it needs to be a little later - City centres need to encourage people to come into the city using public transport - It should be a realistic option for people living in the towns you have mentioned to go up to Dublin on the train on say a Saturday evening and be able to get a train back home without missing the last ten minutes of a play for example. A 23.00 departure to the towns you mention may help on this issue. My suggestion of a late night train to Sligo and other end of the line destinations may well be excessive. But I for one living out in the west would do park and ride from somewhere like Edgeworthstown (say a train to Longford not Mullingar as you mentioned) to go to the theatre in Dublin on a Saturday night - provided I knew there was a reliable late night train out of town at about 23.00. It would save on the stress of driving into the city centre and parking etc

The real question is how many other people would use it every day of the week. Anecdotal reports that I've heard suggest about 30 people use the 2215 to Portlaoise.

There has to be sufficient demand to justify a service, and while I suspect that there is demand for trains at about 2300/2330 to Maynooth, Dundalk, Greystones and Kildare, the further you go out the more demand drops the later the service.

I suspect 2200/2230 is more realistic for medium distance destinations (Mullingar, Portlaoise, Athlone, Carlow and Gorey), and 2030/2130 for long distance major destinations (Belfast, Cork/Limerick, Galway, Waterford), with 1900/2000 for the remainder.

kingshankly

the 23.20 service to dundalk on average has about 3 passengers for dundalk a lot of the time none

fh041205

kingshankly wrote: »

the 23.20 service to dundalk on average has about 3 passengers for dundalk a lot of the time none

Good few passengers on that for Skerries, Balbriggan and Drogheda in my experience. Never a lack of seats though. I plan to take that train a lot this year so im thankful for it.

Dyr

These arent cost cutting measures but they will generate revenue...

Make the buses secure, there's some route's where a garda presence jumping on and off buses is needed like they use on the london tube. Make damn sure the driver doesn't ignore anti-social behaviour on his bus as most the drivers now do.

Actually pick up customers at bus stops instead of sailing past because the driver thinks its too much hassle to pull in (parnell square is a prime example), thats your revenue stream you're ignoring lads.

thomasj

fh041205 wrote: »

Good few passengers on that for Skerries, Balbriggan and Drogheda in my experience. Never a lack of seats though. I plan to take that train a lot this year so im thankful for it.

I use the last train to Maynooth each night. Good passenger numbers on it always packed when theres concerts or sports events on it. Handy train to get after being out in town.

dereko1969

but how many on it when there isn't a big gig or match on? do you keep a service running all year for the maybe 10 times it's packed?

thomasj

dereko1969 wrote: »

but how many on it when there isn't a big gig or match on? do you keep a service running all year for the maybe 10 times it's packed?

When there aren't games or gigs on it suffices there are good numbers (most seats taken) does better on thursday,friday and saturday nearly all seats taken (4 coach train) but when gigs are on they are quiet packed.

Judgement Day

Last time of asking - could you please give me some suggestions!! I am really not interested in what time the last bus leaves Glandore at!!

Blanchguy

Running a business the Fastrack service was incredibly convenient. It's almost impossible to get same day service from a road courier

dereko1969

Judgement Day wrote: »

Ok - Time for some action instead of ranting. I am looking for your specific ideas of where CIE/IE can save money or increase revenue on the railways. I don't want suggestions about closing lines as they will be already under consideration from the An Bord Snip report. I will compile the sensible suggestions and forward same to Dick Fearn (CEO of IE) and Noel Dempsey and report back here. Any takers?

I'll start.

1. Reintroduce revamped a Fastrack parcels service with staff seriously incentivised to drum up business.

2. Remove the entirely underutilised 'Travel Centre' from the Glanmire Buffet in Cork Station and lease it to a private operator to run as a station buffet. Win/win - income from lease and major improvement for rail passengers.

3. Retain all remaining MkIII carriages and refurbish. Cancel some of the replacement railcars ordered.

4. Mothball any further withdrawn locos instead of scrapping. These could be hired to private freight operators should anybody dare put their foot in the water.

5. Axe excess management - PR department, railway heritage office, .....

6. Reduce size of rail timetable to a manageable size and include advertising.

7. Sell-off the computers (most never switched on!) from rural stations nationwide before they are obsolete. Probably too late!

8. Sell-off all IE company cars and buy no replacements.

9. Cancel all IE advertising - pending a rethink of objectives and cheaper marketing options.



Get the idea? I don't care how many ideas you put up I will collate them and forward them to the aforementioned worthies.


www.irishrailways.blogspot.com

how about coming up with some estimate of what your proposals will save? can't see any of them saving much money at all, and some of them will cost more money - how many extra passengers do you think have been gained by the marketing and advertising of IE's recent special offers? your cuts to those elements will save a pittance in advertising yet lose significant extra passengers.

DWCommuter

Blanchguy wrote: »

Running a business the Fastrack service was incredibly convenient. It's almost impossible to get same day service from a road courier

You'll get it, but you'll pay top dollar for it.

For example. Same day Dublin to Cork by Fastrack- station to station. Starting rate approx. €25.

Booking a courier for same day delivery Dublin to Cork - approx. €400 regardless of whether its an envelope or a pallet.

thomasj

Of course providing proper service after concerts sports events etc. would help as well!

For reference after the U2 concerts tomorrow night, saturday and monday there are no later DART services than the scheduled last ones and unsuprisingly folks on the Kildare line will have to find another way home.