Why Are Irish Rail Failing so badly

Hilly Bill

foggy_lad wrote: »

Get rid of subvention and hand the routes over to private operators and see how well they are able to operate the services!

Are there any knocking on the door asking?

icdg

dowlingm wrote: »

Don't get me wrong, I want to think an open access/franchise model could work in Ireland but let's be grown ups and accept that public transport costs money irrespective of ownership.
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Within a few short years the combined subvention to the train operating companies was over double that which BRB received in 1995, the last year it had full control of train operations in Great Britain. You can't really hold BR up as a model of how private ownership should work on the railways and Great Britain is practically the only major country where there is a majority privately operated network in place. Even in the States, where public ownership is practically a dirty word, there is the publicly owned and funded Amtrak, and many metro/suburban rail operations are under public control too.

foggy_lad

Hilly Bill wrote: »

foggy_lad wrote: »

Get rid of subvention and hand the routes over to private operators and see how well they are able to operate the services!

Are there any knocking on the door asking?

No becausebthey could not compete with a company which is supported and kept from receivership by the state. No company can compete when the state will financially back the C.I.E. companies till the world bank takes over. Are Irish Rail ready for when their current exemptions run out? Will they require another bailout when they have to follow the same rules as everyone else?

davidlacey

http://www.flickr.com/photos/83458046@N05/7646196326/in/photostream

theres the photo of rathdrum, pretty isnt it?

Hilly Bill

Are you expecting cheaper fares if the likes of Virgin took over? Would you be guaranteed a better service? what would happen if they then ran into trouble and pulled out? No trains? You would be on here 24/7 then moaning about them.
If you got your way Foggy you would have to find a new hobby and this board would be quiet .

foggy_lad

davidlacey wrote: »

http://www.flickr.com/photos/83458046@N05/7646196326/in/photostream

theres the photo of rathdrum, pretty isnt it?

What do people expect for the few people a week that use the station? Spending thousands staffing it 12 hours a day is waste and keeping it open so kids and junkies can use the toilets is just stupid. Economies of scale come into it and rathdrum will never be as busy as a larger station regardless of any improvements.

Supersiderman

Tried last night and today to book tickets on Irish Rail web for next month for the missus birthday but when I put my credit card details in, the web says website down.

davidlacey

http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20N/Newbridge/slides/Newbridge_20100122_007_CC_JA.html

http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20S/Sallins/slides/Sallins_20100617_003_CC_JA.html

http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20B/Bray/slides/Bray_20090604_0018_CC.html

Good examples of places that are not great on the eye need a face lift considering the passenger numbers on these stations and the first two there barley have any staff in the place and a toilet to use. IE don't have the money but ive said it before why can't busy commuter stations look like this:

http://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://archiseek.com/wp-content/gallery/news-2009/newry_railway_station.jpg&imgrefurl=http://archiseek.com/2009/first-look-newry-railway-station-northern-ireland-by-robinson-mcilwaine-architects/&h=440&w=590&sz=69&tbnid=f7PBsYzt7S7ewM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=162&zoom=1&usg=__vAle187a4GH4iYWEdLnV1p1_Guo=&docid=PrZ8m9t9kywLfM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1W0QUObOLMuWhQfivoDABA&ved=0CD0Q9QEwAA&dur=350

Judgement Day

Places like Bray are forever getting 'facelifts' but then they are allowed to fall apart again due to poor maintenance. Bray is a kip and I have repeatedly complained to Dick Fearn about the state of the place but to no avail.

davidlacey

its digraceful how it is and living here I would much rather use the bus, plus for a station of it size it must have the most staff too

Cookie_Monster

1. Semi State
2. Unions.
3. No accountability at all to anyone except 2 because of point 1

Heisenberg1

davidlacey wrote: »

its digraceful how it is and living here I would much rather use the bus, plus for a station of it size it must have the most staff too

Don´t blame the staff for the state the station is in blame the people who use.

davidlacey

luzon wrote: »

davidlacey wrote: »

its digraceful how it is and living here I would much rather use the bus, plus for a station of it size it must have the most staff too

Don´t blame the staff for the state the station is in blame the people who use.

Never blamed the staff but surely they could do more than all sit at the ticket machine or do the unions not allow it

schemingbohemia

challengemaster wrote: »

Wouldn't usually post in here but IMO, the main factor is price. I was in Italy earlier in the summer and did quite a bit of travelling via trains, and most of the tickets were €9, with the more expensive ones being €19 (Adult prices). Small regional ones like the DART were under €2-3 IIRC.

At €45 for a return Athlone-Dublin, I could drive it for less than half the cost, in less time, and still have the convenience of my car in Dublin.

Athlone-Dublin is €14.99 single, so a fiver more than in Italy, how much less did you pay in Italy for your espresso or Pizza than here?

Return is €30 so how much would petrol, tolls and parking add to your trip to Dublin?

Judgement Day

luzon wrote: »

Don´t blame the staff for the state the station is in blame the people who use.

Would you go away outta that! The state of Bray station - toilets not maintained, buffet closed down, bookstall closed down for 'operational reasons'....fat lot that has to do with the public.

Losty Dublin

davidlacey wrote: »

http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20N/Newbridge/slides/Newbridge_20100122_007_CC_JA.html

http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20S/Sallins/slides/Sallins_20100617_003_CC_JA.html

http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20B/Bray/slides/Bray_20090604_0018_CC.html

Good examples of places that are not great on the eye need a face lift considering the passenger numbers on these stations and the first two there barley have any staff in the place and a toilet to use. IE don't have the money but ive said it before why can't busy commuter stations look like this:

http://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://archiseek.com/wp-content/gallery/news-2009/newry_railway_station.jpg&imgrefurl=http://archiseek.com/2009/first-look-newry-railway-station-northern-ireland-by-robinson-mcilwaine-architects/&h=440&w=590&sz=69&tbnid=f7PBsYzt7S7ewM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=162&zoom=1&usg=__vAle187a4GH4iYWEdLnV1p1_Guo=&docid=PrZ8m9t9kywLfM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1W0QUObOLMuWhQfivoDABA&ved=0CD0Q9QEwAA&dur=350

Most stations in Ireland have varying level of preservation or heritage orders attached to the building or some facet on the site; it's not as simple as sending the builders in and letting them work away, even if it looks untidy to you or me.

That station in Newry is new, it's maybe 3 years old now. If CIE had have razed most of their stations in the 50's and 60's as the UTA and NIR did and Westmins, maybe we'd have more glass box stations like it instead of authentic stone and brick buildings.

foggy_lad

Judgement Day wrote: »

Would you go away outta that! The state of Bray station - toilets not maintained, buffet closed down, bookstall closed down for 'operational reasons'....fat lot that has to do with the public.

Buffets and bookstalls? Get with the real world program, those things went out with the steam age. Now people want to get in and out as quickly as possible to get to work on time and to get home to spend precious time worth family and friends. We don't want no cotton buffet in bray it's not like it is out in the wilderness miles from anywhere like it once used to be.

Judgement Day

foggy_lad wrote: »

Buffets and bookstalls? Get with the real world program, those things went out with the steam age. Now people want to get in and out as quickly as possible to get to work on time and to get home to spend precious time worth family and friends. We don't want no cotton buffet in bray it's not like it is out in the wilderness miles from anywhere like it once used to be.

And I thought that you were well travelled! Bookstalls have been enjoying something of a comeback in recent years and the one in Bray was thriving until CIE/IE terminated the lease and closed it up as it was needed for operational reasons - would you like me to put up Dick Fearn's letter? As for the buffet it has passed through two tenants in recent years - not in Edwardian times - and it was of considerable use to patrons. It should not be beyond the management of CIE/IE to find a new tenant. Every cent those useless management wasters lose means people lying on hospital trolleys for longer, special needs assistants being cut etc.etc.etc.

dowlingm

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Most stations in Ireland have varying level of preservation or heritage orders attached to the building or some facet on the site; it's not as simple as sending the builders in and letting them work away, even if it looks untidy to you or me.

That's why I think it's critical to create a funding or operating environment which removes the burden of 150 year old building upkeep from the fare paying customer. The State wishes to preserve transport heritage? Excellent. But if the user of those structures are in a to-the-death war with private competitors (and sister companies) then the State should move the ownership of those buildings to a "neutral" body, including at stations not currently operational but still in CIE ownership, and with the upkeep being paid in a way that could not be "blamed" on rail or state bus service. CIE could then lease internal space as required at a reasonable rate consistent with local property rents.

davidlacey

Judgement Day wrote: »

foggy_lad wrote: »

Buffets and bookstalls? Get with the real world program, those things went out with the steam age. Now people want to get in and out as quickly as possible to get to work on time and to get home to spend precious time worth family and friends. We don't want no cotton buffet in bray it's not like it is out in the wilderness miles from anywhere like it once used to be.

And I thought that you were well travelled! Bookstalls have been enjoying something of a comeback in recent years and the one in Bray was thriving until CIE/IE terminated the lease and closed it up as it was needed for operational reasons - would you like me to put up Dick Fearn's letter? As for the buffet it has passed through two tenants in recent years - not in Edwardian times - and it was of considerable use to patrons. It should not be beyond the management of CIE/IE to find a new tenant. Every cent those useless management wasters lose means people lying on hospital trolleys for longer, special needs assistants being cut etc.etc.etc.

These buffets abd bookstalls add to the experience for passengers especially tourists as bray has become particularly busy for tourists during the summer, and what do they see a few ticket machines automatic barriers and few old toilets just what the consumers want, oh and as i said a few staff standing over the barriers with nothing better to do!

Losty Dublin

dowlingm wrote: »

That's why I think it's critical to create a funding or operating environment which removes the burden of 150 year old building upkeep from the fare paying customer. The State wishes to preserve transport heritage? Excellent. But if the user of those structures are in a to-the-death war with private competitors (and sister companies) then the State should move the ownership of those buildings to a "neutral" body, including at stations not currently operational but still in CIE ownership, and with the upkeep being paid in a way that could not be "blamed" on rail or state bus service. CIE could then lease internal space as required at a reasonable rate consistent with local property rents.

MD, infrastructural costs and especially buildings are probably railways largest millstone. Interesting point, the land is already owned by a sperate company, albeit a CIE one but the lads in Kildare Street are willing to get things preserved on the one hand and unwilling to pay for it on the other, all the while paying for the competion to clean up as if it were 3 hands washing up, liquid. (Now there's a blast from the past!)

davidlacey

Losty Dublin wrote: »

dowlingm wrote: »

That's why I think it's critical to create a funding or operating environment which removes the burden of 150 year old building upkeep from the fare paying customer. The State wishes to preserve transport heritage? Excellent. But if the user of those structures are in a to-the-death war with private competitors (and sister companies) then the State should move the ownership of those buildings to a "neutral" body, including at stations not currently operational but still in CIE ownership, and with the upkeep being paid in a way that could not be "blamed" on rail or state bus service. CIE could then lease internal space as required at a reasonable rate consistent with local property rents.

MD, infrastructural costs and especially buildings are probably railways largest millstone. Interesting point, the land is already owned by a sperate company, albeit a CIE one but the lads in Kildare Street are willing to get things preserved on the one hand and unwilling to pay for it on the other, all the while paying for the competion to clean up as if it were 3 hands washing up, liquid. (Now there's a blast from the past!)

At the start of episode 23 on season 3 of thomas the tank engine(available on netflix) reminds me of the irish railways at the moment. A bus taking the rail passengers as its faster

G.A.Ay

My biggest gripe with IR is their abysmal PA system.

Not only do they repeat the same message about a million times, but they do so in Irish as well.

What really grates is the announcing of stops in Irish first, leaving a spitefully long pause before they inform passengers in a language they understand.

I use their service sparingly for this reason.

****.:mad:

steamengine

davidlacey wrote: »

At the start of episode 23 on season 3 of thomas the tank engine(available on netflix) reminds me of the irish railways at the moment. A bus taking the rail passengers as its faster

I was behind one of the tarmac challengers to the Enterprise last week on the M1. A secondhand Setra coach trundling along at a dizzy 60mph+ a little bit. A thought struck me - Is this the epitome of Irish Intercity travel in the 21st century - talk about going backwards !!!

bk

steamengine wrote: »

I was behind one of the tarmac challengers to the Enterprise last week on the M1. A secondhand Setra coach trundling along at a dizzy 60mph+ a little bit. A thought struck me - Is this the epitome of Irish Intercity travel in the 21st century - talk about going backwards !!!

Ironic that you mock 2004 coaches, when the carriages used on the enterprise are 16 years old (1996)!!

BTW despite their age, Setra coaches are considered excellent and are very comfortable. Also they aren't second hand, they were purchased new at the time.

end of the road

its all about personal taste, some will find busses comfortable others won't.

foggy_lad

bk wrote: »

Ironic that you mock 2004 coaches, when the carriages used on the enterprise are 16 years old (1996)!!

BTW despite their age, Setra coaches are considered excellent and are very comfortable. Also they aren't second hand, they were purchased new at the time.

I was on a 2004 Vanhool coach tonight and although it looked a bit dated with the tv not being flatscreen and the seat belts being retrofitted it was so much quieter with none of the usual creaking crashing and clattering of Bus Éireann coaches and much more comfortable than anything Bus Éireann or Irish Rail have to offer.

man98

The best thing that could happen to Irish Rail is amalgamation!

Judgement Day

man98 wrote: »

The best thing that could happen to Irish Rail is amalgamation!

With whom?

corktina

anyone who'll have em....

bazza1

G.A.Ay wrote: »

My biggest gripe with IR is their abysmal PA system.

Not only do they repeat the same message about a million times, but they do so in Irish as well.

What really grates is the announcing of stops in Irish first, leaving a spitefully long pause before they inform passengers in a language they understand.

I use their service sparingly for this reason.

****.:mad:

All signage and announcements must be in Irish and English by rule. Not IE's decision.

foggy_lad

The 8.30pm Cork to Dublin train is almost empty and should be cut back to a 3car 22000 to save money. Cleaning the train and toilets in cork might help.

CIE

foggy_lad wrote: »

The 8.30 pm Cork to Dublin train is almost empty and should be cut back to a 3-car 22000 to save money

If it were not in revenue service, they would have to run it as a non-revenue "deadhead" (to use a US term) back to Heuston, and that would be more of a financial loss. If it is an eight-car Mark 4 set, it cannot magically "transmute" into a three-car 22000-class DMU.

Also, please clarify your observation. This is from riding the train from end to end, or just watching it as it pulls out of Kent Station? because if the latter, then any observation of whether it fills up more en route is missing and prejudices your claim.

n97 mini

Judgement Day wrote: »

With whom?

With the other companies in CIE, so they can provide some sort of co-ordination and coherence and avoid unnecessary duplication.

Does Drogheda really need a BE bus every 20 minutes all day long when it has a very frequent train service?

Where I live on Saturdays we get one train an hour, and we also get one DB bus an hour. Guess what: they both leave at the same time!

mickydoomsux

bazza1 wrote: »

All signage and announcements must be in Irish and English by rule. Not IE's decision.

It's actually an utter nuisance to us in the company. If the Irish portion of a sign is incorrectly spelled (which is a hazy area with the Irish language) or not the same size as the English portion the Gaelegoir-types will lodge official complaints costing the company hundreds if not thousands of euro in replacements for the "incorrect" signs.

Personally i think the company should make a stand and refuse to pander to this tiny minority of people who go out of their way to be awkward by forcing the usage of a language that is as dead as disco. It's embarrassing that the government is wasting money on this kind of nonsense during the worst recession in the nations history.

I get a few people every now and then who rock up to the booking office and try to use Irish and i refuse to play their little game so i make them speak English to complete their transaction, what with it being the functional language of this country.

n97 mini

Hmmm. IE's abuse of the Irish language has been so lazy it's criminal. Droichead na Scuab speaks for itself.

mickydoomsux wrote: »

I get a few people every now and then who rock up to the booking office and try to use Irish and i refuse to play their little game so i make them speak English to complete their transaction, what with it being the functional language of this country.

Might surprise you that some people are born into Irish-speaking households, and learn English as a second language. Just because you are an anglophone monoglot doesn't mean you have to don the monkey suit and act up with them. If you get a foreigner "rock up" to the booking office do you refuse to play their little game too?

mickydoomsux

n97 mini wrote: »

If you get a foreigner "rock up" to the booking office do you refuse to play their little game too?

No because they will usually at least make an attempt to speak English which is the first language of our country but may not be the first language of their country.

In other words, they have a perfectly valid and understandable reason for not being able to speak English whereas someone speaking Irish is just doing it to be awkward to prove some kind of point. The fact that IE are legally obliged to play into the delusion that Irish is relevant to the modern world is frankly embarrassing for everyone involved.

Cookie_Monster

a nice little piece on CIE
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/shane-ross/shane-ross-leo-carjacked-by-cie-cabal-3182553.html

choice quote, since not allowed copy it all wrote:

CIE must be the only company in Ireland to receive everything it wants. Earlier this year it was granted outrageous fare increases. This was a piece of sleight-of-hand to compensate it for the simultaneous cut of €21m in the subsidy! So far in 2012, this drowning monster has seen its subsidy reduced by €21m, then increased by €36m, -- while its bus, train and Dart fares have increased by double digit percentages.

n97 mini

mickydoomsux wrote: »

No because they will usually at least make an attempt to speak English which is the first language of our country but may not be the first language of their country.

As I said already Irish is the first language for some people in Ireland. I'm surprised you don't know this, working for a travel company, as anyone who has travelled the country would know this.

NufcNavan

mickydoomsux wrote: »

No because they will usually at least make an attempt to speak English which is the first language of our country but may not be the first language of their country.

In other words, they have a perfectly valid and understandable reason for not being able to speak English whereas someone speaking Irish is just doing it to be awkward to prove some kind of point. The fact that IE are legally obliged to play into the delusion that Irish is relevant to the modern world is frankly embarrassing for everyone involved.

I think you're in the wrong line of work mate.

thisisadamh

IR should open more commuter services to large towns. Take Athlone for example:
A commuter service from Roscommon serving Knockcroghery, Kiltoom to Athlone.
A commuter service from Ballinsloe serving Monksland to Athlone.

Would take many cars off the N6 and N61 in the mornings and evenings. Better for the environment and would increase their sales of yearly or monthly tickets.

Also with Athlone having 2 stations (one currently disused) on the east and west of the town, it will be convenient for people who work anywhere in the town.

Sponge Bob

Shane Ross fairly let them have it in that indo piece above... and pointed out how much CIE relys on having inhouse spin doctorS. I heard they have a 2.2m pr budget PLUS an advertising budget.

CIE is bust. Last week its cheques were on the brink of bouncing. How did it come to this? How could a company with an annual subsidy of €278m find itself on the verge of insolvency? There is 'something of the dark' about CIE. Or at least a very thick fog embracing the murky company. It has always wrapped itself in a blanket of secrecy. Despite its complete dependence on the taxpayer CIE is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Journalists seeking information will readily receive the time of the 44 bus or the trains to Cork -- but when they ask what the directors are cooking up, the shutters come down. Probably for good reason. OK. We hear the practised waffle when the fares rise. We know when the bus routes are cancelled. Its spinners know how to kick the public in the teeth with a gentle smile. Last week CIE spinners, paid handsomely out of the taxpayers' €278m subsidy, were dressing up CIE's self-inflicted insolvency with platitudes. It was all down to "the recession and rising fuel costs". When costs are cut, these guys should be first for the firing squad. Nothing is ever the fault of CIE and its management. The guys are paid six-figure sums for running the company into the ground. Of course, the CIE spin is that they must be paid these vast salaries. Otherwise we might lose them to the, er... competition. The local competition, in the few places where it is allowed, would not touch them with a barge pole. No overseas recruitment agent has been sighted within spitting distance of a CIE office since the foundation of the State.

Note that the 15% Topup is more than the HSE will ever see.

mickydoomsux

n97 mini wrote: »

As I said already Irish is the first language for some people in Ireland. I'm surprised you don't know this, working for a travel company, as anyone who has travelled the country would know this.

As i've pointed out numerous times before, i work in a station. What has that got to do with traveling around the country?

Also, pretty much every language imaginable is the first language of at least some amount of people in Ireland. Does that mean we should waste millions translating every piece of signage and official document into myriad different tongues to appease every single persons first preference when they are completely capable of both speaking and reading English like 99.9% of the rest of the population?

In fact, i wouldn't be surprised if certain Eastern European languages are spoken by more people on a day to day basis than Irish. Why shouldn't they be the ones getting second billing on road signs?

n97 mini

mickydoomsux wrote: »

As i've pointed out numerous times before, i work in a station.

Yes, and it's your apparent attitude towards certain customers that concerns me.

Judgement Day

n97 mini wrote: »

Yes, and it's your apparent attitude towards certain customers that concerns me.

It's rare that I find myself in agreement with mickydoomsux but this time he is 100% right. At this stage in the country's history when we stand on the verge of total economic meltdown spending anything on the Irish language is outrageous. Try banning it - it would probably make it more popular. The goddamn Saorview booklet had four times the number of pages that it needed and a large percentage of that was down to having it bilingual. Why not have it in Polish too as I'm sure it's more widely spoken than Irish. On-train announcements in Polish too perhaps to keep the PC brigade happy. :rolleyes:

dermo88

1. I have no problem with the Irish language provided it is used appropriately. Arriva Train Wales have announcements in Welsh on Welsh trains, so why not Iarnrod Eireann having Irish.

I have no problem with it being spoken. But then there comes a point where I do question it:

Employing an army of civil servants to translate documents. This is taxpayers money, its someone elses money. Fire them, and if they object, let them starve, cut their dole off.

2. CIE: Where in the world do you get a company that is loosing customers then choose to punish their remaining customers with higher fares and worse services?

The State: Where in the world do you get a government preach hypocritical cant about climate change and the environment then choose to make the alternatives to the car more and more expensive?

Previously, I advocated privatisation of the system. But some posters here have now through their posts showed me that it would actually be a grave error of judgement to privatise on ideological lines alone, and that it would not be a panacea in itself. Indeed, considering the byzantine nature of state-crony-union relations in Ireland, it would be an unmitigated disaster.

This is why CIE gets what it wants. Unfortunately, Ireland has bailed out other failures, such as Larry Goodman, Greencore, Great Southern Railways, Irish Insurance Corporation, Lockes Distillery, snowballing larger greater and worse to the latest debacle.....the massive Banking bailout. At every step, the State said "Yes", when it should have told them to go to hell, and die, drawing a line in the sand demonstrating 'thius far, and no further'

At this point, it is pertinent to ask some difficult questions. Note these are my opinions. Of course....some of you may consider me nuts for the conspiracy theory angle, but I gave up giving a damn a long time ago. Besides which, apart from the human tragedy of some of it, its good to get it off my chest.

1. Why did Michael McDonnell commit suicide? (I think he was harrassed by Lowry's thugs in the Special Branch)
2. Why did Esat get the cable laying contract? (Bribes and brown envelopes)
3. Why is'nt Michael Lowry being investigated for his interference in CIE? (Because it exposes a gravy train that funds political parties through kickbacks)
4. Why is'nt the Mk III debacle being investigated? (Because it threatens CIE survival)

There are many questions about CIE that need to be answered. It is better than it was in the early to mid 1990's, but in a deflationary environment the aim should be to encourage more users with lower fares, and use targetted incentives, not punish the surviving clients who will grow to loathe the company even more, and be lead into the misleading mindset - like I was, of privatising it, of thinking its workers have a cushy number, of thinking its management are a bunch of goons, and that its union leaders are horrible champagne socialists.

CIE Proudly sponsored by the Motor Industry and Fianna Fail bribes since 1945. It does'nt matter because skangers, scum and socialists use it, and they don't make money.

thomasj

http://eiretrains.com/Photo_Gallery/Railway%20Stations%20B/Bray/slides/Bray_20090604_0018_CC.html

One way irish rail could improve customer service (as per this photo) would be to show the right destination at the front of the train!

foggy_lad

mickydoomsux wrote: »

It's actually an utter nuisance to us in the company. Just like the passengers If the Irish portion of a sign is incorrectly spelled (which is a hazy area with the Irish language) or not the same size as the English portion the Gaelegoir-types will lodge official complaints costing the company hundreds if not thousands of euro in replacements for the "incorrect" signs.

If the Staff in this utterly incompetant company could follow basic instructions and read the rules and do their jobs right the signs would be made correctly first time round!

Personally i think the company should make a stand and refuse to pander to this tiny minority of people who go out of their way to be awkward by forcing the usage of a language that is as dead as disco. It's embarrassing that the government is wasting money on this kind of nonsense during the worst recession in the nations history.

I think this company should get out of the business of dealing with the public altogether if they can't get the language requirements right! It is embarrassing to the rest of the world some with three languages to handle that Irish Rail feel this way about our own national language!

I get a few people every now and then who rock up to the booking office and try to use Irish and i refuse to play their little game so i make them speak English to complete their transaction, what with it being the functional language of this country.

This has more to do with your inability to deal properly with customers and most likely does not reflect company policy!

Judgement Day wrote: »

It's rare that I find myself in agreement with mickydoomsux but this time he is 100% right. At this stage in the country's history when we stand on the verge of total economic meltdown spending anything on the Irish language is outrageous. Try banning it - it would probably make it more popular. The goddamn Saorview booklet had four times the number of pages that it needed and a large percentage of that was down to having it bilingual. Why not have it in Polish too as I'm sure it's more widely spoken than Irish. On-train announcements in Polish too perhaps to keep the PC brigade happy. :rolleyes:

If all this Bi-lingual stuff is done right from the start there is very little extra cost but sheer incompetance which is rife throughout all state organisations drives up the cost of even the simplist projects many of which schoolchildren could do!

davidlacey

thisisadamh wrote: »

IR should open more commuter services to large towns. Take Athlone for example:
A commuter service from Roscommon serving Knockcroghery, Kiltoom to Athlone.
A commuter service from Ballinsloe serving Monksland to Athlone.

Would take many cars off the N6 and N61 in the mornings and evenings. Better for the environment and would increase their sales of yearly or monthly tickets.

Also with Athlone having 2 stations (one currently disused) on the east and west of the town, it will be convenient for people who work anywhere in the town.

Totally agree especially when there is GAA in town in Dr hyde park which had 12,000+ at the game and not a train to serve them

CIE

n97 mini wrote: »

Hmmm. IE's abuse of the Irish language has been so lazy it's criminal. Droichead na Scuab speaks for itself

Beats "Droichead Brúm" for Broombridge as it used to appear on the old CIE Dublin District/DB route 22A bus signs. (And the bus didn't even run on Broombridge Road; it stayed on Carnlough Road, just as its replacement, route 120, does.) Another one was the old route 72 with "Baile Oxman" for Oxmantown Road (Bóthar na Lochlannach on street signs). And who can forget "Bánhalla" instead of "Fionnbhrú" for Whitehall? Also, Bray used to be "Bré" (a phonetic transliteration of the English name!) rather than "Brí Chualann", and Swords just "Sord" rather than "Sord Cholum Cille".

dermo88 wrote: »

Where in the world do you get a company that is losing customers then choose to punish their remaining customers with higher fares and (fewer) services?

New York City's MTA. They now intend to impose a so-called green fee for each new Metrocard bought, which would be an extra dollar on top of the $2.25 (€1.83) fare for those that use single-ride Metrocards (and there are loads of those, since the token system was abolished); therefore such a single journey would be $3.25 (€2.64) and would not include a free transfer from subway to bus as multi-ride Metrocards would. Supposed to save multiple millions on the disposal of old Metrocards, but it makes metal tokens look greener by contrast. And there are progressive fare rises coming, starting next year and then every two years after that.