The frustration of trying to use the train.

yachtsman

A friend is travelling next Sunday from Pembroke to the Europort of Rosslare (owned by Irish Rail) arriving 06:15 and wished to travel on to Galway by train and found:

(a) the railway from Rosslare to Waterford was recently closed.

He then planned to take the 07:15 bus to Waterford and continue by train and found

(b) that there are no trains between Waterford and Limerick on a Sunday!

So still endeavouring to use the railway he planned to Bus it on from Waterford to Limerick and continue to Galway by rail - to find

(c) the bus from Limerick to Galway meant a delay in Limerick of 60 mins, while the train was 75 minutes.

To further discourage him, the train journey would take 1 hour and 55 minutes while the bus takes 1 hour and 20 minutes.

To add insult to injury the bus fare all the way from Rosslare to Galway is €30.40 while the train fare from Limerick to Galway alone is €21.50 - which on top of the bus fare from Rosslare to Limerick would add up to €41.92.

He was told that he could take a train from Rosslare to Galway - with a 3 hour 25 minute wait at Rosslare Europort for the first train to the Capital City - followed by a two hour delay in Dublin before an afternoon departure to Galway arriving at 17:10 with a price tag of €65.60!

He's travelling through to Galway by bus for €30.40 and he'll arrive in Galway at 13.35.

'nuf said!:rolleyes:

PS Well done Bus Eireann - you provide a public transport service.

corktina

sad but true....

dowlingm

yachtsman wrote: »

A friend is travelling next Sunday from Pembroke to the Europort of Rosslare (owned by Irish Rail) arriving 06:15 and wished to travel on to Galway by train and found:

(a) the railway from Rosslare to Waterford was recently closed.

839 days since the last service and counting.

Tube

Trying recently to plan a trip for someone who lives near Fishguard to Dublin. Ferry is fine if you drive, but on foot the onward options from Rosslare by bus or rail are very poor. If on foot better off flying from Cardiff.

CaptainSkidmark

Took me 4.20 to get from mallow to galway by train last week, i was so hungover the next day i got the bus to cork city from galway and train home. 3 hours

demanufactured

Would be better off to walk.

corktina

demanufactured wrote: »

Would be better off to walk.

he has hungover, probably couldn't walk

man98

Let's just hope that Rosslare to Waterford is reopened.... or a shake-up or replacement a management at Irish Rail. Maybe they should start an intergrated rail system, like in South Wales, 1 minute switch times after a direct train from Fishguard.

Niles

yachtsman wrote: »

PS Well done Bus Eireann - you provide a public transport service.

Unless you want to travel direct from Rosslare port to Dublin... one of the few instances were Iarnród Éireann actually out do them...

corktina

Niles wrote: »

Unless you want to travel direct from Rosslare port to Dublin... one of the few instances were Iarnród Éireann actually out do them...

not as I understand it if you are coming off a ferry though...

LXFlyer

In the mornings there is a direct connection (Monday-Saturday), and the reasons for the lack of an evening connecting service have been explained numerous times before, due principally to the lack of a suitable path that would not involve significant delays to one or more trains.

Niles

To be honest, with the decline in foot traffic on the ferries these days (compared to say 20-30 years ago) I'd rather see IÉ orientate their schedule to suit commuter traffic. If running an evening service to connect with the ferry prevents the smooth timetabling of outbound commuter services as lxflyer suggests then I think it makes sense to leave it has is.

Of course, if it is to be competitive with the two bus companies (actually three is you count Ardcavan) on the route then it does need a more frequent service during the day time.

corktina

chicken and egg....? maybe the decline in foot passengers has something to do with the poor connecting services?

LXFlyer

corktina wrote: »

chicken and egg....? maybe the decline in foot passengers has something to do with the poor connecting services?

I did explain in some detail two years ago why the trains are timed as they are, yet you still seem to think it is a relatively simple thing to do. I went to the trouble of pathing out the various options until I found a time that would work - 19:15 ex Rosslare.

Due to the constraints of the clock face half-hourly DART to/from Greystones and the three southbound commuter services, options are limited. This is down to the line being single track with passing loops, the lack of paths around Bray Head and the massive gap in service (6.5 hours) northbound if the train were deferred to connect with the boat.

I suspect that the numbers of local passengers discommoded by delaying the train to connect with the boat would seriously outweigh the numbers of foot passengers.

The only way this could happen is if there was an extra train between 12:55 and 19:15 (the only available path out of Rosslare). In the current financial climate I can't see that happening.

corktina

I'm not disputing what you've said before, just saying that if there were a better service from the harbour, then there might be more foot passengers.

I'm a great believer in "where there's a will, there's a way" btw...there is very little will in IE to run trains to Rosslare Harbour,

Niles

Since October Bus Éireann have cut back their 002 service to Wexford town despite the bus depot being in the harbour. This says to me that there really isn't much patronage to be had from the ferries.

gobnaitolunacy

Niles wrote: »

Since October Bus Éireann have cut back their 002 service to Wexford town despite the bus depot being in the harbour. This says to me that there really isn't much patronage to be had from the ferries.

Doesn't the BE Eurolines service actually go on board the ferry? Not much call for a drop off service at the ferryport then?

corktina

i suppose that depends where you are from/going to.