Reduced Capacity on Peak service

end of the road

bikeman1 wrote: »

22s are not a waste.

they are on commuter routes

bikeman1 wrote: »

People pay Intercity fares Dundalk to Gormanston, so giving them the odd Intercity train is hardly a waste.

it is when i as a wexford customer have to suffer 2900s

bikeman1 wrote: »

22s work well on the Northern line. And I am speaking from experience.

but their not commuter stock, their intercity and long distance stock, thats the routes they should operate unless going to a depot.

TheBandicoot

bikeman1 wrote: »

Why can't Drogheda maintain 2800s anymore? No reason why not. They did for all the years up to last year. No reason why that has changed.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm of the understanding that they no longer have the spare parts/staff training etc. maintained there. It was all moved out to Limerick.

Emme

kc56 wrote: »

I understand this was actually a 4-carraige train and not the usual 6-piece.

It was dark so maybe I didn't see it properly. This is one of the busiest trains on the Waterford-Heuston route. It was lunacy to put on only 4 carriages. Even 6 would have been packed and some people would have had to stand.

bikeman1

end of the road wrote: »

they are on commuter routes

it is when i as a wexford customer have to suffer 2900s

but their not commuter stock, their intercity and long distance stock, thats the routes they should operate unless going to a depot.

I agree that the Wexford line should be a 22 as well. I don't agree with you saying they shouldn't work on the Northern line.

The last time I checked in Drogheda there is a massive train service depot. Drogheda serves this purpose for the Connolly side. So having a few working a service to Drogheda makes total sense to me. Remember there are only a handful of services worked by 22s with the vast majority worked by 29s

end of the road

just saw on another site that 2900s have been operating the 1833 dublin rosslare and 0743 rosslare dublin services for the past few weeks, irish rail are deliberately running down this line, i've no dbout about it now

foggy_lad

end of the road wrote: »

just saw on another site that 2900s have been operating the 1833 dublin rosslare and 0743 rosslare dublin services for the past few weeks, irish rail are deliberately running down this line, i've no dbout about it now

The problem is that they can't run full size trains on this old line because they forgot to extend the platforms at most of the stations over the years.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

end of the road

well now we have 4 car 22000s theirs surely no excuse for 2900s now? i know personal responsibility has been driven from society but at rathdrum surely an anouncement to move toards the front of the train a good few minutes before stopping would be an idea also? or even a little thing called selective door opening oh wait they forgot that and the tender has been put out god knows how many times yet still nothing, passengers have given up complaining about it now as they know nothing will change

corktina

you can't have 22s because they are using all the spare capacity to replace 4 of the 7 Mk4 sets which are what? 5 years old.

No doubt lack of suitable rolling stock will be trotted out in a few years to justify slashing services on that line.

end of the road

corktina wrote: »

you can't have 22s because they are using all the spare capacity to replace 4 of the 7 Mk4 sets which are what? 5 years old.

between 6/7 years old, they should have got some lightweight but powerful power cars to go with them, or kept the mark 3s with grandfather rights (if britain can get away with using them without the necessary things required by the EU regulations then so couldn we) but i give up.

corktina wrote: »

No doubt lack of suitable rolling stock will be trotted out in a few years to justify slashing services on that line.

you mean shut and rip it up south of graystones? i'm very fearful for the future of this line, i've been saying and predicting for years what will happen, so preparing for the worst.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

corktina

end of the road wrote: »

between 6/7 years old, they should have got some lightweight but powerful power cars to go with them, or kept the mark 3s with grandfather rights (if britain can get away with using them without the necessary things required by the EU regulations then so couldn we) but i give up.

you mean shut and rip it up south of graystones? i'm very fearful for the future of this line, i've been saying and predicting for years what will happen, so preparing for the worst.

sorry meant to say SLASH and BURN

end of the road

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

very true, if it does, they can stick their bus replacement where the sun don't shine as i'l just get a lift of a friend or something, wonder have those who used the south wexford said the same thing for their bus replacement, probably as i heard from somebody it doesn't serve 1 or 2 of the villages on route but can't confirm myself, maybe JD knows something?

dowlingm

Distributing 2800s around the place means more spare parts in more depots which means more costs. At the moment the 2600s and 2800s operate out of Limerick and Cork because of commonality between those sets. You could remote base one like Ballina but that seems a bit pointless.

end of the road

dowlingm wrote: »

Distributing 2800s around the place means more spare parts in more depots which means more costs. At the moment the 2600s and 2800s operate out of Limerick and Cork because of commonality between those sets. You could remote base one like Ballina but that seems a bit pointless.

would anyone know how many of the westport trains are 6 car but use 2 sets of 3? i believe they do have a split and join with one half going and coming from westport and balinagh respectively which is a good thing when possible, i think keeping a 22 down there just to do the shuttle to and fron balinagh is a waste though

Jamie2k9

end of the road wrote: »

would anyone know how many of the westport trains are 6 car but use 2 sets of 3? i believe they do have a split and join with one half going and coming from westport and balinagh respectively which is a good thing when possible, i think keeping a 22 down there just to do the shuttle to and fron balinagh is a waste though

Not possible

7.35 3or4 piece (forms 13.15 to Heuston)
12.45 6or7 piece (forms 05.15 and 09.45 to Heuston)
14.45 3or4 piece (forms 18.15 to Heuston)
18.15 4 piece (forms 07.15 to Heuston)

LEIN

The 2 car 09:30 from Greystones was horrendous this morning.

As far as I could see there were people left at the closer to the city stations.

6 minutes late leaving Greystones and the driver made no attempt to make up time by going to the top of every platform arriving at Tara St 10 minutes behind schedule.

I can see people leaving the service in their droves.

Emme

DD9090 wrote: »

I can see people leaving the service in their droves.

That applies to all IE lines but unfortunately tax saver customers who bought the yearly or 6 monthly ticket are tied in for that period of time to a shoddy, overcrowded and rip-off service. I think that IE are taking advantage of this. They know some people have no choice and can't vote with their feet because they've already paid for a yearly ticket (which goes up in price every year). The prices seem to go up in proportion to the decline in service.

I forgot to add that when IE put on shorter trains the trolley always seems to be in the way when passengers want to get off the train.

I am looking at carpooling and checking out bus services as possible options when my tax saver ticket expires. I don't think things are going to get better on IE and things will probably get even worse in the New Year.

IE nearly always leaves it until the last minute to announce the platform for the Waterford train at Heuston. The excuse is that "technical problems" are causing the delays. If so why don't other lines suffer proportional technical problems - they don't! When the platform is finally announced (10 minutes before departure if you're lucky, otherwise 5 minutes before departure) people make a mad dash for the gates (of which about 50% aren't working) and stampede down the platform to get a seat.

The US Marines could make good use of a physical and mental challenge like this to get their soldiers fit for enemy territory. I am looking forward to the day when the stampede runs over IE employees on the platform in their rush to get seats on the train.

dowlingm

end of the road wrote: »

would anyone know how many of the westport trains are 6 car but use 2 sets of 3? i believe they do have a split and join with one half going and coming from westport and balinagh respectively which is a good thing when possible, i think keeping a 22 down there just to do the shuttle to and fron balinagh is a waste though

Nope. Ballina service is a dedicated 2800 set which shuttles back and forth. If a 22000 craps out I believe it has been known to do the odd run to Athlone. The join/split was for Galway/Westport at Athlone, don't know if that is still being done.

LXFlyer

dowlingm wrote: »

Nope. Ballina service is a dedicated 2800 set which shuttles back and forth. If a 22000 craps out I believe it has been known to do the odd run to Athlone. The join/split was for Galway/Westport at Athlone, don't know if that is still being done.

There is no en route splitting between Dublin and Galway/Westport.

Victor

Emme wrote: »

I am looking forward to the day when the stampede runs over IE employees on the platform in their rush to get seats on the train.

Let's keep the discussion constructive.

Moderator

Emme

Victor wrote: »

Let's keep the discussion constructive.

Moderator

Fair enough, that was going a bit too far. However, it remains that Iarnrod Eireann are making a mockery of customers by shortening already crowded trains and making a daily journey to and from work extremely unpleasant. After long stressful days in demanding jobs the ill-effects of doing this long term cannot be underestimated. A high proportion of long-term commuters LOOK ill. Carry out a study of these people for chronic stress related illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes and compare them with people who do not commute by train. I would be very surprised if the commuters did not show a higher incidence of stress-related diseases. Iarnrod Eireann will only exacerbate this by cutting services. This might save them some money in the short term but if you compromise the health and safety of your clients you will suffer long-term. This effect will also spill over into the country's health services. People will stop traveling by train if they can and in the long term IE may have to put larger seats in their trains to accommodate sick, obese passengers. Many people have difficulty fitting into standard seats as it is.

Here are some links to articles on the long-term effects of commuting on crowded trains:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jan/12/transport.world

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2652853.stm

Some people have no choice but to commute by train. Passengers south of Kildare on the Heuston to Waterford line are at disadvantage because we have a longer journey and far fewer trains than those between Kildare and Heuston.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Highflyer13

Disgruntled commuters forced to stand in toilet on overcrowded train, passenger says

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/disgruntled-commuters-forced-to-stand-in-toilet-on-overcrowded-train-passenger-says-29796041.html


Well done Irish rail. In order to reduce average costs and raise profits they continue to compromise passenger safety and deliver an extremely poor quality of service. Competition is badly needed as they show no respect and neglect passengers but we all know this will never happen with the semi-state crap that is going on in Ireland. A sham of a company.

I was on the 6.57 service from Maynooth on Wednesday morning and I got on at Leixlip and had to stand. Found it quite difficult to breath such was the level of overcrowding. Seeing people left on the platform alot lately.

end of the road

Highflyer13 wrote: »

Disgruntled commuters forced to stand in toilet on overcrowded train, passenger says

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/disgruntled-commuters-forced-to-stand-in-toilet-on-overcrowded-train-passenger-says-29796041.html


Well done Irish rail. In order to reduce average costs and raise profits they continue to compromise passenger safety and deliver an extremely poor quality of service. Competition is badly needed as they show no respect and neglect passengers but we all know this will never happen with the semi-state crap that is going on in Ireland. A sham of a company.

I was on the 6.57 service from Maynooth on Wednesday morning and I got on at Leixlip and had to stand. Found it quite difficult to breath such was the level of overcrowding. Seeing people left on the platform alot lately.

competition with who though? your never going to get multiple operators operating the same routes on our railways, you don't really get competition like that in the UK either, it just so happens multiple operators share stations and part of the routes, i do agree though irish rail don't seem to care along with the department of transport and the waste of space transport minister

LXFlyer

Highflyer13 wrote: »

Disgruntled commuters forced to stand in toilet on overcrowded train, passenger says

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/disgruntled-commuters-forced-to-stand-in-toilet-on-overcrowded-train-passenger-says-29796041.html


Well done Irish rail. In order to reduce average costs and raise profits they continue to compromise passenger safety and deliver an extremely poor quality of service. Competition is badly needed as they show no respect and neglect passengers but we all know this will never happen with the semi-state crap that is going on in Ireland. A sham of a company.

I was on the 6.57 service from Maynooth on Wednesday morning and I got on at Leixlip and had to stand. Found it quite difficult to breath such was the level of overcrowding. Seeing people left on the platform alot lately.

Standing from Leixlip frankly is not an issue - plenty of people have to stand on buses/DART within the Short Hop Zone. It's a fact of life on all commuter networks.

The issue is standing on longer distance services.

end of the road

lxflyer wrote: »

Standing from Leixlip frankly is not an issue - plenty of people have to stand on buses/DART within the Short Hop Zone. It's a fact of life on all commuter networks.

yes it is an issue when people are standing crushed in a big long line from 1 drivers cab to the other drivers cab with others crushed in every little space, its ridiculous and theirs no excuse for it when theirs perfectly good carriges awaiting the breakers, but leo and the rest of his little buddies along with irish rail management couldn't care a less so whats the point

lxflyer wrote: »

The issue is standing on longer distance services.

and running horid dirty smelly noisy rickity drafty shaky uncomfortable commuter rail cars on long distance routes also

foggy_lad

lxflyer wrote: »

Standing from Leixlip frankly is not an issue - plenty of people have to stand on buses/DART within the Short Hop Zone. It's a fact of life on all commuter networks.

The issue is standing on longer distance services.

Indeed Standing from Sligo is a whole different problem, even elderly or disabled people can usually easily stand for a few stops on commuter services.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/disgruntled-commuters-forced-to-stand-in-toilet-on-overcrowded-train-passenger-says-29796041.html

Irish Rail spokesperson Barry Kenny said the train had been reduced from a seven-carriage train to a four-carriage train this evening, and this was the reason for the overcrowding.

Anyone familiar with this service will tell that it has been reduced to 3-4cars for weeks not just for one evening!
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/disgruntled-commuters-forced-to-stand-in-toilet-on-overcrowded-train-passenger-says-29796041.html#comments

Doodlebug101
• 40 minutes ago

The spokesperson is woefully uninformed. This picture could be from any evening during the past month. The train had its carriages reduced weeks ago. It used to have six and now always has four or three carriages. Never seven. Ever. A great many passengers are standing most evenings when the Sligo train leaves the station. As I write this I am standing on an overcrowded 7.05pm train to Sligo. The flimsiness of this article matches the lack of respect Iarnrod Eireann has for its customers Please follow up this article with some fact based reporting. For example, ask Barry what "reconsidering their fleet" means. And tell us, the people who pay their and your wages

n97 mini

lxflyer wrote: »

Standing from Leixlip frankly is not an issue

I don't think those standing would agree with you. And if it's standing room only by Leixlip, what's it like by Castleknock?

15 years ago IE thought it ok to have people travel in the guards van and alight into the ditch on that route.

corktina

lxflyer wrote: »

Standing from Leixlip frankly is not an issue - plenty of people have to stand on buses/DART within the Short Hop Zone. It's a fact of life on all commuter networks.

The issue is standing on longer distance services.

seing people left on the platform is though surely..... that's what the guy also said

LXFlyer

corktina wrote: »

seing people left on the platform is though surely..... that's what the guy also said

Absolutely!

LXFlyer

n97 mini wrote: »

I don't think those standing would agree with you. And if it's standing room only by Leixlip, what's it like by Castleknock?

15 years ago IE thought it ok to have people travel in the guards van and alight into the ditch on that route.

I had to stand for 40 minutes on buses in Dublin for over 10 years, so I know all about it - but that was the reality that we had - and yes we were crammed in. But we put up with it.

The idea of people standing on a commuter train within the short hop zone is frankly not to my mind the main problem here.

The main problems are either people being left behind - that is not acceptable, and people standing for significant periods of time on long distance trains which is equally not acceptable.

IE need to get a grip of this and fast, because people will not put up with either of those situations.

n97 mini

lxflyer wrote: »

The idea of people standing on a commuter train within the short hop zone is frankly not to my mind the main problem here.

Not the main problem here, but a problem. If the same people have to stand day in day out for 40+ minutes, knowing it's never going to change, many will do something about it, like opt for some other form of transport, like driving.

corktina

exactly...and statements that appear to be short of the truth wont impress any commuter left behind or standing in an grossly over-loaded short formation

Highflyer13

corktina wrote: »

seing people left on the platform is though surely..... that's what the guy also said

Exactly. There is clearly an issue here. I dont mind standing from Leixlip into town but when it gets to the point where I am struggling to breathe and seeing people left on the platform there is a clear issue.

colm1982

How many cars is the 1805 Connolly-Longford these days? And is it 22k or 29k? It was 4 car 29k when I got it one day last week I think

MDFM

colm1982 wrote: »

How many cars is the 1805 Connolly-Longford these days? And is it 22k or 29k? It was 4 car 29k when I got it one day last week I think

4 carriage 29k.

MDFM

colm1982 wrote: »

How many cars is the 1805 Connolly-Longford these days? And is it 22k or 29k? It was 4 car 29k when I got it one day last week I think

4 carriage 29k.

IS_a_Class

RobbingBandit wrote: »

Got the 7:05pm train the last three nights from Connolly to Maynooth, Friday and Saturday were mental, no room at all and people were sitting on the floor in the doorway and outside the toilet on both nights, tonight I found the first carriage fairly empty not sure what it was like in the last one as I will be avoiding it from now on.

That post kind of puts me off moving to Maynooth, are the trains like that in the morning too? Have there been cases of people not being able to get on in Maynooth because the train was too packed?

LXFlyer

The train mentioned above is the Sligo train. There are other local trains to Maynooth that would have more room.

Trains at 06:38, 07:30, 07:55, and 08:18 in the mornings are all 8 piece trains.

n97 mini

If you're looking for a good train service the Maynooth line is only slightly better than Hazelhatch. After 8pm the service is hourly which is woefully inadequate, and the last service in from Maynooth doesn't connect with any DARTs.

IS_a_Class

n97 mini wrote: »

If you're looking for a good train service the Maynooth line is only slightly better than Hazelhatch. After 8pm the service is hourly which is woefully inadequate, and the last service in from Maynooth doesn't connect with any DARTs.

Last train is half eleven back to Maynooth from Connolly, not too bad for a night out etc.

Hazelhatch line goes to Heuston, which makes it a little to a lot more tricky depending on where you want to go, unless of course you work near Heuston.

n97 mini

IS_a_Class wrote: »

Last train is half eleven back to Maynooth from Connolly, not too bad for a night out etc.

11.17pm on a weeknight, or an incredible 8.52pm on a Sunday, compared say with 11.37pm to Balbriggan.

L1011

IS_a_Class wrote: »

Last train is half eleven back to Maynooth from Connolly, not too bad for a night out etc.

If you're from rural Ireland and expect a night to be over by half eleven, sure. In pretty much every other European city the night hasn't actually started by then.

IS_a_Class

yeah, but if you're really gonna party, then there's the half 5 train in the morning surely? I find with Irish people, its usually either a quiet few and home by 12, or the crazy night out when you're singing outside the chipper at 4am

IS_a_Class

So Balbrigan has a good train service? It's outside the short hop zone though so it's more expensive, therefore not comparable for my purposes, but of course i agree with the point of your post

Jamie2k9

MYOB wrote: »

If you're from rural Ireland and expect a night to be over by half eleven, sure. In pretty much every other European city the night hasn't actually started by then.

You would be surprised, most commuter routes have a service around 11.30 and none after expect for some routes have a service at 00.30 or around that time.

Problem with the Maynooth line is manual crossings and the costs involved. If LC costs were gone then a weekend nightlink like service running maybe at 01.00 and 03.00 might work departing from Tara/Pearse (not serve Connolly to keep costs down) might work.

L1011

IS_a_Class wrote: »

yeah, but if you're really gonna party, then there's the half 5 train in the morning surely? I find with Irish people, its usually either a quiet few and home by 12, or the crazy night out when you're singing outside the chipper at 4am

If the pubs didn't close at 2:30 the 5/6am first services would be more than sufficient - as they were when Dublin venues with theatre licences were opening till 5 or later for the few months before the new licencing laws came in. Had a few nights where I got the last bus in and a taxi from Conyngham Road to start a night around the time transport planners expect you to be tucked up in bed then. But that's a different topic.

Hilly Bill

IS_a_Class wrote: »

So Balbrigan has a good train service? It's outside the short hop zone though so it's more expensive, therefore not comparable for my purposes, but of course i agree with the point of your post

Balbriggan is the limit of the Zone.

Losty Dublin

MYOB wrote: »

In pretty much every other European city the night hasn't actually started by then.

In pretty much every other European city, they fund their public transport with enough money to pay for night services.