P11 News Item. "Maps are Back."

[Derek Wheeler]

News Item.
Issued by: Platform 11 Communications & Media Officer.


MAPS ARE BACK!

In November 2005, Platform 11 made representations to Irish Rail in relation to the lack of suburban maps on the Dublin Fleet. Astonishingly it took until February 2006 until we received a reply. That reply from Mr. Tom Devoy, General Manager of the DART cited “vandalism” for the lack of maps. Mr. Devoy went on to claim, “currently we are updating our route map and within the next couple of weeks we will be placing the new maps in all DART and Railcar carriages.”

Despite Tom Devoy’s claim of “a couple of weeks”, Platform 11 is pleased to announce, after over 7 months, that the new maps have finally started to appear on the Dublin fleet. We can confirm that the new stations at Spencer Dock, Adamstown and Phoenix Park are included on the new map. (Opening 2007) While Platform 11 welcomes the re-introduction of the map, we are highly critical of Irish Rail’s complacency in what was a very simple matter. It is extremely unprofessional of the company to have suburban trains operating without any corresponding map of the network for such a long period.

Platform 11 has also noted that no maps of the Cork – Cobh suburban service actually exist. To compound this problem, some trains operating the service, actually carry copies of the Dublin suburban rail network! This is a totally unacceptable practise and reflects how “out of touch” Irish Rail are with their Cork suburban service. It may be small, but it’s due for expansion to Midleton and Blarney and it’s about time the company, at the very least, applied the same ethos that it still struggles to provide in Dublin.

Platform 11 will be contacting those responsible for the Cork – Cobh service and calling for the introduction of a map on board trains servicing the route. It’s a sad reflection on Irish Rail that Platform 11 has to point this out to them.

Watch this space.

[James Shields]

I've seen the new maps on the DARTs, which is a big improvement. There areseveral stations marked "opening 2007", including "Docklands" (with an interesting representaton of the Midland line).

None seem to have reached the commuter fleet yet, and many have no maps at all.

There are a number of railcar operated routes around the country, and they also sub in on extra weekend services on routes normally operated by IC stock. It seems outrageous that these routes should bear Dublin commuter maps. Since stock tends to switch routes more or less at random, how about having the Dublin map over one side and the national map over the other?

[Mark Gleeson]

One of our specific requests was that those DART units with electronic maps should have a fixed map

Happy to confirm that this has been done

[comcor]

Talking of maps, I created a map of the proposed Cork suburban network for wikipedia.

As it's public domain licensed, it's free for Platform 11 to use.

It's accurate to the best of my knowledge, although it omits the station that has been proposed for the Amgen site between Carrigtwohill and Midleton.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Csr.jpg

[Mark Gleeson]

Don't worry about the Amgen site it not on the works order docs so its not happening anytime soon

Think Howth here rotate counter clockwise

[Ronald Binge]

Is the map available online yet?

[Mark Gleeson]

The map is copyright

Well we have a copy of the July draft http://www.platform11.org/images/july2006_draft_map.jpg

[MrX]

And they wonder why Cork keeps trying to declare an independent republic!

I remember the good old days (1990s) when we used to get clapped out dublin busses with not even a vague attempt to debrand the interiors.

Also remember being several that actually caught fire due to their clapped out engines being unable to negociate hills.

The attitude that CIE takes to Cork commuters is an utter disgrace. I am very much in favour of a cork transport authority.

[comcor]

And they wonder why Cork keeps trying to declare an independent republic!

I remember the good old days (1990s) when we used to get clapped out dublin busses with not even a vague attempt to debrand the interiors.

Even crazier is that the adverts in the trains are the Dublin adverts. Now it seems to me
If I was a Dublin advertiser I'd be a bit pissed off if the advert I'd paid for was being shown to people travelling between Cork and Mallow
Irish Rail are losing a potential source of income by not selling advertising specific to the Cork routes


In fact with the second of these points, it might make sense to have certain rolling stock tied to certain routes in Dublin to help with more focussed adverts and greater revenue from them.

[MrX]

IE get something right?

Are you quite mad?

It's simply not going to happen. I've accepted that a long time ago.

[Mark Gleeson]

If I was a Dublin advertiser I'd be a bit pissed off if the advert I'd paid for was being shown to people travelling between Cork and Mallow.
Well Titan have the contract there problem, the ads are not changed in Cork in fact there shouldn't be any left on board by now, the Cork and Limerick fleets are dedicated

Irish Rail are losing a potential source of income by not selling advertising specific to the Cork routes
That be Titans problem looking at 8 million journeys pa in Cork by 2016 so I'm sure they will cop on to it

[shweeney]

new map is an improvement on the old one but still not great - it looks messy, the lines don't line up and the docklands "branch" seems to have been added in as an afterthought.

I know they're restricted by the oblong shape, but there's got to be a better way of depicting the network

*fires up Visio*

[Mark Gleeson]

Well the map is incorrect if you look carefully at the Dockland station it should branch below the Maynooth line as it does in reality

The original map as in the 1980 something was a straight line more or less, that worked fine until Kildare local services appeared and the Maynooth line got a heap of stations. It lasted in a more jazzy format until just after Malahide went DART

I might be dreaming but I think they had two different maps back then (the second was a flopped version of the first) so Howth was always at the Howth end of the train regardless of which side you looked at

It not just the DART maps

Prize for the first person to find Monestervin on a map in a Mk3 or Mk2 coach, might want to find Ennis as well

[markpb]

Am I the only one who'd prefer a schematic diagram like other cities use instead of a mixture of a schematic superimposed a bad drawing of Dublin? The existing maps are too small to actually be useful but as another poster has pointed out, they're constrained by space.

What I'd like to see is a list of the stops on the current route. Black line, black writing, white background, terribly simple and easy to read. Someone else on the train, there'd be an A3 drawing of the system map, again in schematic form.

[shweeney]

yeah - since they switched to trying to depict Dublin Bay on the map its become a lot messier

here's my version - done in the style of the original Dart map, sea on the top, land on the bottom. Personally I thinks its a lot neater and clearer - an actual graphic designer should be able to do something better...

[markpb]

Thats a lot better than the current one but I think it's still too detailed for the side map. It's closer to what I use as the system map. This is more what I had in mind for the Dart carriages only less ugly and with the other stations named as well :) 2900s would have a similar map for the Sligo/Maynooth route.

Edit: Comcor's map is what I would have drawn if I had any skills. Simple, easy to read only shows one route with interchanges.

[James Shields]

The DARTs all have the new maps, but commuter trains (where they have maps at all) still have the old one.

How about a scrolly board or a hi-res LCD display that will automatically show the correct map for the route a commuter train is currently running? Or is there a simpler solution?

[luasifer]

couple of things ommited from the map. It shows airport connection from Connolly but not from Heuston(748 anybody!).

I think the whole luas/dart seperate map thing is a farce but I guess thats a different ballgame. At least they've included some of the red line

[shweeney]

on my DART carriage this morning there was at least 6 (Six) copies of the new map, including 3 in a row over one of the doors.

either they printed too many, or they're experiencing a shortage of advertising.

[Mark Gleeson]

Equally I can find coaches with only 2 or 3

The allocation is or should be as follows

Original Fleet
2 long maps each side of the doors

Newer coaches
1 long map over door, 1 short map overstanding area

Newest coaches (electronic maps)
2 short maps over standing area

We specifically requested a fixed map on those coaches with a electronic map, these coaches never had a full map before

Part of the problem is the maps reduce revenue space, IE can make more cash by pulling all the maps

Good news is the maps appear to be printed on a plastic card material which should prove more robust

[zag]

Maybe I was looking too hard (and so was blinded to the fact that it was there), but it took me a good 5 minutes to locate the Ferry Connection icon at DL. Maybe the fact they out it on the land side was what threw me.

I initially thought they had an icon included for the ferry connection to Dublin Port, but when I couldn't find it at Connolly I reckoned it had to be at DL. As I said, it took me a while to locate it.

Assuming we ever get a joined up authority somewhere along the line, they should insist that the presence of other forms of mass transit be ackonwledged on any route maps. Sure, you don't have to promote your 'competitors' but you shouldn't be allowed confuse passengers either.

z