Shorter trains!

[sinead]

Has anyone any explanation as to why the 7.29 train from Sallins to Heuston (its a train from Portlaoise) has been 2 carriages shorter all this week. Used to be an irregular occurence and is happening more regularly and now every day this week. Used to be that you could possibly - shock horror - get a seat. Had the pleasure of standing all week. Is it Irish Rail policy if a train comes into Heuston with most people sitting to make it shorter? So frustrating especially as I got a reminder re next years annual ticket in my payslip!

[Derek Wheeler]

Hi Sinead.

Welcome to the board. Give us some time on that one and we'll get back.

[sinead]

Thanks Derek!

[Celbridge traveller]

Hello everybody,

I'm new to this bulletin board. You may wish to know that on one of the mornings last week (week commencing 16th Oct.) there was neither light nor heat on the (short) train that departs Celbridge @ 7.22.

[Mark Gleeson]

Train ex Hazelhatch at 7.22 is the 6:30 ex Carlow
Train ex Sallins at 7:29 is the 6:45 ex Portloaise

Most Dublin Portlaoise trains have been 1 coach short for ages, IE denied it but there simply are not enough coaches when in fact there should be 1 spare full 8 coach train available until 9am ish

Rules state no train should leave its starting point with a lighting failure but is allowed to proceed if it happens en route. Its a difficult question, would you rather it cancelled thats where it gets tricky. First priority is get you a to b, followed quickly by doing it on time and three by getting seat. The lights should be on in fact its fairly impossible to lose all lights unless someone is thick about switching it on correctly since there is a battery and normally 2 independent generators, you do loose any meaningful AC if only one generator is available

Derek should be able to turn up specifics

[James Shields]

Rules state no train should leave its starting point with a lighting failure but is allowed to proceed if it happens en route.

What if lighting fails on a one coach?

I was on an Enterprise out of Connolly recently, which went at least as far as Drogheda with one coach in total darkness. I presume the coach must have had some power, otherwise the doors wouldn't have worked. It was the 7pm from Connolly, which is always fairly full.

Sorry if this is getting off-topic.

[Alan G]

I had a thoroughly unpleasant trip on Sunday due to short trains and to make it worse I could have avoided it if only I had known the secret IE timetable.

I went to Portlaoise to catch the 17.39 to Heuston (16.15 from Limerick).

I got to the station about 20mns early and was surprised to see a large number waiting on the platform already. A minute or two later I was in the toilet when a train arrived, I got to the platform to see a CDE set had stopped but by then it was too late to get across the bridge to catch it.

It must have been the 15.30 from Cork which is not listed as stopping in Portlaoise in the printed timetable or on the journey planner. The fact that so many people were there waiting suggests that it is a regular stop.

I wasn't terribly bothered as I had planned on catching the later train anyway and from past experience (pre-2006 timetable) the afternoon train from Limerick always had enough seating.

The platform quickly filled up again with about40-50 people and when the train arrived however it was immediately obvious there was a serious problem, it was an 071 and 3 mk2 coaches plus generating van. It took over 5 minutes for all the people there to push on to the already overcrowded train.

By the time we got to Portarlington I decided to get off, the overcrowding was bad enough but the drunken agressive scumbags that are now a regular feature of rail travel just made an uncomfortable trip not worth it.

I had checked the timetable and the up Galway was only a few minutes later and surely that couldn't be as bad???

What a fool I am, the 16.15 ex-Galway was formed by a 4car 2900 set which unsurprisingly was also overcrowded and of course therere is the added bonus of trying to stay upright with the dreadful ride of those heaps at full speed.

My lesson is well and truly learned, I will stick to Bus Eireann, they amazingly anticipate high traffic on Sundays and put on several extra buses for each departure.

I appreciate that IE do not have a surplus of stock in general but that doesn't wash as far as Sundays go. 3 mk2 coaches is a complete joke for the Limerick service and there is no way that there are not spare 2900 sets on Sundays to make 8 car (or at least 6 car 27/800) for all the IC services that they neet to run with commuter railcars.

The 16.05 Heuston-Limerick (presumably the 20.15 return working) was also a 4 car 2900.