[20/12/2011] Services resume through Pearse Station - delays

[Colm Moore]

The bridge strike at Sandwith Street has been cleared. Delays of 5-15 minutes mostly on northbound trains.

[Rashers]

I was on the 16.50 Bray to Drogheda. This was delayed 20 minutes. Could not make out any of the driver announcements as too low.....:(

[Inniskeen]

Very messy again on Tueday evening.

1630 from Greystones initially running about 10 minutes late (not untypical for this and other DART services originating in Greystones). As a consequence the 1630 followed the 1703 from Dun Laoghaire and severely delayed the following already miserably slow 1650 Bray to Drogheda.

Further delays resulted from the Sandwith Street bridge strike and the decision to terminate the late running 1630 at Howth Junction. Passengers on the DART for Clongriffin, Portmarnock and Malahide were told to join the immediately following Drogheda service at Connolly. In the event the relatively lightly DART rambled on to Malahide. As usual nobody even considered allowing the heavily overcrowded Drogheda train overtake the DART at Connolly.

The 12.5 miles from Pearse to Donabate took a pathetically slow 36 minutes, ironically better than the morning inbound trip on the 0630 from Dundalk which again closely trailed a DART and took 40 minutes to reach Pearse.

If Irish Rail can't or won't improve the performance of northern line services and persist with the idiotic slowest train first policy they will suffer a further dramatic fall in business as longer distance commuters desert rail services for cheaper and faster road based alternatives.