[01/07/2012]-Major Delays to Connolly-Sligo Services

[Jamie2k9]

Services are currently delayed between 80-90 minutes due to a broken down track maintance machine in Enfeild area.

[Colm Moore]

http://www.irishrail.ie/cat_news.jsp?i=4640&p=116&n=237Dublin/Sligo line delays due to mechanical fault
02 July 2012

Services on the Dublin/Sligo line are currently delayed 80-90 minutes due to a mechanical fault on a track maintenance machine between Killucan and Enfield.

Iarnród Éireann apologises for the inconvenience caused.

If your service is delayed by 60 minutes or more, you may be entitled to refund vouchers - for full information on refunds, click here. (http://www.irishrail.ie/cat_faq.jsp?i=4235&ci=2&caID=65&pc=1&gc=0&p=117&n=135)

[James Howard]

And of course, not content with keeping the passengers for the 17:05 to Sligo waiting for almost an hour, they have it leave at 18:02 so they can extract the maximum possible inconvenience for those running late for the 18:05 to Longford.

I am looking forward to spending half an hour waiting in Enfield to cross with the 1700 from Sligo which they will have probably let proceed despite having about 15 passengers.

[Jamie2k9]

And of course, not content with keeping the passengers for the 17:05 to Sligo waiting for almost an hour, they have it leave at 18:02 so they can extract the maximum possible inconvenience for those running late for the 18:05 to Longford.

I am looking forward to spending half an hour waiting in Enfield to cross with the 1700 from Sligo which they will have probably let proceed despite having about 15 passengers.

The has being cleared.

You could still arrive at your destination 60 minutes late...

[James Howard]

What a useless shower. We just sat outside Maynooth for about 15 minutes and then the broken-down machine passed us being hauled by a loco. Now we've arrived into Maynooth and face another 20 minute delay.

Why on earth did they use a path to move the dead unit instead of just parking it at Enfield and letting the passenger traffic through? I am guessing that this is something to do with the fact that the service we are waiting for is the 3PM from Sligo and that it theoretically needs to pick up and drop passengers at Enfield so we can't cross there.

This line really badly needs another crossing or two.

[James Howard]

So more than 90 minutes late at Enfield and waiting to cross with the 1700 from Sligo - the third crossing delay and the driver apologised for "The slight delay".

I was considering not applying for a voucher as I was planning on getting the 1805 and so technically I am less than an hour later than planned but I might just push my luck.

We won't be far off two hours late at Mullingar.

[Thomas J Stamp]

get your refund. did they inform everyone over the train PA of their rights in this regard? was there anyone in the station doing likewise or handing out claim forms?

[James Howard]

I didn't see anybody handing out forms and I didn't hear any announcements but I have have noise-canceling headphones so tend to miss announcements.

I won't apply for the refund because I wasn't delayed by more than an hour - I was early for the 1805 train and got the delayed 1705 which still left me in Longford about 45 minutes late.

The thing that gets me about this is the complete lack of planning at Irish Rail. This is a serious issue as to my knowledge, there is no way of moving any failed equipment without bringing a locomotive from Dublin. So if this machine had failed further down the line, we could have been looking at the line being closed for 3 or 4 hours while they got a locomotive to it and hauled it out of the way.

While the probability of failure is lower with railcars, the impact is higher because there are fewer options for dealing with it. In the old days when trains were loco-hauled they could simply uncouple the loco from a train on the line and move whatever was stuck.

[Jamie2k9]

The Sligo line would suffer most because of a failure like this. I it happened on any route from Heuston the impact of passenger services would be much less. There would be loco at Cork, Waterford, Ballina, Westport and Heuston and if not at certain stations they would be operating freight services during the day and could go and move the train.

While the probability of failure is lower with railcars, the impact is higher because there are fewer options for dealing with it.

Not necessarily as the 22000 can be connected to a broken down ICR and moved from the line. It has happened at Enfield before but its not that common. A loco could also move the ICR's.

I'm sure its the same for the 2600 and 2800 railcars.

[Mark Gleeson]

The failure to communicate the departure of the 17:05 and 18:05 as one train is under investigation as is the departure of the 17:05 at 18:02 when it should have waited till 18:05 to take the 18:05 passengers. There was a meeting in Irish Rail this afternoon to review this incident.

The failed train was moved out of Enfield to clear the section and restore the availability of the loop in Enfield, if the Enfield loop was used to store the failed train it would have delayed trains further

[karlr42]

I'm not sure I understand what should have happened- the 1705, 6car 22000 train was meant to wait at Connolly until 1805, and then somehow absorb the passengers from the 1805 Longford, and then leave in its signalling slot? That many people wouldn't have fit, surely, combining two rush hour loadings into one (not optomised for standing passengers)train? Seems to me that what actually happened was best for passengers, but understandably wasteful of a signalling slot.

[Mark Gleeson]

The 17:15 Connolly Longford departed on time so that should have carried all passengers on the 17:05 traveling as far as Longford.

At 17:50 as I passed I did not see any sign of overcrowding and the odd seat seemed to be available

[James Howard]

In fairness not many people would miss the 1805 due to it leaving 3 minutes early. It is a busy service so most of the regulars tend to turn up 10 or 15 minutes early to be sure of a seat.

I had assumed that the siding in Enfield was an option for storing the failed equipment but if not then this makes sense.

One thing that migh have helped would have been to combine the two up trains as they were both lightly loaded and it wouldn't have made much difference to the 1500 which probably could have made it back to Mullingar to do this with little additional delay.

It all comes down to the fact that they are simply running too many down trains in the evening peak on this single line with no unconstrained crossing for 30 miles. It falls apart spectacularly when anything goes wrong and for about 2 months in the autumn due to leaf slip.

[dowlingm]

\the 22000 can be connected to a broken down ICR and moved from the line. It has happened at Enfield before but its not that common. A loco could also move the ICR's.

I'm sure its the same for the 2600 and 2800 railcars.I wonder if a 29000 could also move an ICR, since it does the honours for DART sets being hauled to Drogheda.

[Mark Gleeson]

Any train can move any other.

Unlike the UK, a DART can drag a DMU and vice versa. A 2700 has been used to drag an ICR.

In this case there was failure of a maintenance train which is trickier to move. Where the spare locomotive came from is unclear, probably from Dublin which again explains the fact the failed train was dragged clear via Maynooth

[Inniskeen]

Any train can move any other.

Unlike the UK, a DART can drag a DMU and vice versa. A 2700 has been used to drag an ICR.

In this case there was failure of a maintenance train which is trickier to move. Where the spare locomotive came from is unclear, probably from Dublin which again explains the fact the failed train was dragged clear via Maynooth

It would be interesting to see a 3 piece ICR shift a dead Mk4 or indeed vice versa !

[karlr42]

The 17:15 Connolly Longford departed on time so that should have carried all passengers on the 17:05 traveling as far as Longford.

Oh right, that makes sense then, didn't realise it wasn't a total suspension of services.

[Mark Gleeson]

It got stuck in Maynooth behind the 16:00 service, as it calls all stops to Maynooth it had to run

[Thomas Ralph]

It would be interesting to see a 3 piece ICR shift a dead Mk4 or indeed vice versa !

In theory a 2 car 2700 can shift a 6 car ICR. Not especially quickly mind.

[dowlingm]

In this case there was failure of a maintenance train which is trickier to move. Where the spare locomotive came from is unclear, probably from Dublin which again explains the fact the failed train was dragged clear via MaynoothIf the Athlone-Mullingar line was open and an 071 was lurking it could have been dragged back to Mullingar out of the way...

I'll get me coat :D:D:D