Smartcard problems this morning

[longword]

I have an annual short hop ticket from Taxsaver, due to expire in 2015. All the Irish Rail gates are failing it with CARD EXPIRED this morning and I'm definitely not alone.

The Taxsaver people told me it was an issue with the Irish Rail ticket gates versus the pre-Leap smartcards. Hope it's fixed for this evening. Slightly disappointed that this late in the morning there's no Irish Rail tweet or news item on it.

[James Howard]

Irish Rail seem to have changed their twitter account over to mainly being another marketing channel. They seemed to have been operating marketing on Facebook and passenger info on Twitter, but the twitter feed has become quite useless of late.

They really should staff the Twitter feed a bit earlier in the morning and later in the evening as it is a very effective communications tool for commuters.

[Jamie2k9]

http://www.irishrail.ie/news/technical-issue-with-iarnrod-eireann-annual-smartcards
Technical issue with Iarnród Éireann Annual Smartcards

30 September 2014

Iarnród Éireann Annual Smartcards are not currently activating ticket barriers. We are working to resolve this issue.

Iarnród Éireann is working to resolve a technical issue with some smartcards, which are not currently activating ticket barriers in the Dublin Short Hop Zone area.

What smartcards are affected?
Iarnród Éireann Annual Smartcards for the Short Hop Zone are affected. All other smartcards and tickets, including LeapCards, are working correctly.

How does this affect me?
Temporarily, the smartcards are not opening ticket barriers. Please go to a member of staff to gain access to / exit from the station. If a station is unmanned, please proceed through the open gate provided. As an annual customer, your smartcard remains valid for travel, within dates of validity.

When does Iarnród Éireann expect this issue to be resolved?
We are working with our supplier to resolve this as soon as possible, and we hope to have more information on expected resolution time shortly.


Iarnród Éireann apologises to customers affected for the inconvenience caused.

[Thomas J Stamp]

Irish Rail seem to have changed their twitter account over to mainly being another marketing channel. They seemed to have been operating marketing on Facebook and passenger info on Twitter, but the twitter feed has become quite useless of late.

They really should staff the Twitter feed a bit earlier in the morning and later in the evening as it is a very effective communications tool for commuters.


the twitter account was a handy source for us of information regarding mechanical issues and points failures.

so they've stopped it

#railftw or something "young" instead lol

[Jamie2k9]

so they've stopped it

Not really sure they have, they could of just had a good operational period, well up until this morning....

13.00 Sligo to Connolly service will operate as a bus transfer between Sligo & Longford due to a mechanical fault.

09.45hrs Westport to Heuston service is operating with a delay of 35 minutes due to a mechanical fault.

Services suspended between Maynooth & Clonsilla due to a signal fault. Dublin Bus accepting rail tickets.

Delays 10-15 mins to DART & Commuter due to points fault at Howth Junction

[dowlingm]

Here in Toronto local public transport there are three principal twitter accounts worth following:

@ttcnotices - disruptions/announcements
@ttchelps - point something out, they do their best to get it sorted
@bradttc - TTC's much better version of The Information Minister

[longword]

I'm happy with how they handle twitter for the most part.

Yes there's marketing mixed in there, but it's not out of control - I see it as a reasonable trade for the notifications service. They are usually on the ball about serious disruptions with tweets that are timely, informative, and updated at decent intervals.

[Jamie2k9]

http://www.irishrail.ie/news/technical-issue-with-iarnrod-eireann-annual-smartcards

Technical issue with Iarnród Éireann Annual Smartcards resolved - customers requested to update cards at ticket machines

01 October 2014

Customers requested to update smartcards at ticket machines.



Since Tuesday 30th September, customers who use Iarnród Éireann Annual Smartcards in the Dublin Short Hop Zone have encountered a technical fault, resulting in the smartcards not activating ticket barriers.

We have identified the fault, and a resolution will be in place from Thursday 2nd October. We ask customers to undertake the following simple action to ensure their smartcards correctly operate once again.

- Go to a Ticket Vending Machine at any station in the Dublin Short Hop Zone.
- Put your Smartcard in the Smartcard top-up slot.
- A message will appear on screen saying “Card updated successfully”
- Remove the card. It will now correctly activate barriers again.

We thank you for your patience, and apologise for the inconvenience this issue has caused.

[Mark Gleeson]

S&B rolled out a fix as an action list.