View Full Version : [30-7-2007] Connolly Utter Chaos
There are on dart or commuter trains operating north of tara street due to overhead fault between connolly and clontarf road with the exception of maynooth which are using the midland line south bound services are going from tara street
Mark Gleeson
30-07-2007, 15:57
Heard what must have been the longest PA ever in Pearse
y 2007 - 16.40hrs
There is major disruption to northside DART, and Northern and Maynooth line commuter services, Belfast and Sligo Intercity services this evening.
This is due to overhead line damage north of Connolly Station, where a DART is also blocking lines.
No DART services will operate north of Tara Stret Station until further notice.
No Northern Commuter services will depart city centre until further notice.
Docklands to Clonsilla services are operating normally, but no Maynooth commuter services will depart city centre until further notice.
Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann will honour rail tickets on affected routes.
Belfast and Sligo Intercity services are also disrupted.
Iarnród Éireann apologises for the inconvenience caused. Further details will be updated on this website as soon as they become available.
All north bound darts are cancelled from connolly for rest of the day
Mark Gleeson
30-07-2007, 16:11
Any passenger for Maynooth line would be advised to head to Docklands.
Given the situation it is likely inbound Maynooth line trains will have to divert there, however and it is a big however there is no reason what so ever that the evening Bray Maynooth/Longford trains cannot operate as normal except operating via the Midland line
It is likely the power is off on all DART platforms in Connolly as a result of the incident and it is likely those passengers on the effected train may have to walk back to Connolly
Mark Gleeson
30-07-2007, 16:12
Not a very usefull notice, no estimates on when these Docklands Maynooth trains will operate
No info on the Bray Maynooth/Longford trains
DART, Northern Commuter, Maynooth Commuter: Major disruption by Corporate Communications
30th July 2007 - UPDATE 17.00hrs
There is major disruption to northside DART, and Northern and Maynooth line commuter services, as well as Belfast and Sligo Intercity services this evening.
This is due to overhead line damage north of Connolly Station, where a DART is also blocking lines.
No DART services will operate north of Tara Street Station until further notice.
No Northern Commuter services will depart city centre until further notice.
Docklands to Clonsilla services are operating normally, and a limited Maynooth commuter service will also operate from Docklands Station. Drumcondra Station will not be served by these services.
Dublin Bus and Bus Eireann will honour rail tickets on affected routes.
Belfast and Sligo Intercity services are also disrupted.
Iarnród Éireann apologises for the inconvenience caused. Further details will be updated on this website as soon as they become available.
Mark Gleeson
30-07-2007, 16:16
Southbound DART services are moving, there is one just arrived Pearse and one in Tara Street ready to roll
Should note also baring a miracle of inteligence on IE's part no trains to Gorey or Rosslare this evening
Mark Gleeson
30-07-2007, 16:32
Just to show IE can't deliver up to date information, real time system for Connolly currently says:
577
Really quite impressive for a station which is all but closed
An announcement has just been made at connolly that the 17.28 is next at platform seven it has now arrived and will call at all stations to maynooth except Drumcondra drogheda and dundalk will resume in next ten to fifteen minutes according to connolly
Mark Gleeson
30-07-2007, 16:43
8 car 29k just left Pearse heading for Tara Street which totally contradicts the notice on the IE website
Gorey train just arrived Pearse which is good news
Sligo are longford are now departing the main station is Drumcondra back in action you should see the ticket stiles at connolly the staff cant cope
Brian Condron
30-07-2007, 16:53
Just got a report from the better half, Clontarf station is closed, everyone is being told to use buses.
Derek Wheeler
30-07-2007, 16:54
Disaster. Absolute disaster. Witnessed the chaos in Connolly. Looked very badly managed.
A bit of advice for people catching north bound buses across the road from connolly in to the terminus there is a massive number of passengers at the stop and packed buses are flying by not stopping
Mark Gleeson
30-07-2007, 17:21
Services are back running Killester Howth/Malahide but of course IE are not telling us
DART, Northern Commuter, Maynooth Commuter: Major disruption by Corporate Communications
30th July 2007 - UPDATE 17.40hrs
There is major disruption to northside DART servicesthis evening.
This is due to overhead line damage north of Connolly Station, where a DART is also blocking lines.
No DART services will operate north of Tara Street Station until further notice. These services are not expected to resume this evening.
Dublin Bus will accept rail tickets for commuters travelling to the Northside.
Commuter, Sligo and Belfast Intercity resumed
Northern Commuter services and Maynooth commuter services are now operating, but will be subject to delays.
Belfast and Sligo Intercity services are also operating again, with minor delays.
Iarnród Éireann apologises for the inconvenience caused. Further details will be updated on this website as soon as they become available.
Mark Gleeson
30-07-2007, 17:32
IE can't get there times right
Services north of Killester resumed sometime before 17:50, so why is a notice posted after 18:22, timed as 18:15 only telling us now
Northside DART: Major disruption by Corporate Communications
30th July 2007 - UPDATE 18.15hrs
There is major disruption to northside DART services this evening.
This is due to overhead line damage north of Connolly Station.
No DART services will operate between Tara Street and Killester Stations until further notice. These services are not expected to resume this evening.
Dublin Bus will accept rail tickets for commuters travelling to the Northside.
Commuter, Sligo and Belfast Intercity resumed
Northern Commuter services and Maynooth commuter services are now operating, but will be subject to delays.
Belfast and Sligo Intercity services are also operating again, with minor delays.
Iarnród Éireann apologises for the inconvenience caused. Further details will be updated on this website as soon as they become available.
Mark Hennessy
30-07-2007, 18:21
Ah the fun never ends on IE!
I left work at 1655 and walked right into the chaos (as usual).
Everyone at Blackrock was told to make alternative arrangements but I got a northbound dart at 1720.
Arrived into Pearse at 1745 to find an utter mess, all of the info boards had delay written and the 2 IE workers down in the foyer were consumed with people around them.
There was zero mention of a Maynooth service but I did hear on the radio that the dockalnds was serving Maynooth.
On the RTE news at 6, Barry Potter was saying the Maynooth services were running, but no one was told this from my time in Pearse.
By my reckoning the 1723 to Maynooth from Blackrock left Pearse at 1800 because I passed it on the bus at Louisa Br.
I should have stayed in work :(
Redsoxfan
30-07-2007, 19:25
The 18.05 to Longford left Platform 3 instead of Platform 7 (is Platform 3 'The Midland Line')-it looked as if the 18.00 was cancelled. The 18.05 called at all stations to Maynooth (incl. Drumcondra).
What exactly happened to cause this disruption?
Does anyone else find it extremely hard to make out what the girl who makes announcements in Connolly is saying?
Mark Hennessy
30-07-2007, 20:22
Northside DART, Northern Commuter: Major disruption by Corporate Communications
30th July 2007 - UPDATE 20.45hrs
Northside DART services and Northern Commuter are suspended this evening due to an overhead line fault.
All services are suspended from 20.45hrs to allow staff repair the overhead line damage, to ensure normal services operate tomorrow morning.
No DART services will operate between Tara Street and Killester Stations until further notice. These services will not resume this evening.
Dublin Bus will accept rail tickets for commuters travelling to the Northside.
Northern Commuter services are also suspended. Dublin Bus will honour rail tickets to/from Balbriggan, and Bus Eireann will honour tickets for areas north of Balbriggan. Alternative bus transfers for commuters travelling north of Balbriggan is also being arranged.
20.10hrs Belfast-Dublin will terminate in Malahide, with bus transfer to Dublin.
Maynooth commuter services and Sligo Intercity services are also operating.
Iarnród Éireann apologises for the inconvenience caused. Disruption earlier affected all services on Northside DART, Northern and Maynooth commuter and Belfast and Sligo services from 16.40hrs to 17.40hrs, and all Northside DART services since 17.40hrs.
Services are expected to operate normally in the morning (31st July).
Fingers crossed we don't all have the same fun in the morning
Terrontress
30-07-2007, 20:27
I got the Drogheda train. The only work I could see was a guy in a reflective jacket with a pole. Looked a bit like a scaffold pole. Other than that, no sign of any work going on.
It's on the RTE website but there's no mention of what caused it.
Derek Wheeler
30-07-2007, 21:01
I got the Drogheda train. The only work I could see was a guy in a reflective jacket with a pole. Looked a bit like a scaffold pole. Other than that, no sign of any work going on.
It's on the RTE website but there's no mention of what caused it.
Why would they tell you what caused it? "Technical fault", "overhead line damage", "DART blocking the line". Thats all you need to know. You're only a passenger. But IRN and the IRRS will know what caused it, because its in their interests to know. But you are still only a passenger and we are still only a passenger representative body. Shame on you for even daring to look for a reason to the utter chaos that ensued.:D
No doubt Barry Kenny will be on every radio station tomorrow morning, apologising. If he isn't then shame on him too. Perhaps an apology in the papers would be useful aswell.
Mark Gleeson
30-07-2007, 21:02
What happened
The 16:22 Fairview to Connolly empty DART (The 16:29 Connolly Dun Laoghaire) pulled down the wires just north of suburban junction (http://www.platform11.org/images/maps/dub_map.jpg) in Connolly, very northern tip of Connolly just past the train wash, on the three track section, the third track is not for passenger carrying services
The train was halted beyond the junction where the 5 track section begins blocking 3 of the 4 tracks available to passenger trains. This prevented any trains from leaving platforms 1,2,3,4 and 5. The DART was subequently freed from the wires and brought forward to platform 6
The front 4 coaches made it to platform 6, coach 7 (8525) lost its pantograph, what was left of the pantograph was on the roof of coach 8.
This left wires hanging over the main inbound track as well as the pantograph head lost somewhere. This forced a closure of the north end of Connolly until the power could be shut off, earthed (the long metal scaffold poll) and determine which tracks where clear.
Irish Rail was the sole party involved and thus are fully liable, 50% refunds for all delays over one hour, enterprise passengers 25% after the first 30 minutes
Derek Wheeler
30-07-2007, 21:17
Nice one Mark. Now quick question on behalf of those inconvenienced......Can you please tell our audience how this could have happened?
Mark Gleeson
30-07-2007, 21:36
Simple answer is someone somewhere in IE goofed up
The contact strip failed, routine maintenance (have seen it fail in person in Dublin)
The tension in the wires was wrong (unlikely looked fine)
The alignment of the overhead wires was out of wack, IE have been fiddling with the track in Connolly for the last few months.
No matter which way IE got it wrong.
Given the exact situation the service implemented in the aftermath was correct and the best possible given the conditions. The big problem was as always the online information was running 20-40 minutes behind the real world
Good news - on the bus from East Point 'the man came on the radio' and told everyone that northbound (or was it northside ?) DARTs were all cancelled so we were forewarned of the problems.
Bad news - the bus driver insisted on driving everyone up to the useless Clontarf Road station and by the time we had walked back down to the road he had just driven off two buses had already passed. I walked up to the junction with the Malahide Road (I think) and got a bus there, but as we headed along past Fairview Park the driver left a lot of people behind at the stops.
Question - how come they weren't able to run any DARTs between Clontarf Road or Raheny & points north ?
I appreciate that when there is a power issue the first concern is to cut the power and reduce the risk, but once the location was isolated why didn't they just run trains to the relevant nearest stations to the north & south ?
z
Derek Wheeler
30-07-2007, 21:41
So. Are we right to assume that basic maintenence was incorrect and that the treatment of passengers in terms of correct, informative and up to the minute information was lacking?
Derek Wheeler
30-07-2007, 21:44
From Boards.ie
It sums up the impact that this has on the commuter and highlights even further the lack of a decent alternative bus system.
Ah come on lads. I was willing to forget last weeks 4 delays between Monday and Wednesday. I was willing to forgive the stupidity of the Drogheda train debacle and the delay getting home last Tuesday (driving in parallel to a Malahide DART at Connolly about 20 metres before letting it go ahead so we could crawl behind all the way behind it to Howth Junction - thanks driver, 35 minutes late).
Now I know tonights delays are to do with the overhead lines between Connolly and Clontarf Road, but for the love of **** will you get the speakers fixed at Pearse. FFS "Can I have your attention echo mumble Clontarf mumble echo echo mumble delay mumble mumble echo echo.." everyone looking at each other "What's she saying?" from 4.40pm. Then I get a train to Tara (it stopped to let the Southside travellers on and go back the way it came) and ask an Irish Rail guy if a train to Donabate is due "Maybe 10 minutes, maybe 30, I don't know. Use you ticket on the bus" great, thanks bud. The 33 bus with a queue a mile long, if thats the right bus? Comes every 30 minutes.
Walked down to Connolly and no change, no-one with a clue. Everyone milling around like headless chickens.
Got a taxi instead on O'Connell St. €27 to the Donabate train station to pick up my car, and the car park was full. A bloke stood there on his mobile phone, babe in arms, waiting for mammy to come home. But he was probably as perplexed as most of the good citizens traveling Northbound tonight. Over 2 hours after I left work I got home, and I suspect many more were delayed a lot longer because they simply did not know what was going on or the seriousness of the situation.
Poor, Irish Rail. Bad crisis management. Bad service. Pity until the last 7 days I thought things were getting better, but the shambles is always there lurking, waiting to emerge.
Derek Wheeler
30-07-2007, 21:55
Osama Bin Laden wouldn't need a bomb in Dublin. He'd probably close it down with a toothpick.
By the way, in road terms, this kind of thing happens monthly on the M50 and brings West Dublin to a standstill. Contingency isn't in the vocabulary of Dublins tranport czars.
....and if they had connected Docklands to the right tracks they could have served Drumcondra. Operational flexibility how's your father?! I'm glad I use a motorbike to get across Dublin.
Derek Wheeler
30-07-2007, 22:54
....and if they had connected Docklands to the right tracks they could have served Drumcondra. Operational flexibility how's your father?! I'm glad I use a motorbike to get across Dublin.
OOOO! Taboo subject. I can already hear the sound of brogues tip tapping across the floor of IE head office as they run for cover in the broom cupboard to make up more excuses in the darkness amongst the brushes and polish.(the real boardroom)
i know this is nothing but i just thought i'd throw in that exactly one week earlier (last monday) same time due to an incident in the connolly area the 16.42 connolly-maynooth used the midland line skipped drumcondra and the 17.05 connolly-sligo and the 17.15 connolly-longford were held at connolly for more than 20 minutes. dejavu this happened again this week. this time of course was much more severe and impacted the whole dart/commuter network except kildare services.
A question mark, i know southside darts would have been restricted because of the limited space they would have had. was platform 3 in pearse used atall for bray trains?
and a general question are staff at connolly/tara street/pearse banned from mentioning docklands?
in all of this what is so telling about the irish transport system is that where the bus and rail company in ireland are generally still connected through the parent company cie there was no extra bus services put on for the affected areas. to see the massive queues of people waiting on buses outside connolly and buses flying by packed says it all.
Mark Gleeson
31-07-2007, 00:39
Platform 3 Pearse is out of use due to planned works at Pearse with respect to a new underpass, can't be used for arrivals anyway and it can't take an 8 coach train. Southside Dart services kept moving fairly well, there was no problem there
It was the correct move to send the Maynooth line trains via the Midland line, it kept things moving, other trains where blocked understandably while things where checked, but they did get moving. The errant train was sitting half out of platform 6
The wire actually snapped and did so right next to a neutral section which is rather unhelpful.
We have been through this before but its just not going to happen with 30 minutes notice that a fleet of buses can arrive in the peak rush hour ready to go. We just pray that there isn't a incident a critical point in the system, the key issue is everything goes through Connolly, interconnector solves that
in all of this what is so telling about the irish transport system is that where the bus and rail company in ireland are generally still connected through the parent company cie there was no extra bus services put on for the affected areas. to see the massive queues of people waiting on buses outside connolly and buses flying by packed says it all.
I doubt there were very many buses left considering it was DBs rush hour too. I'm not definite on the numbers but I think there about about 2 buses per depot are kept spare to cover breakdowns.
ACustomer
31-07-2007, 08:29
This morning at 0730, the IE website had no mention of any disruption or of resumption of normal services (a kind of red-faced silence). However good old AA Roadwatch had a notice saying DART services had resumed as normal. But the real dope-of-the-day award must go to RTE: their main news item (dated last night at around 2200) was that Northside DART and Commuter services were badly disrupted. Wake up guys!
Terrontress
31-07-2007, 08:35
I doubt there were very many buses left considering it was DBs rush hour too. I'm not definite on the numbers but I think there about about 2 buses per depot are kept spare to cover breakdowns.
There is not even a direct bus to Donabate from Dublin. There had previously been one but they withdrew it as we have the train. Sounds great except on a night like last night.
If someone were to have gone for the 23.20 from Connolly to Donabate last night then they would have been lucky to have been there in good time to run over to Lower Abbey Street to get the last 33 which also leaves at 23.20. Then when they got to Swords, it would have been a €20 taxi to Donabate.
Could they not put on buses directly to Donabate on a night like that?
It just seems that when the system fails, IE just wash their hands. Tell people there are no trains and let them find another way home.
shweeney
31-07-2007, 09:05
2 big issues here:
-IE's complete inability to manage in a crisis
-Total lack of useful information from the goons in the stations
I went to get the Gorey train from Connolly at 1725. When I arrived in the station the screen was showing its location as Liffey Jct (where is this?) and estimated arrival in 15 minutes - if this had been the case then I would've waited for it. Then as I was looking at the screen the arrival time changed to 35 minutes.
When I asked the guy at the gate about it he just said "not running" several times, so off I went to get a bus (which also turned out to be running extremely late despite being half empty).
Now reading this thread, it appears the Gorey train did run and probably arrived in Greystones long before I did on the bus. These major outages are not that frequent but they do happen several times a year and every single time IE completely fail to cope with them, they have no contigency plans and their frontline staff just run around like headless chickens or get rude and aggressive.
So to sum up: Irish Rail - wankers.
Terrontress
31-07-2007, 10:11
Irish Rail was the sole party involved and thus are fully liable, 50% refunds for all delays over one hour, enterprise passengers 25% after the first 30 minutes
I came through Howth Junction at about 18.20 and there was an Enterprise set sitting there. I presume that it was the 16.10 out of Belfast so should have been arriving in Connolly for around that time.
Did they clear a path, thus allowing it to get in before 18.50, meaning that didn't need to give any refunds?
Or was there any need to give refunds on any services yesterday?
Just to show IE can't deliver up to date information, real time system for Connolly currently says:
577
Really quite impressive for a station which is all but closed
Sorry to drag this topic completly off-topic for a moment but i noticed in the screenshot that castleknock is displayed as a location for one of the maynooth trains. I thought it was sligo ctc that was originally shown. has this just changed and does this mean that we might eventually see the platform information screens on the maynooth line turned on.
Sorry to drag if off-topic even further but how come the heuston and adamstown platform information screens are different format to connollys?
I got a DART southbound from Blackrock at about 17:55, which must be at least an hour after the problem occurred.
At that stage, the platform sign were indicating my DART as going to Howth, while the next one was correctly marked as Tara St.
I looked out at a few stations on the way in, and each of them showed the DART as going to Howth.
The driver made one announcement somewhere around Sydney Parade, but anyone who got on after that thought the train was going to Howth until he announced again just before Tara that the train was terminating there and becoming a southboubd train. when I got off at Tara, platform display said Howth.
The other thing they never tell you in these situations, and I'm dumb enough to fall for it each time, is that even getting the DART to Tara is going to take you twice as long as usual. Delays are never mentioned.
Thomas J Stamp
01-08-2007, 11:16
What happened
The 16:22 Fairview to Connolly empty DART (The 16:29 Connolly Dun Laoghaire) pulled down the wires just north of suburban junction (http://www.platform11.org/images/maps/dub_map.jpg) in Connolly, very northern tip of Connolly just past the train wash, on the three track section, the third track is not for passenger carrying services
The train was halted beyond the junction where the 5 track section begins blocking 3 of the 4 tracks available to passenger trains. This prevented any trains from leaving platforms 1,2,3,4 and 5. The DART was subequently freed from the wires and brought forward to platform 6
The front 4 coaches made it to platform 6, coach 7 (8525) lost its pantograph, what was left of the pantograph was on the roof of coach 8.
This left wires hanging over the main inbound track as well as the pantograph head lost somewhere. This forced a closure of the north end of Connolly until the power could be shut off, earthed (the long metal scaffold poll) and determine which tracks where clear.
Irish Rail was the sole party involved and thus are fully liable, 50% refunds for all delays over one hour, enterprise passengers 25% after the first 30 minutes
Nice to see Mark's post made it onto the Football365 forum discussion on the problems.
However, the thread next to it "Man arrested for sexually assaulting a statue" was more fun.
Are these trains skipping Drumcondra using the Newcommen Curve?
Mark Gleeson
01-08-2007, 22:54
Between 16:30 and 17:40 the Midland line was used, once the DART was cleared services recommenced via Drumcondra
It was a reasonable trade off to skip Drumcondra
dowlingm
02-08-2007, 18:11
Maybe someone should write to Olivia Mitchell and point out how things would have been different with interconnector available, since she's something of a sceptic.
Colm Moore
04-08-2007, 15:14
The wire actually snapped and did so right next to a neutral section which is rather unhelpful.How does a wire that is less than 3(?) years old snap? You would expect it to either snap soon after fitting or many years down the line.
I doubt there were very many buses left considering it was DBs rush hour too. I'm not definite on the numbers but I think there about about 2 buses per depot are kept spare to cover breakdowns.Coming from one of the DB drivers on boards.ie its only 2 buses total - one northside, one southside. They could however put the (open topped) tour buses into service in such situations.
I doubt there were very many buses left considering it was DBs rush hour too. I'm not definite on the numbers but I think there about about 2 buses per depot are kept spare to cover breakdowns.
Yes but there is always loads more parked around the city streets clogging them up, doing nothing.
Yes but there is always loads more parked around the city streets clogging them up, doing nothing.
Or maybe they're parked up waiting to take up the next duty on their roster? Or while the drivers are resting. It's all very well to say they're parked but it doesn't mean they can be yanked from their own routes when Irish Rail mess up. If all those parked up buses were sent out at 5.30 to cover the first rush, there'd be a whole lot of annoyed people at 6.30 wondering where there buses had gone to.
I guess it highlights a point about the lack of a DTA with overall authority and the ability to dictate where buses should be directed to if another operator falls over.
Or maybe they're parked up waiting to take up the next duty on their roster? Or while the drivers are resting. It's all very well to say they're parked but it doesn't mean they can be yanked from their own routes when Irish Rail mess up. If all those parked up buses were sent out at 5.30 to cover the first rush, there'd be a whole lot of annoyed people at 6.30 wondering where there buses had gone to.
In all my years of taking Dublin buses, I've never known them to routinely leave the terminus at the time it says on the bus-stop, so, would it make any difference?
Colm Moore
14-08-2007, 02:23
While this was going on, Dublin Bus had 50 buses sitting in Broadstone that they aren't allowed use by the DoT.
Colm Donoghue
14-08-2007, 17:56
In all my years of taking Dublin buses, I've never known them to routinely leave the terminus at the time it says on the bus-stop, so, would it make any difference?
I got the 3 every morning for a summer. you could set your watch by it 8:13 +/- 1min every day.
Yeah, It's funny how our dear leaders won't interfere in commercial operations of state companies unless it's CIE, Victor.
especially the minister for health..
DB are also paying some drivers not to drive those busses too...
Thomas J Stamp
15-08-2007, 09:21
DB are also paying some drivers not to drive those busses too...
around 300 actually
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