Monasterevin

[Jimbo]

I believe the services stopping at Monasterevin are meant to be improving, can anyone tell me exactly what is happening here? Is there any chance more services will be stopping there soon?

[comcor]

I'm interested in this too. I am going there for the day next Sunday and was surprised to discover that there are no Sunday services. Looks like I'll be taking the car instead.

[Mark Gleeson]

As it stands there are no extra services planned out of Heuston well Irish Rail deny any spare capacity when extra is asked for, the timetable is a major disaster in design terms and it will be recast completely in Dec 2006 as there will be a 18:00 to Cork, first stop Thurles. To make matters worse there will be more 100mph trains as old trains are taken out of service which results in a higher cost to make a stop. We know Portarlington will become a major interchange location as well in the next year. We also know that no intercity service will call at Monasterevin

We do know that the capacity of many trains to Galway, Athlone and elsewhere should increase by about 10-15% over the next few months, that won't come close to keeping pace with demand on the Kildare/Newbridge Dublin section

Monasterevin is an example of what not to do, the station was provided on the back of local political pressure without any consideration of providing extra resources to support it. The demand doesn't justify an increase in service and given its 36 miles from Dublin its outside the core demand area so it falls into the trap that no improvement can be justified and I'm sorry to say there are more important issues to attend to first

[Kevin K Kelehan]

Monasterevan is the perfect example of County Council's planning policies directly undermining the viability of a rail station. Between the Bungalows and Motorway sertvice station Kildare Co Co clearly display their contempt for sutainable urban planning and sustainable transport.

IE have tried but with 60 passengers a day it is difficult to forsee additional services until Charlie Talbot & Co get their act together

[Thomas J Stamp]

If you recall the chicken and egg senario I posed about a few months back with regard to planning you'll find the Monaserevin senario most interesting.

I was told in 1997 to buy proerty in Monastereven as there will be a staion opening there soon and property prices will shoot up. Being on an apprentice wage i couldnt, however, in hindsight it is obvious that the station was opened to allow housing to be built and not as a response to housing.

[Kevin K Kelehan]

The tragic thing is that Kildare Co Co have not directed development into the town instead allowing one off houses to be built in everywhere else.

The number of Kildare Co Co planning grants overturned at Bord Pleanala level is staggering particularly in ecologically sensitive areas such as Pollardstown Fen a habitat of European importance. Whilst Monasterevan is perfectly placed to absorb a far higher quantum of development.

[Jimbo]

Seems absolutely ridiculous to have a train station if you don't have any service. There appears to be alot of housing being built in Monasterevin at the moment but no real train service to Dublin. Will the Arrow be extended to stop there in future? I wonder how many people travel to Kildare to get the train from Monasterevin.

[Kevin K Kelehan]

How many houses have been added within the town perimeter in recent years?

[Mark]

The Athlone and Portlaoise commuter services will stop in Monasterevin.

http://www.iarnrodeireann.ie/images/upload/news/172.pdf

[Mark Gleeson]

Its infeasible to extend the arrow service to Monasterevin, many turn back at Newbridge now as track capacity is so tight. The cost would be €8 million in additional rolling stock, plus another odd million in signalling changes

The point to note here is two fold

Newbridge and Kildare commutters are not eager on major changes or modifications/extensions until Irish Rail actually provide the current timetabled service

The planning and development situation is not supportive of a rail station

We are currently looking at a vastly different timetabling solution which could in theory provide a train every 2 hours to and from Dublin to Monasterevin in the off peak

[AZ1]

You mention 60 people at Monasterevan: is it possible for the public to know how many people travel from any given station on a given day/week/month/timeframe? Or how many say, day-return tickets are sold at a given station, or on a given route?
This isn't confidential or sensitive information, is it? I mean, there isn't another carrier engaging in head to head competition with IE. Thanks!

[Mark Gleeson]

In context upwards of 100 would get off each rush hour service at Hazelhatch, Sallins and Newbridge, 60 a day in that context is a joke

Priority is where demand exceeds capacity

Irish Rail do have the numbers internally but getting access to them is not so easy

[Thomas J Stamp]

The current new housing appears to be motorway centred, dont gforget that with the new by-pass of Kildare Dublin will be doable (with Nass road improvements) in about 45 mins.

[Kevin K Kelehan]

I presume you are referring to Newlands Cross vs O'Connell Bridge

[Mark]

In context upwards of 100 would get off each rush hour service at Hazelhatch, Sallins and Newbridge, 60 a day in that context is a joke

Priority is where demand exceeds capacity

Irish Rail do have the numbers internally but getting access to them is not so easy


The DTO also have their numbers.

[stevetee]

[QUOTE=Mark Gleeson]
Monasterevin is an example of what not to do, the station was provided on the back of local political pressure without any consideration of providing extra resources to support it...

Reopening the station was exactly the right thing to do for the town. It was a brave leap out of dark days in the 70s/80s, a move the town has really benefitted from. What is missing is a regular service that does not focus exclusively on commuters travelling to/from Dublin, does not rely on the presence of a station master so people can use services on a Sunday and that is more affordable to the average Joe - there have been approximately 10 fare increases since I started commuting in 2000. These are the key issues to be addressed if the station is to become more widely used by its own population.

As it currently stands, the station is either empty or closed 80% of the time. Proximity to Dublin should no longer be the key criteria for assessing the viability of a rural rail service. The populations of all towns along the Kildare line as far as Portlaoise including Monasterevin have rocketed since 2000. Why has it taken IE 6 years to react to this fact ? Even then, why a load of super fast trains that whizz by Monasterevin and end up in Galway or Liimerick. Thats a cultural issue, not an economic one.

The Environment correspondent for the Irish Times made more or less the same point as you make above a few years back in a series about commuter experience of people living in Leinster. He went out of his way to lambast the fact that a town like Monasterevin - in the middle of nowhere- should have 20 million punt spent on reopening a train station that noone seemed to be using. The reality is that since it reopened in 2001 it has been a godsend for the towns commuting public who had to travel up to Kildare by car in order to get a train.

At that time, there was still a full Arrow service running between Portlaoise and Dublin, one that stopped at all stations ( including Cherry Orchard/Park West where I worked), one that could get me home from Dublin at 900pm at night. For some unknown reason around 2003, a series of changes to the timetable left us with a few intercitys - great if you want to go to Galway or Limerick -and peak-time Arrow service only. It got worse in 2004/2005 when the Arrow services began skipping Monasterevin altogether and stopping at Newbridge/Kildare/Portarlington. I could only get ricketty old commuter trains, stinking filthy 3rd world-class carriages. Somehow the town slipped back off the radar despite having the newest train station between Euston and Portlaoise.

Monasterevin was deliberately left out of the planning game because it was (a) not a junction station like Portarlington or Kildare and (b) was not within the commuter belt. SInce 2000, (a) hasnt changed but (b) most certainly has. 32 miles is not a long way from Dublin. All towns equidistant from Dublin - Gorey, Drogheda - now have a good train service. As long distance commuters, the people of Monasterevin deserve to be considered in the changes currently underway along the Kildare Route line.

[Jimbo]

Mark Gleeson - where are you getting the 8m in additional rolling stock?!

As far as I can see there appears to be a few trains in the morning stopping in Monasterevin but very few in the evening, so basically people could get to work but not home again. How hard would it be to run the 6.45, 7.45, 8.45 etc. arrows down the track abit further! After about 7.30 there are very few trains on the tracks. The only one really is this arrow service. I think you'd find if this happened people would be alot more open to moving to places like Monasterevin.
On that point can anyone tell me if there are plans for a later train to Kildare maybe around 12?

Kevin K Kelehan- don't know how many but currently there are two large developments very close to the station, Ferns bridge (approx 500 houses) and Old Millrace (200).

[Mark Gleeson]

To extend the Kildare local service would require one extra 4 coach arrow train set, which are costed at €2 million a coach, (last batch were actually €2.3 a coach), there is no slack in the current Kildare Dublin service which requires 2 sets for an hourly service at 45 minute journey, given capacity constraints this is not practical anyway

To turnback/start/terminate a train at Monasterevin requires new signalling, more pointwork more cash

Between 8:30am and 8pm no Dublin bound commuter trains pass through Monasterevin, thus you need to find an extra train since the proposed timetable for 2007 indicates the first/last stop for Cork bound as Thurles, Galway/Westport bound as Portarlington.

To be fair Monasterevin does have 3 trains at approx. 30 minute gaps in the morning rush hour all arriving before 9am, thats better than all stations west of Maynooth, south of Greystones. Evenings its not great which is in part due to the fact track capacity outbound is in practice less than that inbound. It is seriously difficult to timetable 70 mph stopping trains into non stop 100 mph trains its made worse by the fact Monasterevin is one of only two stations in Ireland where trains actually pass through at 100 mph (Chareville in Cork might be the other), its tricky enough to manage to fit in the suburban service to Newbridge but beyond Newbridge its a nightmare

Census 2002 gives a population of 2,583, lets say 3k. The ball park demand figure is 36 passengers by thousand head population, 108 which is not far off the reality, Newbridge is 10 times the size

Monasterevin is 36.6 miles out which puts it beyond the 30 mile boundary in fact I would be in breech of my employment contract to live there its too far from Dublin

It is fairly well accepted that Monasterevin station is a failure since the demand is not there. Station was provided but the infrastructure to service it was not, nor was there a business case to provide it, station cost €5 million, extra trainset €8 million signalling modifications €1-€2, €15 million to move 216 people a day (best case) is extremely poor value for money

The major risk at the moment is that who ever screams loudest will get something even if there are more pressing issues elsewhere. The consensus at the public meetings held in Kildare and Newbridge is that the priority is to sort out the existing service before anything is added thats a fair and reasonable approach since the existing passengers are not well looked after by Irish Rail its unwise to complicate matters further

I cant recall Monasterevin being discussed at the 4 public meetings in Kildare/Newbridge but for the first time a very sensible decision was taken by all is to work together so no side loses out that a far deal be provided to all, unless additional track capacity is forth coming and additional on train capacity it makes no sense to further streech the system

What we do know is once the 4 track section is complete (which is entirely within Dublin) Monasterevin will get 2 trains per hour peak, that will be 2009 at the earliest

[Thomas J Stamp]

The passanger figures can be failr easily ascertained by someone standing there on a morning and counting.

According to the IE website todays trains are as follows:

707, 734, 802, 1032, 1546, 1813, 1946.

Departures from Portlaoise are:

645, 715, 724, 741, 807, (I'll stick to early morning commuter)

3 from Monastereven, 5 from Portlaosie. Given the respective sizes in population I'd say that's fair enough. When I lived in Maynooth in the late 90's early 00's there was a compartive service and even then the population of Maynooth was bigger than monesterevin, which also has an hourly bus service.

[Jimbo]

Mark Gleeson - do you work for IE?
How many actual arrow trains are there at the moment?
I'd be amazed if they had to buy a new one to extend the evening service, sounds like alot of waffle to me.
Could it terminate in Portalington and save the extra upgrade cost?
Your point about distance to Monasterevin is irrelavent, fact is it's an hour on the train to Dublin which is a reasonable commute time. If given this improved commuter service it may help some problems in Newbridge and Kildare like parking and overcrowding.
Overall and you admit yourself the evening service is terrible and that's why so few people use the station. Totally crazy to run trains in the morning to cater for commuters and none in the evening, pure incompetent planning and timetabling

[Thomas J Stamp]

Mark Gleeson - do you work for IE?


I often wonder that.....

Totally crazy to run trains in the morning to cater for commuters and none in the evening,

From IE:

1730, 1800, direct 1830 change at Portarlington and come back

You have to agree with the man, that's very poor.

Portlaoise, same times:

1730, 1800, 1835, 1915, 2100.

I imagine the 1915 and 2100 are Cork trains but at that hour of the evening they could stop there.

[Mark Gleeson]

I don't work for Irish Rail, in fact an investigation was conducted within IE to find out if I was operating under an alias they came up dry. All the costs are publically available, Irish Rail have no problem writting long articles for the trade press

Its fairly simple to work out the fleet size and allocations and there is no spare, problem is finding space to run an extra train if you could find a train set. In fact Irish Rail are short by about 40 suburban coaches currently

Next question is there was 4 coaches are available where should they be deployed, options are
1) Drogheda line, over crowding levels resulting in numerous people fainting, track capacity available, also possible extend lenght of some trains
2) Maynooth, over crowding levels resulting in numerous people fainting, track capacity available, also possible extend lenght of some trains
3) Kildare Dublin, patchy service but extreme track capacity limits, the one possible slot for an extra train has been rejected by Irish Rail as available.

Its either 1 or 2 without question

The only thing wrong about the evening service is you have to change at Portarlington if you get the 18:35, still its only a 70 minute journey, 3 trains 30 minutes apart in the rush hour which is reasonable its a lot better than some places

Costs are very important, at the moment its possible to get 2 fully loaded trips per rush hour out of a set running Dublin Newbridge, if you extend beyond Kildare the set won't be back in Dublin to cover other services, so you need more equipment. Mornings are easy enough as you can position stuff and simply depart earlier

This is not simple stuff, timetabling is a nightmare, we are working on a off peak time table for Dublin Portlaois/Athlone since thats a major issue in Kildare and Newbridge and on paper a train to and from Monestervin every 2 hours is just about possible, the peak timetable is resource constrained

You can't go in to Irish Rail management and ask for what is impossible you have to go in with a reasoned case backed by proof it works at that point you are in a position to force the issue, we have been there and Irish Rail changed there story very fast once we proved the previously impossible possible

19:15 is a Fridays only to Limerick
The 21:00 to Cork already makes far too many stops

There is talk of a later suburban service to Port Laoise but Irish Rail have the usual excuses about not doing it, they need a an extra driver, takes 70 odd weeks train one

[Mark]

Mark Gleeson - do you work for IE?

I wish he did but sadly he's too competent to work for CIE.

[sean]

I don't work for Irish Rail, in fact an investigation was conducted within IE to find out if I was operating under an alias they came up dry.
LOL

[Jimbo]

Does the off peak timetable you are working on include stops in Monasterevin after say 7?
After all the waffle again Mark you are basically saying the reason there are no later services is that it takes 70 weeks to train a driver!!! That's the biggest load of BS I've ever heard. There is only one train an hour leaving Heuston in the evenings, where are all the drivers! What they are really saying is IE staff do not want to work late and provide a real service our taxes pay for.
If it's so complicated how can Germany (and others) get all trains to run on time in a far more complex network?
There is honestly no reason Kildare cannot be serviced better in the evenings and later at night including Monasterevin

[Mark Gleeson]

The train in question is the 22:45 to Kildare and they need another driver trained to cover the roster changes that result in its extension to Port Laoise (further hour driving), this was not unexpected (daily driving hours and milage are restricted) and it does take 70 weeks to train a driver, thats best practice and has been subjected to safety evaluation as have the rostering arrangements, drivers don't get extra for working at night nor do they have a say when they work.

This is not a simple problem, even the off peak timetable is proving complex to arrange, it is principally designed for 9am to 4pm (since there are spare trains in Dublin) but the approach would work at a lesser scale after 7:30 as well (train fleet is then well beyond Dublin), the main criticism of the current timetable is the big gaps in the afternoon, our current draft proposal would more than double the number of trains calling at Monasterevin (and a lot of other places) and provides a clockface timetable across all routes integrating with Irish Rails proposed new Cork/Limerick timetable as well as good connections.

The principle problem is 2 tracks out of Dublin, anywhere else would have 4 tracks which solves all the timetabling ills

German railways are nowhere near as punctual as many believe

[Jimbo]

So you are basically saying now the reason for lack of decent service is that they can't organise their roster!
I'd be very surprised if there is no overtime paid at all!
It just hard to believe, with problems so blatant why things are so slow to change, the only thing that changes is the price of a feckin ticket!! The main station in Ireland has only two tracks!! Its totally scandalous. How long have thet been working on that roof when they should have been building some tracks.
Are you saying all problems will be resolved when the four lanes come in?

[Mark Gleeson]

So you are basically saying now the reason for lack of decent service is that they can't organise their roster!
I'd be very surprised if there is no overtime paid at all! Working hours are restricted on safety ground and now by the working time act, we live in a real world where you cant have exactly what you want at a moments notice, we know that and have to argue the case with this in mind

The first formal request for an extension of the 22:45 to Kildare was made late last year

The roof has nothing to do with this, it is one of the oldest train sheds still in original condition in the world and is listed, the government decide on infrastructure not Irish Rail, you wouldn't even buy a mile of track for the cost of the roof


Are you saying all problems will be resolved when the four lanes come in?Vast bluk of timetabling problems go away overnight it should provide at least 2 extra slots beyond Kildare

[Thomas J Stamp]

I like Jimbo, tells it as it is, with lots of exclamation marks!!!

Quote:
Mark Gleeson - do you work for IE?



I often wonder that.....


Shouldnt really be stirring it up like that LOL!!

I forgot when I was extracting the times that it was different as it was Friday only. However, I wouldnt be surprised if when the new Limerick timetable comes in, as Mark said above, there may be some stops in Monastereven. Really one stop on a departure from Heuston sometime between 1830 and 1930 would do it.

[Mark Gleeson]

The smart money is on having a 18:30 to Limerick all stops Kildare Limerick except, Monasterevin and Ballybrophy, then a 18:35 to Portlaoise all stops Hazelhatch Portlaoise but skipping Portarlington, followed by 18:42 Cherry Orchard, Clondalkin, Adamstown, Newbridge

Timetabling is not easy as everyone must get a fair deal that means no one destination can control the plan

[stevetee]

"To extend the Kildare train service..."

I thought that was the whole point of the Kildare Route Project ? Or should that read the " Only As Far As Kildare Town Route Project. Monasterevin is in County Kildare. Portarlington and Portlaoise are in County Laois and are I assume by definition excluded from this upgrade.

"To turnback/start/terminate a train at Monasterevin...."

Nobody is asking for the station to be turned into a junction. Thats setting false expectations way beyond what is required. What we want are trains to stop at the station period. The original plan was to bring the 4 new tracks down as far as Newbridge. Yet that plan was changed. I wonder why ? Too far from Inchicore maybe.

"It is fairly well accepted that Monasterevin station is a failure since the demand is not there."

Since when is a new train station meant to pay its way within 4 years ? The IE criteria for sufficient demand seems to equate to a situation of overcrowding, queueing and hassle because thats all I've ever experienced when using Euston, Newbridge, Kildare, Sallins. The two stations I've used most regularly are Monasterevin and Cherry Orchard. No crowds, no hassle, no bull****. The latter is being shut down and the former looks on the basis of what is being said here as if it is going the same way. A train service should not be judged on pure profit/loss lines esp new infrastructure like a train station. There are people moving into the town all the time partly attracted by the possibility of commuting by train to/from Dublin. And maybe even late at night or on A Sunday (wow, theres a concept) Oh what a shock theyll get when they start using the trains !! Does anyone in IE actually bother to do their sums on this ? And please dont quote me Census figures from 2002. Do you realise how many people are immigrating into Ireland at the present time ? 10,000 a month and a lot of them are heading down towards us. Again this is cultural blockage and not a financial issue within IE as far as I can tell. There are two large trains stations beyond Monasterevin - Portarlington and Portlaoise both of whom were served by the Arrow train service. Why the hell was that taken away and replaced by filthy commuter trains ? Neither of these towns are going to suffer from reduced service in future and neither should Monasterevin. How can it cost more to stop at a station that is closer to Dublin than either of these places ?

" it makes no sense to further streech the system"

It makes absolute sense to stretch the system because what is there at present is simply not acceptable in one of the richest countries in the world ! Please dont follow the Eircom lead and consider it acceptable to shaft your customers because the live in the stix :mad:

In summary, the response suggests that Monasterevin wasnt considered in anybodys plans - Inter City, Commuter or Arrow - with a view to improving the service because basically there are not enough people in the town. Irish twittery at its best !! This is an absolute disgrace. Sounds to me as if IE are running scared on this matter. They've taken so long to settle down into their new world of investment and renewal, upgrades, bright new futures, they've forgotten the fundamentals of providing a better service - trains that stop at a local station. Maybe I'm missing something here but someone needs to sort this out because by the sounds of what is being said, the service is going to get a lot worse. Are IE planning to shut the station down again by any chance ?

The last sentence says it all - "2009 at the earliest" in other words Manyana.

[stevetee]

Just in case my posts are worded to the bad, they are aimed directly at IE and not Mark.

[Mark Gleeson]

Kildare route stretches from Le Fanu Rd to Hazelhatch, originally it went from Inchicore to Straffan, there was no benefit to having the Inchicore bit really, there wasn't much of a case to go to Straffan either once you do the math, 4 track to Newbridge was never on the table, there was talk of Sallins at one time. For those you know their geography will note Hazelhatch station is on the Dublin/Kildare boundary.

The key thing is to understand how the service is structured, Kildare is the outer suburban boundary, Hazelhatch is the inner suburban boundary. The Kildare commuter service was conceived to run between Heuston and Kildare, Kildare was chosen as it was on the outer rim of the commuter boundary and also the first possible terminus (as it was in 1994) as well as a good connection point. Problem is simple Irish Rail can't even be bothered to provide the current timetable to even a decent level, adding an extra service is going to make it even worse and the large base of users in Kildare/Newbridge/Sallins/Hazelhatch are unwilling to accept any further reduction in the service quality, its frankly rubbish currently its only going to get worse the more trains in the system. Thats an undeniable fact.

Despite no additional rolling stock resources in the rush hours there are more trains this year compared to last that has lead to serious reliability problems resulting in cancelations since 1960's era coaches have been retained in service for one more year (its been one more year every year since 1998). Things got very very bad this year as a result

We simply cannot condone trying to run any additional services until Irish Rail get there act together, they have an awful lot to do and they have publicly committed to a lot of what is needed at public meetings we await to see if they deliver if they do there might be a window of opportunity to increase services but that is still dependent on finding more trains

Monesterevin has 3 morning rush hour services, spaced 30 minutes apart all arriving Dublin before 9am, that is an extremely respectable level of service for a town of its size, its a lot better than some others say Mullingar which has only one arrival before 9 (second is 9:03), thats not going to change. Evening is less impressive but two quite fast direct services and a third requiring a change again is quite respectable

There is no off peak service since the coaches used for the morning rush hour are actually pinched from the intercity division and are required for mid morning intercity services. There is no infinite supply of resources, you want more trains but don't want the 1960's era coaches you are stuck in a no win scenario.

What we know is happening is a separation of services, the Hazelhatch Heuston service will operate separately to the regional services to Athy/Port Laois/Athlone, as a result the peak hour service through Monesterevin will remain at no more than 2 trains per hour but at least an hourly off peak service could be provided. The timetabling situation will be very simple after the 4 tracks go in

[stevetee]

Cheers for the candid responses. You are that dart board.

Do you think it would be worthwhile forming a Monasterevin Rail Users Group to raise awareness of issues ? If the common perception of the service is one of failure, I think we've a lot of work to do, probably more so than some of the larger stations where survival is not an issue.

Are there any procedures we should follow in going about doing this ?

Would any else be interested in participating ?

[Mark Gleeson]

The principle problem in Kildare and Newbridge was the cark park, it condition, lack of spaces security and so on. Monasterevin has a modern well laid out car park, its got plenty of empty spaces, it looks well looked after compared to the building site look Newbridge has, not an issue

Accessibility was a major issue elsewhere, Monestervin is a fully accessible station to latest standards, not an issue

Those two issues Irish Rail were happy to agree with and put things in motion, but

On the service level issue the bulk of complaints were to do with delays, poor on train conditions, connections and the dodgy off peak service. Most people do accept the fact that things are heavily constrained.

In light of this we are working on (quite close to being complete) a new off peak timetable, which addresses the issues raised, Monasterevin would get a train every two hours in each direction as we envisage a day time Port Laois commuter service (hourly allowing for Limerick), Athlone also picks up an hourly service. We can solve this problem and keep everyone happy

Peak time is a nightmare it would be very difficult get any significant changes, its too complex and this is where the operational problems are and need sorting out before making a step forward

The future
By end 2006 few if any trains will be more than 30 years old, most will date from the mid 1980's that the impact of the new Cork Dublin trains, will mean some more seats as well
Late 2007 will see elimination of the 1970's stock permanently, new depot opens up in Port Laois leading to an improved evening service and more reliable morning service
Late 2009 Kildare Route Project completes and things get miles better

Irish Rail won't tell you any different

If you want to see a big improvement get Kildare CC to sort its planning out and densify, currently the all day total number of people boarding best case using the data Arup gathered when developing investment plans is 108, thats best case 2 trains per hour peak and once every 2 hours off peak would be a reasonable service level, off peak is taken as 1/4 of peak. The fundamental problem in Monasterevin is its small population, that combined with the fact Irish Rail were not provided with the operational resources to match the new station

If you wish to really annoy Irish Rail management (in fact I mentioned Monasterevin to them today) the man you want is Myles McHugh who is the service planning manager (for extra annoyance mention my name), avoid Barry Kenny at all costs. I'll forward on our proposed of peak timetable if you wish, the key thing here is to ensure everyone on the line gets a fair deal making an extra stop in one place means one less stop somewhere else

You might want to read this and the links http://www.platform11.org/local_groups/

[Jimbo]

Will you post your off peak timetable here when you have it complete? Can you tell me, is there a later train stopping in Monasterevin on this off peak timetable? That is all I am looking for. I don't care what kinda mess goes on on the Maynooth line, or how much it would cost etc...It really isn't that hard!!! (a few extra exclamations there for Thomas and his distortion field, what does LOL mean by the way?)

Off the point abit, would I be wrong in saying that the signalling system is absolutely useless here. I've seen trains all over the world arrive very quickly after each other, yet there seems to be massive delays when it happens here. At peak times if there is one delay the whole thing breaks down. Do they have a system that shows where each train is on the track at all times? Seems to be a lack of big picture planning.

[Colm Donoghue]

Laugh Out Loud

[Mark Gleeson]

Off peak evening you should be seeing something after 10pm, current work in concentrated on 9am to 4:30pm since there is a glut of trains in Dublin doing nothing, evenings something after 10pm is likely

This is not easy had to do a rethink to allow for a train every 30 minutes to Adamstown from 2007 plus allow for freight services (yes there are still freight trains).

The signalling between Hazelhatch and Ballybrophy dates from 1976 it is computer controlled since the mid 1980's, 1986 I think. The exact location of all trains between Clondalkin and Cork/Tralee/Limerick/Galway/Waterford/Athlone-Moate are displayed in real time, I saw a live demo of it many moons ago. Since 2003 the computer routes the trains automatically based on the timetable with the signalman allowed override. The problem is back in 1976 the signalling was specified to simply replace the mechanical system like for like which was fine for a rail system that wasn't even carrying 10 milion a year, that left a limit of a train every 7 minutes, once Heuston was rebuilt that became 5 minutes as Heuston to just before Hazelhatch was resignalled. Fundamental problem is some trains make lots of stops some make no stops so a gap will open up behind a fast train, you also have to account for Waterford trains leaving/joining at Cherryville Junction. The Kildare Route Project resignals out as far as Cherryville

The reliability problem is down to having only 2 tracks, anywhere else in Europe would have 4

The distortion field gag is to do with the amazing ability of Barry Kenny Irish Rails media spokeman to make even a 4 hour delay sound like a good thing, you always feel like you are getting something when you are not, hence why if you want a result you need to dodge the media minder and head straight for line manager

[Thomas J Stamp]

O/T a little further but wasnt there some blind alley from the hatch inwards to Heston when they put in the new signals? Did they ever iron it out? You might remember my nervy experiance a few weeks ago with two trians heading out of heuston at the same time well that was what was in my mind at the time.

[Mark Gleeson]

The big gap between Inchicore and Hazelhatch was fixed when Heuston was rebuilt, made a big difference, the computer can have fun with routing trains, its not unsafe it keeps things moving

[Jimbo]

I believe there is a new timetable due in the next few weeks, can anyone tell me if they know of any improvement in the Monasterevin service?

[stevetee]

The fundamental problem in Monasterevin is its small population.....


Check out the number of new houses that have been built in the town over the last 6 months.


I'll forward on our proposed of peak timetable if you wish.....


Can you post it here so everyone can see it ?




Mark, do you permit members to canvas for User Group support through this notice board ?

Steve

[Thomas J Stamp]

Mark, do you permit members to canvas for User Group support through this notice board ?

Steve

Yep, fire away.

[stevetee]

Yep, fire away.

I have sent Derek my mobile number to arrange a meeting in Monasterevin with the aim of setting up a Monasterevin Rail Users Group. So far not a peep out the man. Hes probably very busy given the impending election and state of the rail service but if anyone sees him could they pass on a message from Steve Tee :" Please call me so we can get the ball rolling"

Thanks P11 for your support

Steve

[Mark Gleeson]

Derek knows and will be in touch, like you said its very busy at the moment, 2 media gigs and 1 public meeting over the last 48 hours

The election is coming indeed and all the politicians are out with promises, they are quick to forget what they promised and failed to deliver last time

[stevetee]

Derek knows and will be in touch, like you said its very busy at the moment, 2 media gigs and 1 public meeting over the last 48 hours

The election is coming indeed and all the politicians are out with promises, they are quick to forget what they promised and failed to deliver last time

Derek, the tension is killing us. Please get in touch. Steve

[Thomas J Stamp]

Desperatly Seeking Derek.

You could always ask me, you know.

Not that I'm offended or anything or about to go off in a huff.........

[Derek Wheeler]

Shove off Stamp. Finish the Newsletter.:D

Steve, I'll ring you Good Friday.

[Thomas J Stamp]

So now you know how to get his attention Steve, just tell him you'll bring your complaints to me!!

[Jimbo]

Under commuter services, the kildare line is most popular and in the Kildare line section Monasterevin has the most posts, by this simple logic it's the topic people feel strongly about!!!!
Badly need a better service, really it's a total waste of time at the moment for commuters to have the last train at 6. Commuters in Monasterevin have to go to Kildare totally defeating the point of the station.

[Thomas J Stamp]

Commuters in Monasterevin have to go to Kildare totally defeating the point of the station.

Dont say that - they'll close the station!!!

[stevetee]

Shove off Stamp. Finish the Newsletter.:D

Steve, I'll ring you Good Friday.

Sorry Derek, I was in Wales for my sins. Give me a shout soon.

Steve

[Derek Wheeler]

I'll phone you at 8pm Friday 13th. (later today as things stand)

[Derek Wheeler]

I met with Steve last Saturday (April 14th) and we are in the offing to assist.

[Jimbo]

Is there a timetable somewhere on the site for the 4 track project out of heuston station or somewhere I can see more details on it?
Will it mean that arrow won't have to stop until naas now?

[stevetee]

jimbo would you be interested in getting involved in a user group to raise awareness around the plight of Monsaterevins train service ?
Steve

[Jimbo]

Stevetee,

Yeah I suppose so. Wouldn't have too much free time but would love to see some improvement on the service.

[stevetee]

Jimbo, thats the first positive response I've had so far. Good for you.

I am too busy to run around organising extra curricular but its worth a shot, see what kind of response we get (a) from people in the town and (b) the powers that be who right now couldnt care less.

I will send you my mobile number through P11 private messages . If you could call me, I can ascertain whether it is feasible to establish the group between us for starters. Then we can arrange to meet.

Again, your support is appreciated.

Steve

[stevetee]

Press release from IE
"Last Updated: 04/02/2008 17:10 New rail fleet 'greenest in Europe'

Ireland is swapping the oldest trains in Europe for the newest under a significant investment in the railways, it was claimed today.

Iarnród Éireann said the new €400 million Intercity railcar fleet being rolled out this year will transform services.

It also claims the 183 South Korean-built carriages will be the "greenest" diesel train fleet in Europe already meeting future standards for fuel emissions.

"The transformation of our rail service is extraordinary," said Dick Fearn, chief executive, Iarnród Éireann, officially launching the new fleet in Sligo.

"We have totally rebuilt our network, we have dramatically expanded commuter capacity, and now we are completing the task of a total renewal of our Intercity fleet."

The first of the new railcars are already running on the Cork-Dublin, Sligo-Dublin and Limerick-Dublin lines.

Other routes to get the new carriages this year include Rosslare-Dublin, Waterford-Dublin, Westport-Dublin, Tralee-Dublin, Tralee-Cork, Galway-Dublin and the Carlow, Athlone, Portlaoise commuter routes.

Iarnród Éireann said the investment will see significantly higher frequency and capacity on all Intercity routes with improved accessibility for mobility-impaired customers.

The new trains will have automatic PA and information display systems, electronic seat reservation displays for web bookings, full air-conditioning and an internal CCTV system.

A record high of more than 46 million journeys were made on the country's rail network last year, according to Iarnród Éireann. "

Hats off to IE, they've given the publicity bottle a good spin. Sounds impressive on TV/raaaadio/internet but the litmus test for myself as a now-only-occasional-train-user and the rest of the commuting population of Monasterevin who currently drive ( that requires rail users to use their Cars Mr Fearn) to Portarlington or Kildare is increased services stopping at Monasterevin train station. Intercities are of no use to us. We just see them whizzing by at an even greater speed than before. Nor will the Kildare Route project directly impact on us. We've been over all this information a million times and still there is no change.

Will the advent of the Portlaoise depot assist the regularity of service stopping at Monasterevin ?

Incidentally I heard from a very well placed source in IE that the passenger footfall for Adamstown train station at present is lower than that for Monasterevin. If you factor in the Monasterevin commuters using Kildare and Portarlington, the discrepancy is probably even wider and yet the population of the town has been IEs main argument against improving the service. And yet the Adamstown service + the spin on future services to that City-As-Yet-To-Be-Built would have you believe the demand for trains is sky high judging by the service they get.

Farkin ell Mr Fearn, whats the story ?
Unhappy

Steve

[stevetee]

Stevetee,

Yeah I suppose so. Wouldn't have too much free time but would love to see some improvement on the service.


Jimbo,

In case you still check in to this forum - and my apologies for forgetting about you - there is a meeting planned to kick off a Monasterevin Rail Users Group in Mooneys at 8pm tonight(27-05-08). I've failed badly on the publicity front this time so I'll make sure to get word up here earlier next time.

If you (or anyone reading this) can make it tonight, please do. We need as many concerned citizens involved as possible.

Steve

[stevetee]

Jimbo,

In case you still check in to this forum - and my apologies for forgetting about you - there is a meeting planned to kick off a Monasterevin Rail Users Group in Mooneys at 8pm tonight(27-05-08). I've failed badly on the publicity front this time so I'll make sure to get word up here earlier next time.

If you (or anyone reading this) can make it tonight, please do. We need as many concerned citizens involved as possible.

Steve

HI..Promised better advance publicity for the next meeting.

So here its is

MRUG meeting #3 in Mooneys Snug, Main St, Monasterevin
Time: 8pm
Date: June 24th.

Mailing list: mrug08@gmail.com

If you can identify yourself as one (or more) of the following, we need your support

• a regular train commuter who lives in or close to Monasterevin but who is obliged to drive to Kildare or Portarlington to use the train service
• a regular commuter to a location within reach of train station along the Kildare Route
• a supporter of transport choice /greener transport options
• interested in raising the profile of Monasterevins commuters to Iarnrod Eireann/Government
• shopper/sports fan/student who would use weekend train services if there were any.

Please come along and lend your support to the cause.

MRUG 2008

[Stephen O'Leary]

Can you give a contact email address

[stevetee]

Can you give a contact email address

Hi Stephen,

mrug08@gmail.com is the groups mailing list address.

If you want to talk to me personally, please sent me a private message through this forum.

Steve

[stevetee]

Hi,

For anyone interested the state of play with the train services at Monasterevin train station, there is a further meeting of MRUG in Mooneys Bar @ 8pm August 12th.

We now have a provisional committee, we have set some goals and are now ready to meet with IE to present our case for improving the service beyond its current abysmal state.

Please come and lend your support. Its important.

Regards,

Steve

PS I will endeavour to flag our meetings on this thread as they come up so stay tuned.

[Mark Gleeson]

Just to confirm this meeting is going ahead tonight

[stevetee]

Minutes of meeting at Heuston 5.45pm

Attendees: Claire Blennerhasset, Brendan Dunne, Steve Tee ( all MRUG) , Myles McHugh (IE)

MRUG felt the meeting between Myles McHugh (MMc) on behalf of IE and MRUG was productive

Main points raised and discussed:

(1) there is no threat to the current timetable. The current service will stay as is and reports of a station closure are unfounded.

(2) MMc agreed the gaps in the timetable for Monasterevin are glaringly obvious and require addressing within planning restrictions.

(3) the new 10.00pm service was acknowledged by MRUG as a welcome start. This set a positive tone for the rest of meeting.

(4) Other proposed service changes

- a third peak time service from Euston in the evening is a definite possibility (possibly the 18.35 Thurles train )

- the off peak every 2hrs (even) was discussed in the context of the Portlaoise depot. IE havent yet got the full complement of new trains in service but the odds are stacked in our favour for additional off peak stopping services given (1) the delay in issuing the new 2009 timetable and (2) the continued roll out and subsequent demand for servicing of all new trains at Portlaoise.

(5) MMc to arrange a visit to Monasterevin station with the area manager (Portlaoise) to inspect the station. MRUG brought up some of the main issues - lifts not working, no indication of when station is manned/unmanned, ticket machine, state of waiting areas, general inhospitable atmosphere at station and proposed that IE/MRUG partner to maintain the station. Myles will get back to MRUG with his findings in due course.

(5) Didnt discuss weekend services.

(6) Didnt mention the state of the car parking which we feel should be free to attract people back to using the station.

(7) We also mentioned the KCC Town plan that includes better signage indicating location of train station, better access indications from all points in the town via bicycle paths, footpaths etc. It is MRUGs position that a relaunch of the train station is required once we have some concrete improvements (new evening service notwithstanding) to underpin a relaunch. (Dropping the car parking charges would help us promote the use of the services big time.)

MMc broadly welcomed the arrival of a new Users Group to the fold and said that it was really the only way to focus on issues affecting customers at coal face. He looked forward to meeting us again in due course.

MRUG awaiting IEs feedback on all of the above issues.

Steve

PS (left this one off the original document)

One I forgot to put into the minutes was the 21.00 service heading up to Dublin from Thurles. Weve asked IE to consider adding Monasterevin to the list of stops for this service as well. It will allow anyone travelling from Cork to alight at Portarlington, catch the 21.00 from Thurles and get off at Monasterevin 5 minutes later. It will then be possible to travel from Monasterevin to Cork and back in a single day ( should you so desire).

[stevetee]

Hi,

Took a walk around a deserted Monasterevin station last Saturday morning.

Changes noted to the general environment were:

* multiple large signs warning customers about the new car parking arrangements

* a phone number to call in the event of my car being clamped (funny how clamping recovery information is always made crystal clear while the information we really want is buried beneath the feckin tarmac)

* a bright blue "Have You Paid And Displayed ?" Oh and a brand spankin new machine for dispensing parking tickets (no cards accepted mind you). See attachments for pix.

So if we can have all of the above, why not the issues mentioned below (some already put to IE at last MRUG-IE meeting):

* if IE can stick a new parking meter into this shamedly underused train station, whats stopping them sticking in a ticket machine ? Someone is assumedly going round collecting the parking dosh so why not get same people to collect ticket money too ?

* if IE can put up new signs warning people to pay their parking fees, where to contact the clampers etc. surely a sign indicating when the station is manned and a proper time table in place of the current weather-beaten paper notice could also be put up. Also some signs out on the road telling people where the station is located as it seems to have disppeared off Planet Signage altogether.

* IE temporarily cease charging people to park at Monasterevin to encourage them back to using the station again especially if we get our additional trains in March 2009.

* Took picture of the waiting areas that do not have any sides. The station is built on a raised platform of earth and concrete looking down over the town so it is very exposed on wet and windy days.

Havent heard any feedback for numbers on the new 22.00pm service. Be good to get something written up on the forum.

Steve

869

870

871

[Thomas Ralph]

I don't know if there's a need for road signs; there's a huge elevated IÉ symbol out the front that should be visible around the area

[Sealink]

Monasterevin is mentioned in the latest 'Modern Railways' magazine. It's in a comparison with the UK's first modular station, and it comes out rather well.

[stevetee]

Hi,

FAO MRUG Committee, RUI etc.

Minutes of 2nd meeting with IE/Myles McHugh:


* New timetable due end of September 2009.

* Timetable changes announced :

Monasterevan To Dublin:

6.36*am (changed from 6.44am) Mon-Fri
7.05am M-Sat
7.35*am (changed from 7.39am) M-F
8.00*am (changed from 8.01am) M-S
19.47pm (changed from 19.46pm) M-F
22.45pm ----> ( new, from Portlaoise).

Dublin to Monasterevan:

6.15am M-S
9.15am (new) M-S
10.15am (new) M-S
17.10pm M-S
18.05pm M-F
18.40pm -----> Thurles train (new) M-S
21.10pm ----> brand new service (all stops to Portarlington) (new) M-S
22.10pm (changed from 22.15pm) M-S

Steve Tee (on behalf of MRUG)

[Jimbo]

Good work Steve Tee,

I no longer commute from Monasterevin to Dublin but am impressed that the timetable is no more realistic where before it was really a joke.

Keep up the good work

[stevetee]

Hi,

FAO MRUG Committee, RUI etc.

Minutes of 2nd meeting with IE/Myles McHugh:


* New timetable due end of September 2009.

* Timetable changes announced :

Monasterevan To Dublin:

6.36*am (changed from 6.44am) Mon-Fri
7.05am M-Sat
7.35*am (changed from 7.39am) M-F
8.00*am (changed from 8.01am) M-S
19.47pm (changed from 19.46pm) M-F
22.45pm ----> ( new, from Portlaoise).

Dublin to Monasterevan:

6.15am M-S
9.15am (new) M-S
10.15am (new) M-S
17.10pm M-S
18.05pm M-F
18.40pm -----> Thurles train (new) M-S
21.10pm ----> brand new service (all stops to Portarlington) (new) M-S
22.10pm (changed from 22.15pm) M-S

Steve Tee (on behalf of MRUG)

I have just been informed that all of the promised October 2009/2010 Monasterevin timetable changes have been deferred indefinitely due to ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES.

Go figure that one out.

Steve (_really_ pissed off:mad: )

[stevetee]

I have just been informed that all of the promised October 2009/2010 Monasterevin timetable changes have been deferred indefinitely due to ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES.

Hi Mark,

Read through the recent forum postings regarding the KRP - new track(s) coming online, Autumn 2010 timetable targets etc, and I have a question reqarding the October 2009 timetable. Were all changes to the latter deferred indefinitely for economic reasons ? MRUG are wholly disheartened by the news that the modest additions to our timetable promised by IE @ a meeting in July 2009 have been deferred indefinitely due to economic circumstance, a statement I still cant get my head around.

If we're talking a general IE deferral of all timetable changes until Autumn 2010 due to the KRP then why didnt IE just say so ? If on the other hand, its a case of situation normal EXCEPT @ Monasterevin, I think MRUG are going to have to fight harder to reinstate the changes we squeezed from IE.

Any feedback appreciated.

Steve

[stevetee]

If we're talking a general IE deferral of all timetable changes until Autumn 2010 due to the KRP then why didnt IE just say so ? If on the other hand, its a case of situation normal EXCEPT @ Monasterevin, I think MRUG are going to have to fight harder to reinstate the changes we squeezed from IE.



Any suggestions on maximising the possibility of the above tt changes making it into a post-KRP timetable 2010 ?

Steve

[areidy]

Any one know of there are any plans for a train between the 6.40 and 10.10pm services?

Thanks
Aish

[stevetee]

Any one know of there are any plans for a train between the 6.40 and 10.10pm services?

Thanks
Aish

Hi Aish,

MRUG agreed a set of "assured timetable changes" with IE, including 2 additional services between 6.40 (presume you mean the evening) and 10.10pm, before the "recession" kicked in as a result of which all timetable modifications were canned. I didnt see the connection at the time and I still dont but its some combination of massive customer numbers drop, the Kildare Route Project and another unquantifiable substance IE tend to sprinkle on any process involving change. MRUG have heard nothing back from IE since so I cant give you any assurances when or even if we will see additional services in our timetable.

That said, and as you will read on other postings to this forum, the Kildare Route Project put a kibosh on all timetable changes last year and the indicators are the new tracks will lead to significant timetable alterations. Whether those timetable changes have a direct impact on Monasterevins train service remains to be seen.

Steve (on behalf of MRUG)

[areidy]

thanks stevee. Fingers crossed when the Kildare Route Project is finished we could get another train in the evening. I hate the thought of having to go to Kildare for an evening train!!

Aish

[stevetee]

Hi,

Just noticed the new initiative by Iarnrod Eireann to involve customers in a new timetable consultation process. We've definitely been here before but any port in a storm as they say.

Does anyone know how this is going to work as far as the existing Rail User Groups are concerned ?

Steve

[Mark Gleeson]

In typical Irish Rail fashion some groups got an email from Irish Rail some did not

If you didn't it means you are seen as trouble (i.e. fighting for passengers and wont take usual Irish Rail cover stories and know us) If you got an email its probably because you buy the Irish Rail line

Can produce a case to get the 23:10 to Kildare extended to Portlaoise in a way as to save Irish Rail money

[stevetee]

In typical Irish Rail fashion some groups got an email from Irish Rail some did not

If you didn't it means you are seen as trouble (i.e. fighting for passengers and wont take usual Irish Rail cover stories and know us) If you got an email its probably because you buy the Irish Rail line

Can produce a case to get the 23:10 to Kildare extended to Portlaoise in a way as to save Irish Rail money


We got the invite ok and submitted the same set of changes MRUG agreed with IE end of 2009. We're going round in circles at this stage but better than standing still.

[areidy]

What were those changes? For what its worth myself and my husband stuck in some suggestions on the Irish rail page.

Aish

[areidy]

Stevetee,
I seen on a monasterevin discussion forum you're thinking of another rail users meeting.
(Think it was you!) I'd be interested in going along when you know when it is.

Aish

[stevetee]

Stevetee,
I seen on a monasterevin discussion forum you're thinking of another rail users meeting.
(Think it was you!) I'd be interested in going along when you know when it is.

Aish

Hi there,

I arranged 3 meetings during March/April 2011, one of which was stillborn by date mixup but on all occasions no-one showed up. I'm used to this level of response, takes time to get peoples attention but Ive now left it until end of May/early June before attempting to organise a meeting. People are either busy, asleep or disinterested.

The changes I referred to are listed in an earlier posting on this thread. MRUG met up with IE last in October 2009 to discuss timetable tweaks and the response was suspiciously productive. Nothing came of it alas bar the late night addition which was great and I hope people are using it.

There remains a huge hole in the Dublin bound timetable between 9am and 7pm that requires serious plugging but with the KRP, the recession blah-de-blah, IE have gone all quiet and MRUG suspect the patient may be terminally ill - note IE wasnt mentioned as a potential candidate for sell-off in McCarthys latest "Ode to a Firesale".

We've a tough battle to even get their attention these days but MRUG are in it for the long haul.

Ill post up any meeting notifications here and on the Monasterevin Forum.

Steve

[stevetee]

Hi ,

Ive got 5 new private messages but the administrator has blocked access to them. Is that just me or does the same apply to everyone ? Can I get the access restored plz ?

Havent logged on in a good while because its been quiet on the progress front and MRUG has been mothballed for the last few years. The new timetable for 2013 however looks very promising for Monasterevin. Its not finalised yet so Ill keep my powder dry but a/c to the draft timetable, there will be additional Dublin bound services stopping at Monasterevin during the day. One of MRUGs goals was to plug the late morning/afternoon/early evening ginormo timetable gap on Dublin-bound services. And not just Dublin bound either. It means residents of the town can travel to Kildare or Newbridge/Whitewater etc without using their cars. Thats fantastic news and will hopefully get people out and about who dont have access to a car/cant afford to run their cars no more.

Hats off to Irish Rail for a bit of good news which is in very short supply there days.

I didnt check the Sunday service side of things but Im assuming the same might apply as we currently have no Sunday service at all ! Ill wait and see what comes out post 20th January.

Sunday services and ticket machine are MRUGs next targets.

Regards,

Steve

[Mark Gleeson]

PM system was shut down 6 months ago due large scale spam and a security risks. Sadly we cannot re-enable it at this time as it would risk the site being shutdown.

[stevetee]

Hi Mark,

As the main contact point for MRUG, Ive had a few emails sent to me over the last few months regarding rumours that Monasterevin train station is (once again) earmarked for closure.

I can find no evidence offline or on line for this claim.

Could you double check with your contacts in IE to see if there is any truth to these runours ?

Regards,

Steve Tee

[laoisfan]

I could be wrong but...I believe there has been or perhaps it is currently still-in-progress a review of all train stations on the network in terms of passenger numbers. This is to justify the manning though not necessarily closure of some train stations.

Has a TVM (Ticket Vending Machine) been installed in Monasterevin ? There was one installed in Ballybrophy a few months back but office hours have not been affected...yet.

[Mark Gleeson]

There are certain reasons Ballybrophy is staffed separate to the ticket office function.

Monastervin has a TVM for quite some time

No proposal for closure of ANY station has been made, Monastervin nowhere near the least used station list

[Jamie2k9]

Don't think we will see any closed, to much of a political football especially coming up to an election.

[stevetee]

Hi,

So IE are planning a timetable revision for 2016 ? Thats good news.

From todays IT

"Iarnród Éireann has said it plans to release a new timetable in early 2016 to keep up with the increased demand, with a public consultation to be held in autumn regarding changes to services."

My enquiry concerns the public consultation bit . How will that be organised and can we make sure MRUG is included in the consultation process ? Who should I contact ? Been a while since I spoke to anyone in IE so Im starting from scratch :-) Any steerage is welcome

We still have no Sunday service in Monasterevin and I want to organise a pitch for it when the time comes.

Ta,

Steve

[berneyarms]

Hi,

So IE are planning a timetable revision for 2016 ? Thats good news.

From todays IT

"Iarnród Éireann has said it plans to release a new timetable in early 2016 to keep up with the increased demand, with a public consultation to be held in autumn regarding changes to services."

My enquiry concerns the public consultation bit . How will that be organised and can we make sure MRUG is included in the consultation process ? Who should I contact ? Been a while since I spoke to anyone in IE so Im starting from scratch :-) Any steerage is welcome

We still have no Sunday service in Monasterevin and I want to organise a pitch for it when the time comes.

Ta,

Steve

It will (in all probability) be in the same format as the consultation before the current timetable was issued (excluding the various minor timetable changes).

The draft timetable will be published on the website in September/October in a pdf document, and then the public would be invited to make submissions on the proposals to a specific email address. In other words, everyone can have their say.

Then the submissions will be analysed and changes made where possible.

[Traincustomer]

Used Monasterevin a few weeks ago mid afternoon on a Saturday and was pleased to see several others waiting for the Dublin-bound train.

Would like to see a footpath (from the town direction) extended to the station entrance.

Steve, out of interest is there still a shop at the station at certain times?