New Irish Rail Website
 

Its now public http://new.irishrail.ie

The full details of what it can do http://new.irishrail.ie/cat_news.jsp?i=4385&p=116&n=237

Rail Users Ireland members were involved in testing of the site in recent weeks. This feedback resulted in many minor changes in content. There are still some issues to be resolved but none are major

Bookings made on the new site appear on the old one and vice versa

The next phase is a new booking system which will finally allow booking between any pair of stations. This is somewhat dependent on a new fare structure being in place.

Secret trick

http://new.irishrail.ie/StationName

So

http://new.irishrail.ie/Drogheda will give you the page on Drogheda and all information including real-time train information

I emalied this to the feedback email they posted on twitter:

The DART and Short Hop Zone Fare page(http://new.irishrail.ie/index.jsp?p=118&n=198) doesn't seem to recognise Tara St or Pearse as destinations or depature points. For example, you can't get a fare from Clonsilla to Tara St, or Balbriggan to Pearse, or from Connolly to Pearse, or from Pearse to Maynooth, and so on. Instead you get "There are no fares available for your selected stations."

They are still using the old fares engine for the Dublin area, it only accepts Dublin City Centre

New fares engine will solve this

Its quite complicated system

1. Website graphical design and content management is by Strata3 an award winning Dublin web design agency

2. The journey planner and mapping is the Hafas system by Hacon of Germany. This is the same system as used by Deutsche Bahn and many others

3. The real-time train information is IE's internal IT department

4. The booking engine is another in house creation

5. A mobile version is in development

6. Personalised timetable generation is also due soon

new map is not great - I'd thought they'd moved away from identifying the suburban service as 4 separate lines, its much more confusing and not really an accurate reflection of the service anyway (even more confusing with the docklands branch shown as a really long extra line)

Intreresting point. I presume that they wanted to distinguish the Northern line from the Maynooth/M3 lines.

However, I think there are other efficiencies in the map that would allow the Maynooth line to be moved further 'west'.

Like the new site, booking system is much better and they have the real time info fixed.

Like the way they have a Live Train map showing trains but mainly in areas with Real Time info.

they're all now branded as "Commuter" (though I notice the real-time info on the site is once again describing commuter trains as "Arrows", a brand they haven't used for about 10 years). You can get a train from Maynooth to Bray, or from Arklow to Dundalk, no point drawing them as separate lines.

The branding issue on the real-time is a known issue and will be resolved in the near future

Waterford - Limerick Junction
Limerick - Ballybrophy via Nenagh

Service: Intercity. Eh, I don't think so....

Also, some Sligo trains STILL Commuter which is quite shocking really.

New ICR will start passenger service early in 2012 according to the new site so would expect sligo services to be high on the list.

Three typos on one page... eep.

Have submitted a feedback report.

How is IE going to handle Irish do we know?

The underlying journey planner speaks many languages

Legally I don't think Irish Rail has to provide a site in Irish

It seems to fall under Language Schemes. IE hasn't submitted one (not listed in approved or draft) and it's not clear if a section 11 request has been made to them to do so by the relevant Minister.

still unable to book from loads of stations (presumably those with no facility to collect)

I must say, this website appears very much like the train service. It looks a bit prettier, will probably decay quite quickly and I presume they spent a lot of money on it but it doesn't seem to do anything that the other site didn't do.

It looks very much like an average corporate 2008 website. The old site looked like something from around 2001. The branding is weak but that is a general pattern across all Irish State organisations - a bit of text and a Nike swoosh and that's the logo done. (See the national transport authority for details).

I do like the four tabs across the top in the shape of a train. They give the site its strongest branding cue and make it relatively quick to find the information you want with a relatively amount of hunting. However, the "Travel and Station Information" has most of its links duplicated in three different places on the page with one notable exception.

This notable exception which I am sure is entirely accidental is the passenger charter which is only present in the tiny site map section at the bottom of the page.

Last year, I did an incomplete exercise, where I took all the data from the station information pages and tried to create a master list, which I've attached. Note the data is from June 2010 and Irish Rail have added some additional data fields, stations and edits.

Now, I've suggested to Irish Rail that they update all the information by surveying local staff, however, I do need a second opinion on the master list.

Certainly, the red bits need a bit of reconsidering.

The station list needs a bit of tidying up, especially for the new or closed stations and NIR owned stations, where no data has been presented.

Feel free to make suggestions.

There seems to be no / very information little about Enterprise on the new site and still no ability to book to NIR stations not served by Enterprise. It appears that while Translink treat the Enterprise as a proper part of their service provision IÉ want to hide it!

Irish Rail does not have a license to use the internal Northern Irish timetable so only Enterprise served stations are shown (all of which are bookable provided the origin is from the Republic of Ireland). Northern Irish railways do not support reservations in any shape or form so booking makes no difference.

This issue is under discussion with Irish Rail

Irish Rail booking offices can issue tickets to any Northern Irish destination upon request

Can as in the ticket machines are capable. The users may not be, and Almex machines will not have the fare for certain journeys (e.g. from a Dublin suburban station to an NIR suburban station), so it will need to be looked up and keyed manually.

Journey planner differences
 

I'm heading from Cork to Waterford on the 29 Dec. The new website is giving less possible journeys than the old website.

The old website gives me an 0505 Cork - Newbridge & 0744 Newbridge - Waterford journey. But the new website is giving me as 0730 Cork - Waterford via Limerick Junction journey.

Just wondering why it would not give me the first journey on the new website.

Irish Rail would be delighted if the Enterprise service were to disappear, they already afford it little more priority than a goods train and frequently manage to convert an on time or marginally late departure from Dundalk into a 20 or 30 minute delay in Dublin. Anything remotely more complicated than an all stops DART appears to be beyond their operational horizon.

The new journey planner seems to enforce minimum connection times unlike the old system. I would not recommend the 0505 via Newbridge solution the timing leaves little leeway in event of a delay.

The journey planner does offer a lot of options via Dublin so it is not a lockout

I don't think that is good enough. If Translink have access to IÉ timetables I'm sure Translink would be willing to make theirs available if threatened with the removal of access to IÉ's.
Also I believe Translink website offers reduced fares for the NIR bit when part of an Enterprise journey.
Also for visitors to Ireland this isn't very good, many will probably assume that they can get details for trains for the whole of Ireland on the site of Irish Rail.
I think the fact that you can't reflects the same disinterest IÉ show in cooperating with NIR on running the Enterprise. I would argue that with a bit more connected thinking and promotion the Enterprise could be made more successful making infrasturcture upgrade costs more justifiable.

The problem is Northern Irish Railways who refuse to play ball to assist in developing the service. I've had the strange experience of going to two north south meetings on the Enterprise service, Irish Rail and Translink attended in force for Belfast, Translink did not send anyone to the Dublin meeting.

Translink's journey planner does not support rail timetables south of Dublin, nor does Translink provide its timetable to any third parties, e.g. www.bahn.ie has the full Irish Rail, UK, French, German etc timetables loaded but nothing for Northern Ireland.

My understanding is Irish Rail have offered Translink a very straightforward deal which would bring Translink into the 21st century in terms of online sales and proper booking. There will be fit out of Wifi in the future, guess who is holding that up?

The evidence is clearly one of Translink holding onto the status quo and actually walking away from offers to solve the issue.

A dedicated visting Ireland page will be provided on the new Irish Rail site in early 2012. It was one of the RUI recommendations and Irish Rail has agreed to provide after the new site has fully replaced the old one.

Incidentally our colleagues in the European Passenger Federation are amazed at the fact full through ticketing applies across an international border its quite unique in Europe.

It's a pity that Assembly members are fixated on Dublin-Derry, since NI ministers are obliged to say more than "that is an internal matter for Translink" when asked a simple question about state-owned rail infrastructure and service. Certainly the notion that Translink should withhold timetable info is mindboggling.

I think its more to the point, they don't have the information in a useable format. There is a fixation on Derry which is unhelpful.

I presume you mean the N2/A5 when you say Dublin/Derry ?

NIR have had tremendous success on the Belfast/Derry line with traffic doubling in recent years due to a combination of the C3Ks, the upgrade of the Ballymena to Coleraine line, frequent services and competitive journey times (to Coleraine).

The NI civil servants would love to abandon Coleraine to Derry but the growing popularity of the service and political resistance appears to have succeeded in forcing an upgrade of the line which is scheduled for completion by early 2013.

The new site seems to no longer offer customers the possibility of picking up services at 22:17 and 23:17 from Parkwest to Heuston that require a change in Newbridge to get back into Heuston, it's a real shame for anyone who fancied an overnight sojourn on the platform at Newbridge which was a special feature of the 23:17 service as the connecting train to Heuston doesn't depart Newbridge until 06:23, giving a total journey time of 7h 43m between two stations 5 miles apart.

The new site does not allow 'overnight' journeys anymore which is a good thing.

It also no longer shows some journeys where connections are not guaranteed

If travelling from further flung parts, e.g. Galway-Dublin (overnight Athlone) that makes sense if you **really** need to be at your destination at an early hour, but perhaps not on such a short journey when alternatives are available. :)I think it would be useful if it did show them, but had a big red marker next to them saying the connection was doubtful. As it is, it allows an hour from Heuston to Connolly, which is so overly cautious as to be somewhat useless.

Inniskeen - it was actually a typo, I meant Belfast-Derry, although since you mention it the A5 thing works too :D

Quite a nice website, certainly better than the old one. I'm sure the booking engines etc will get better with time. No matter what you think of it, it could be worse: it could be like the NIR site!

Limerick - Ballybrophy
 

I took a trip on New Year's Eve from Limerick - Ballybrophy, outward on the 0730 Limerick - Heuston (as far as Ballybrophy) and back on the 1005 Ballybrophy - Limerick (via Nenagh).

The new website would not allow me to select the 1005 service, but the old website would allow me to select the service, therefore I was able to book my round-trip ticket on the old website only.

F.

Is there any developement on the Mobile Version (promised in the IR news of 24 November 2011 as "mobile device friendly (coming early 2012)" also


I know there may be iPhone and Android app available, but I'm on Nokia Symbian. The previous train timetable on the old mobile website was quick & easy. Thanks!

Its in progress

Thanks.

The app exists and is under test currently