[17/08-05/09] - Bus Transfers 06.05 Waterford-Heuston
 

http://www.irishrail.ie/news/kilkennybustransfers
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Jamie2k9: your post makes sense of a complicated announcement. The notice on the IE website omits the reference you made to the 0605 not serving Kilkenny over this period and operating via Lavistown Loop.

I am sure many people on reading the notice will think that the 0605 is not running at all on the affected dates.

Once again, clarity lacking from an IE announcement.

Agree when I first saw it I expected the service was cancelled and didn't know anything until I looked at the journey planner.

They have updated it but still managed to make a mess of it by now removing bus transfers!

http://www.irishrail.ie/news/kilkennybustransfers

Unbelievable! By omitting the words "Bus Transfers" before the lines referring to Waterford and Thomastown and Kilkenny they have made the whole announcement unintelligible to the average reader.

Do they ever try to engage brain before writing stuff?

And the notice of 20 to 25 minute delays to all Waterford line services should have been mentioned from the outset.

This whole thing is rather odd - I assume these works are being carried on at night and wonder at the necessity of disrupting the 0605 unless Irish Rail are afraid of the reaction further up the line if this train is late.

As regards 20/25 minutes late, this is a catch-all. The delays should amount to no no more than 2/3 minutes per direction, i.e well less than 10 minutes for each train transiting Kilkenny. There is some potential for consequential delays although there is also a degree of padding in the schedules.

The notice has now finally been corrected:
http://www.irishrail.ie/news/kilkennybustransfers

06.05 would be busiest service in Dublin in the mornings so perhaps they can't afford to disrupt service and by not having the 06.05 serve Kilkenny they have a full 12 hours between the 20.13 and 08.24.

06.05 has a very tight schedule consistency running 5/6 minutes late and manages to make up most of it but would never arrive ahead of schedule like most other services would.

Services that cross in Kilkenny (10.15/11.00 and 17.35/18.25) are likely to see biggest impact of 10-15 minutes (real delay outside padding) and the domino affect that has.

In saying all that 15 working days for some track and points renewal is a stretch and will be interesting to see what they do as it wasn't so long ago point work was carried out.

Trackwork at Killkenny station is 1970's era and needs replacement

Lavistown Junction is mid 1990's

The replaced most of the line into the station when they had to move the line for a road back in 2008 ish. Kilkenny station (both platforms) got new track when platform was extended and loco run round was removed.

Only a few months ago they replaced the small siding (car park side) with new track and did points work and the even replaced sets of points for the old station siding on shopping center side.

Only works I can think they are doing is removing that siding, set of unused and disconnected points on 2 top and possibly platform 2 line goes out a long way after crossover to main line which points were not touched when they did they replaced most a few months ago.

Lavistown Junction has had a lot of patch up work and gone though a lot of points issues since 22 arrived, the loop is really showing it's ago though.

The platforms at Kilkenny were shortened some time ago when the buffer stops were moved out a few meters, and now they can only accommodate 6-car ICR formations. A relatively small job would be to lengthen them a few meters so they can take 7 cars like all other Waterford line stations. For a small outlay a significant gain in peak capacity ans in operational flexibility when you think of how sets have to be rostered..

Indeed Friday afternoons 9 of the 28 3 coach units are required for Waterford and I really think that if they were in a position to provide such extra capacity the 15.10 wouldn't of had such major issues though out the year but that would require 11 3 coach units (if the 16.15 was to stay).

As for expanding Kilkenny they would have to remove the buffers again and move the walk to P2 further down which is possible will cost a bit (foot bridge closed). Not possible to extend P1 out because of a building, P2 is possible but it would be a little tight and require signal removed.

When I get a look at what exactly they are doing in KK will post, you never know they may even have that in mind.

IE cannot lose the same business they did last September from the 18.05 on Sundays, Cork will need to return to Mark IV to free up the 6 coach unit or drop it back to 5 instead.