Absolutely - could not agree more. This escalator rule should apply across the board in all public spaces. Just because the steps move doesn't mean you are required to stand still - rather they've been designed to make navigating multi-storied public spaces that bit easier. Not an excuse to stand still and have a snooze. Fair enough if you want to - just keep it to one side please.
Older women in Ireland are notoriously bad in this respect. Men probably are too, only they tend not to frequent department stores...
Most certainly a generational thing - over 40 and they simply don't notice the queue piling up.
As for runners - I don't begrudge anyone their extra 5-10 minutes saved by being efficient, as long as they're not ignorant enough to offend or inconvenience others. It's an equally big issue at Dundalk as the other stations, and has gained somewhat notorious status with certain idiots best known to themselves often staging 'walk slow' demonstrations in a line, blocking the fast exiting of passengers on their way up the ramp and out into the car park. What children.
Traffic congestion can be woeful getting out of train station car parks, and after spending an hour and a half in a roaring green-painted Tetra Pack on wheels, it's no wonder people want to get home (at Dundalk anyway). Getting out in the first ten seconds rather than thirty later can mean the difference of sailing out the gate, or a ten minute wait in the car park.
The fact that Dundalk Town Council in their emminent wisdom decided to plonk a pedestrian crossing with no flashing amber and the longest changing sequence conceivable directly outside the main gate has merely added to matters. Is the concept of a zebra crossing just too 80s for Irish local authorities these days? It's been as good as wiped out
Provided people are considerate, good on those who have better things to be doing that spending even more time commuting than they have to.