Yeah, you have a point there.
I remember as a student taking the train to Coleraine and the train having to go West to Lisburn instead of just heading North. Of course they reopened the Bleach Green line to fix that yet the trains to Dublin still have to head West.
I think too many resources have been put into the line now to alter the route as we would be left with high speed line from Belfast to Newry via Lisburn, without any high speed trains on them.
I think that the only way for rail to compete is convenience. My cousin lives in Glasgow and travels to Edinburgh frequently. Although it is a shorter journey, they are similar in terms of being major population centres. The trains are so frequent that he never checks the timetables. Just turns up and buys his ticket.
If we could get a very frequent service with a decent, fast railcar, drinks trolley leaving from Great Victoria Street then does anyone think it might pump a bit of life back into the service?
I need to confess now that I have no knowledge on the operation of or costs of running a railway.
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