Quote:
Originally Posted by James Shields
Do people take the train just because it's faster than driving/the bus?
It may be one factor, but I think it's some way down most people's priorities. People want to arrive reliably, on time, and in comfort. If you can sort those issues out, it's not going to make a great deal of difference to most people whether the journey takes 90 mins or two hours. If you want the get to Dublin during business hours, the problem is not around Newry, it's inside the M50.
Of course, we're a long way from sorting our those issues at the moment. We need to have trains that don't break down, that arrive when they're supposed to. We need train staff that treat customers with respect. We need to give them things they can't get in their car, like Wi-Fi. These are the things that will bring people back to the train, regardless of how good the motorway is.
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I agree with you James, but unfortunetly the operator is a long way short of achieving that. Also bare in mind that not all travellers will think along your lines of thought. The railway needs to compete with the road option and it needs to do so very vigorously. European transport history is littered with rail companies striving for higher speeds, more customer comforts and all in a bid to beat the "motorway". Despite a rapid motorway programme in Ireland we appear content to patch up the tracks and offer very outdated customer perks. At a time of what IE call unprecedented investment, why oh why are they looking for a 1960s style railway?