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Unread 06-10-2013, 18:46   #25
James Howard
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Sligo Line
Posts: 1,115
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As a Edgeworthstown commuter, I tend to try to avoid this service given that it is always extremely busy - it is the by far the busiest service of the week but it is a nightmare for the first college term. But if I do fancy leaving early on a Friday, I make sure that I am at Connolly by 4:40 at the latest if I am fussed about getting a seat. This is kind of the norm on the Sligo line and people who use the service regularly know that this is how it works.

It is also well worth avoiding the 5:05 for the months of October and November because it is a complete nightmare getting the car out of station because of all the mammys picking up little Johnny and his washing who have to park right opposite the platform exit blocking the car park gate in Edgeworthstown.

I fail to see that just because I travel to Dublin 4 or 5 times a week (and contribute the sum of €3,490 per annum to Irish Rail), I should somehow be treated as a second-class citizen when it comes to getting the seat I paid for and turned up for in plenty of time.

The problems with Irish Rail's booking system are well documented by now and I think that they need to be forced to change the booking rules such that if the names are not displayed 20 minutes before boarding, then you should be entitled to a refund of the booking fee. It is unfair to a passenger who has booked a seat an then has to stand. However, it is equally unfair to a passenger who has turned up in plenty of time to get a seat and then has to stand because they have sat in a booked seat with nothing to indicate that is booked. The booking fee should also be refundable if you find somebody sitting in your seat and decide to sit elsewhere to avoid a confrontation.

Knowing the way a significant part of the Irish public behave in dispute situations, it is only a matter of time before somebody ends up getting themselves stabbed over confronting some drunken idiot who has sat in their booked seat.
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