Quote:
Originally Posted by berneyarms
Clearly the NTA feel that is how the railway to be developed - based around a high frequency DART service.
Surely the extra running time with the DART will help make the timetable more robust?
As I pointed out above - a significant number of northern line services aren't affected from a journey time perspective (and some are faster), which you conveniently seem to ignore in any of your posts, merely fixating on the last train from Belfast which really is not representative.
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The policy of addressing poor operational performance with more and more timetable padding is certainly an approach that has been used time and again without any great measure of success. In fact DART journey times have been extended by about 25% since the service was introduced and is now 1hr-15min from Howth to Bray compared with an hour or slightly less in the 1980s (and yes I know there are two extra stations). This approach gobbles up track, station platforms, rolling stock and personnel, reduces capacity, creates congestion and does little or nothing to the make the service more attractive.
In what way am I fixated on the last train from Belfast ? I do certainly think it is pathetic that the two principal morning business trains from Belfast will have their schedules extended by 12 minutes and 15 minutes respectively when it is patently obvious that reduced journey times are critical if the service is to have any long term future. The 0615 from Belfast takes an utterly extraordinary 47 minutes non-stop from Drogheda, probably the slowest advertised regular "express" schedule on this section of the line since the 2nd world war. Frankly this is a farcical. The DART underground schedule will no doubt see this schedule extended to about an hour.
Also noticeable is that the token Irish Rail morning commuter service from Newry has been removed from the schedule - admittedly this is replaced by the 0615 from Belfast but unlike Dundalk, Newry doesn't get a new "express" service to replace the 0650 from Belfast.
As for passengers travelling beyond Greystones (not surprisingly a rapidly declining number) - they will experience journey time increases of between 6 and 18 minutes one way. Will this line still be open in 5 or 10 years time ?
On the Sligo line the service has been re-organised in such a way as to reduce the number of afternoon and evening trains from Dublin by a quarter. There are some accelerations, although as elsewhere there are significant journey time extensions including one of 18 minutes and another of 26 minutes.