Thread: Dart Length
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Unread 12-04-2016, 11:41   #6
berneyarms
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Quote:
Originally Posted by James Shields View Post
It's utterly ridiculous to be running 4-car sets in the morning and evening peak periods.

While in theory, reducing train lengths at off peak times makes sense, I think in practice that means running a set empty to Fairview to split it (presumably there's room to leave a few coaches at Howth and Brey, but not half the fleet). The savings from running short trains off peak would probably get eaten up in costs of driver pay and running empty sets.

In the UK they seem to be able split and join sets in service. Is there a reason an announcement on trains after 10:00 telling passengers going beyond Clontarf Road to use the front two or four coaches? A driver could be waiting on the platform to split the set and take the rear coaches to the yard. Similarly, could there be extra coaches waiting for trains after 16:00 to join up to?

If other countries can do this, why can't we?

James
Splitting at Howth would make no sense - there's no storage space and it would having to run back to the depot empty at Fairview.

Splitting can only realistically happen at Connolly and Bray and that's exactly what was happening.

Again, the logistics are far from straightforward - you need to make sure that the requisite number of sets end up at the right depot (Bray or Fairview) to start the morning service.

Thus while it may appear daft to have longer trains running after the peak has completed, it may be the only way to get sets back in place for the next day.

Last edited by berneyarms : 12-04-2016 at 11:43.
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