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Unread 03-12-2015, 21:03   #56
berneyarms
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Inniskeen View Post
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.
Well I think mentioning that trains are delayed by up to 20 minutes is kind of being selective as there is only one, and it has the lightest load of the lot! My point is that based on the analysis I provided, the vast majority of trains on the Belfast line have six minutes or less added - we can all pull out a headline of 20 minutes, but that's not representative of the majority.

I think you have to accept that the 10 minute DART service aspect of this consultation is more than likely going to happen. The Minister and the NTA have publically associated themselves with it, which from a political perspective tells me that it's likely to happen. Consequently I would be trying to find positive ways of dealing with how the other services can work around that and trying to minimise the impact.

I also think that the need for four tracking has to be drilled into politician's heads during the forthcoming election campaign as a priority.

I do share your frustration on the Rosslare line, but let's be realistic - the people in Greystones demanded a 30 minute DART - that alone has put severe constraints on what the Rosslare line can deliver. Extending the 10 minute DART means further constraints, but the M11 has delivered a much faster route that the railway at the best of times would find it hard to compete with.

Should potentially greater numbers of DART users be put on ice for a much lower number of travellers to/from Rosslare?

I suspect that the proposed Rosslare line timetable (certainly in the evening) could be improved upon by changing some of the times, and potentially reducing the impact of the 10 minute DARTs - there are some long waits at passing points that could be altered I believe.

Ultimately I am not sure what the best solution is for the line - off peak connections with DART at Bray or Greystones?

On the Sligo line I fully agree with you. There are some strange scheduling decisions on that I think need to be altered, particularly some of the adjusted trains during the afternoon, and some of the decelerations which to my eye can certainly be avoided.

Last edited by berneyarms : 03-12-2015 at 21:09.
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