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Alan French · 09-12-2012, 19:48

I have sent the following comments to IR on their website.
Cork line:
Good to see the improved journey times, and better use being made of the four tracks at the Dublin end. I suggest the following extra stops to improve connections:
13.00 Dublin-Cork stops at Portarlington to take connection from the 11.30 from Galway.
21.00 Dublin-Cork stops at Portarlington to take connection from the 18.15 from Westport and the 19.15 from Galway.
11.20 Cork-Dublin stops at Portarlington to connect with the 12.45 Dublin-Westport.
13.20 Cork-Dublin stops at Portarlington to connect with the 14.45 Dublin-Westport, and at Kildare to connect with the 15.10 Dublin-Waterford.
18.20 Cork-Dublin stops at Kildare to connect with the 20.10 Dublin-Carlow.
10.00 (Sundays) Dublin-Cork stops at Portarlington to take connection from the 07.50 from Westport.
09.25 Dublin-Galway stops at Kildare to take connection from the 07.50 from Waterford.
14.30 (Sundays) Dublin-Galway stops at Kildare to take connection from the 12.40 from Waterford.
16.35 (Sundays) Dublin-Galway stops at Kildare to take connection from the 15.10 from Waterford.
07.15 Westport-Dublin stops at Kildare to connect with the 10.15 Dublin-Waterford.
13.30 Galway-Dublin stops at Kildare to connect with the 15.10 Dublin-Waterford.
Most of these are at off-peak times, and these changes would reduce certain cross-country journey times by 1-2 hours. Apart from the 13.20 from Cork, I have not proposed more than one extra stop per train, so it won’t negate the general trend of reducing the number of stops on the express trains. I know that passengers making these connections are few in number compared with those going to or from Dublin, and no one expects an immediate connection, but I have proposed extra stops where it turns an impractical journey into a practical one. There is a long tradition of providing this kind of connection, which has come under threat in recent times with the need to reduce intermediate stops.
As one who sometimes travels with dogs, I have sought in other contexts to get Irish Rail to adopt the more liberal approach used in Britain and the Continent. Under the present rules, where only Mark 4 trains carry dogs, the above proposals would provide some Mark 4 service at Portarlington and Kildare.
Displaying the timetable:
With trains now overtaking each other on the 4-track part, I recommend that overtaken trains should be shown in two separate columns, with arrows to show continuity. This is the normal practice in other countries, and was also used by CIE in older times when fast trains overtook stopping trains. People often scan the page looking for connections, e.g. on page 2, the 07.30 Heuston-Kildare looks as if it connects into the 07.35 Heuston-Galway – until you look at the times of Kildare stops and find that they don’t connect.

For each of the three minor lines:
I know that this line is struggling with passenger numbers, but often the way to attract passengers to a line like this is to increase frequency to give real choices. This is what made a difference on the Sligo line a few years ago. We should be aiming for one every two hours eventually.
.
Also:
In the meantime I would suggest running an 11.35 or 12.35 from Waterford, returning from the Junction at 13.45 or 14.45. The later time would avoid a tight turn-round in Waterford. If nothing else, this should be operated for a summer season, and properly marketed.

That’s an improvement to see through services between Galway/Ennis and Limerick Junction. Some of them operate that way at present, but are shown in the timetable as needing a change. Any change of trains is a potential deterrent, and for most of the day anyone going from Dublin to Ennis, or Cork to Galway has to change twice.
Is there still a train going once a week between Limerick and Ballina via Athlone, to bring the railcars back for maintenance? If so, it should be opened to passengers. This is especially so if it runs between Ennis and Athenry in the middle part of the day, when an existing train is to be withdrawn. Even if only a few passengers use it, that’s better than running it empty. It could be shown as “Subject to alteration”.
The 18.35 Galway-Ennis is meant to provide a connection with the 16.30 Dublin-Galway, to give people from the Gort area a decent day return service to Dublin. Unfortunately, there is now to be over half an hour’s wait. Can any way be found to reduce this wait? A possibility is to run the 18.10 from Galway as a dividing train for Athlone and Ennis, but that may not be possible if they are two different kinds of trains. Can a way be found?

The 17.45 Limerick-Nenagh should be restored. This will need to be marketed properly, to win back many of the customers who were lost last May when the train was re-timed to be too early for many commuters. If it still tends to run empty after Birdhill, then advertise it as a Birdhill train rather than not running it at all.
.
I have also sent my suggestion about the Westport line as shown above. My logic is that some people have looked for a train from Dublin to Tullamore, and it's up to IR to place this request alongside all the others they have received, and make their decision. It's not up to me to say there isn't a demand for any service. Now, it could be that the 17.10 Dublin-Athlone will stay overnight and will form the 09.08 the next morning, so my proposal would mess this up, but then it mightn't be done that way. At present, the 07.30 from Dublin splits at Athlone, so my proposal is not hugely different in running costs.
I have also suggested for the Galway line:
On Sundays, the 19.25 Galway-Athlone should run about 15 minutes later, to take connection from the 18.15 from Limerick. It would then cross the 18.45 Dublin-Galway at Ballinasloe. I don’t think the timing of this train is governed by anything else.
.
I'm working on a submission for the Waterford line, and I want to take up the suggestion in #35 of this thread, about running a train about 16.20 Waterford-Dublin. Perhaps, if they can't sustain a train from Waterford around this time, I should propose running a Carlow-Dublin train. The train could come from Dublin at any time earlier in the day (any suggestions?), and leave Carlow at 17.47. Time is then tight to get to Cherryville Junction (and it has to stop at Athy) before the 17.35 gets there. The train would then follow the 18.15 Newbridge-Dublin, overtaking it on the four tracks. Alternatively, it could leave Carlow at 18.14 and run in its existing path.
But what was your point about the 09.10? Do you mean that there should be a 09.10 Waterford-Dublin? I had noticed that in the last timetable consultation, because this line was moving towards a two-hourly (nearly) clock-face service, and 09.00 from Waterford was one of the gaps.
.
Did you know that the new 09.45 Westport-Dublin is a restoration of a train withdrawn in the cutbacks of 1975? It dates from a more leisurely era, when there wasn't the concentration of traffic early in the morning, because less people were making day return trips.

09-12-2012, 19:48	#64
Alan French Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 89	I have sent the following comments to IR on their website. Cork line: Good to see the improved journey times, and better use being made of the four tracks at the Dublin end. I suggest the following extra stops to improve connections: 13.00 Dublin-Cork stops at Portarlington to take connection from the 11.30 from Galway. 21.00 Dublin-Cork stops at Portarlington to take connection from the 18.15 from Westport and the 19.15 from Galway. 11.20 Cork-Dublin stops at Portarlington to connect with the 12.45 Dublin-Westport. 13.20 Cork-Dublin stops at Portarlington to connect with the 14.45 Dublin-Westport, and at Kildare to connect with the 15.10 Dublin-Waterford. 18.20 Cork-Dublin stops at Kildare to connect with the 20.10 Dublin-Carlow. 10.00 (Sundays) Dublin-Cork stops at Portarlington to take connection from the 07.50 from Westport. 09.25 Dublin-Galway stops at Kildare to take connection from the 07.50 from Waterford. 14.30 (Sundays) Dublin-Galway stops at Kildare to take connection from the 12.40 from Waterford. 16.35 (Sundays) Dublin-Galway stops at Kildare to take connection from the 15.10 from Waterford. 07.15 Westport-Dublin stops at Kildare to connect with the 10.15 Dublin-Waterford. 13.30 Galway-Dublin stops at Kildare to connect with the 15.10 Dublin-Waterford. Most of these are at off-peak times, and these changes would reduce certain cross-country journey times by 1-2 hours. Apart from the 13.20 from Cork, I have not proposed more than one extra stop per train, so it won’t negate the general trend of reducing the number of stops on the express trains. I know that passengers making these connections are few in number compared with those going to or from Dublin, and no one expects an immediate connection, but I have proposed extra stops where it turns an impractical journey into a practical one. There is a long tradition of providing this kind of connection, which has come under threat in recent times with the need to reduce intermediate stops. As one who sometimes travels with dogs, I have sought in other contexts to get Irish Rail to adopt the more liberal approach used in Britain and the Continent. Under the present rules, where only Mark 4 trains carry dogs, the above proposals would provide some Mark 4 service at Portarlington and Kildare. Displaying the timetable: With trains now overtaking each other on the 4-track part, I recommend that overtaken trains should be shown in two separate columns, with arrows to show continuity. This is the normal practice in other countries, and was also used by CIE in older times when fast trains overtook stopping trains. People often scan the page looking for connections, e.g. on page 2, the 07.30 Heuston-Kildare looks as if it connects into the 07.35 Heuston-Galway – until you look at the times of Kildare stops and find that they don’t connect. For each of the three minor lines: I know that this line is struggling with passenger numbers, but often the way to attract passengers to a line like this is to increase frequency to give real choices. This is what made a difference on the Sligo line a few years ago. We should be aiming for one every two hours eventually. . Also: In the meantime I would suggest running an 11.35 or 12.35 from Waterford, returning from the Junction at 13.45 or 14.45. The later time would avoid a tight turn-round in Waterford. If nothing else, this should be operated for a summer season, and properly marketed. That’s an improvement to see through services between Galway/Ennis and Limerick Junction. Some of them operate that way at present, but are shown in the timetable as needing a change. Any change of trains is a potential deterrent, and for most of the day anyone going from Dublin to Ennis, or Cork to Galway has to change twice. Is there still a train going once a week between Limerick and Ballina via Athlone, to bring the railcars back for maintenance? If so, it should be opened to passengers. This is especially so if it runs between Ennis and Athenry in the middle part of the day, when an existing train is to be withdrawn. Even if only a few passengers use it, that’s better than running it empty. It could be shown as “Subject to alteration”. The 18.35 Galway-Ennis is meant to provide a connection with the 16.30 Dublin-Galway, to give people from the Gort area a decent day return service to Dublin. Unfortunately, there is now to be over half an hour’s wait. Can any way be found to reduce this wait? A possibility is to run the 18.10 from Galway as a dividing train for Athlone and Ennis, but that may not be possible if they are two different kinds of trains. Can a way be found? The 17.45 Limerick-Nenagh should be restored. This will need to be marketed properly, to win back many of the customers who were lost last May when the train was re-timed to be too early for many commuters. If it still tends to run empty after Birdhill, then advertise it as a Birdhill train rather than not running it at all. . I have also sent my suggestion about the Westport line as shown above. My logic is that some people have looked for a train from Dublin to Tullamore, and it's up to IR to place this request alongside all the others they have received, and make their decision. It's not up to me to say there isn't a demand for any service. Now, it could be that the 17.10 Dublin-Athlone will stay overnight and will form the 09.08 the next morning, so my proposal would mess this up, but then it mightn't be done that way. At present, the 07.30 from Dublin splits at Athlone, so my proposal is not hugely different in running costs. I have also suggested for the Galway line: On Sundays, the 19.25 Galway-Athlone should run about 15 minutes later, to take connection from the 18.15 from Limerick. It would then cross the 18.45 Dublin-Galway at Ballinasloe. I don’t think the timing of this train is governed by anything else. . I'm working on a submission for the Waterford line, and I want to take up the suggestion in #35 of this thread, about running a train about 16.20 Waterford-Dublin. Perhaps, if they can't sustain a train from Waterford around this time, I should propose running a Carlow-Dublin train. The train could come from Dublin at any time earlier in the day (any suggestions?), and leave Carlow at 17.47. Time is then tight to get to Cherryville Junction (and it has to stop at Athy) before the 17.35 gets there. The train would then follow the 18.15 Newbridge-Dublin, overtaking it on the four tracks. Alternatively, it could leave Carlow at 18.14 and run in its existing path. But what was your point about the 09.10? Do you mean that there should be a 09.10 Waterford-Dublin? I had noticed that in the last timetable consultation, because this line was moving towards a two-hourly (nearly) clock-face service, and 09.00 from Waterford was one of the gaps. . Did you know that the new 09.45 Westport-Dublin is a restoration of a train withdrawn in the cutbacks of 1975? It dates from a more leisurely era, when there wasn't the concentration of traffic early in the morning, because less people were making day return trips.