Ennis services

ccos · 26-06-2007, 14:29

Last Friday due to delays on the Dublin-Cork line we miised our train from Limerick to Ennis. But when I was in Limerick station I wasn't happy to see that the next train to Ennis was an Hour away and we were already an hour late for th last one. Fortunatly the IE man on hand at the station rounded up all the intending Ennis Passengers and put us on a bus to Ennis, so fair play to IE for sorting that out.
I feel that any line that has a 2 hourly service is never going to attract any passengers from cars because its a diasaster if you miss a train. This holds especially true on short regional runs like Limerick-Ennis which IMHO should be a mininum of an hourly service with extra runs at peak hours.
When I called my friend to tell her we missed the train she offered to come in to collect us but gave up trying to drive in because the traffic was tailed back 10Kms north of limerick, which is I've been told a normal occurance so surely there is a definite case for improving this service especially if a stop in the north of limerick and one at sixmilebridge (with a shuttle bus to Shannon) were included in the line.

Mark Gleeson · 26-06-2007, 14:38

Single line section the whole way to Ennis means one every 2 hours is about as good as it gets, you then get a train every 2 hours to Limerick Junction to make the bi hourly connection to Dublin. There was talk of shipping logs to Waterford from Ennis, didn't happen since the line is too busy.

We have to wait to see what happens in Sixmilebridge even if they add a loop there ain't no trains to run the extra services

Current daily carrying is less than 400 except on Friday

Its worth noting Limerick really doesn't care about public transport, we tried, wrote reports etc once the initial interest waned we heard nothing more and that was from 2 separate attempts. its really sad compared to the can do approach down in Cork

ccos · 26-06-2007, 14:50

My point is you're never going to get those numbers to increase with a two hourly service, this is th 21st century, people want trains when they want to go and people who've got 2 hour waits between trains are going to stay in 10km tailbacks. I don't think a passing loop some where between Ennis and Limerick is too big a deal to build (maybe at sixmilebridge station

)

Mark Gleeson · 26-06-2007, 14:56

It should be at least hourly, but it won't work unless it is done in the context of the provision of extra stations in Limerick and sorting out the line to Raheen and getting the bus system to work

Jister · 26-06-2007, 21:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Single line section the whole way to Ennis means one every 2 hours is about as good as it gets, you then get a train every 2 hours to Limerick Junction to make the bi hourly connection to Dublin.

Well the journey time at the moment is about 30-35 minutes and it should not be impossible to get it down under 30 minutes. There is a long section once you come off the Shannon bridge which I believe is in state ownership so a passing loop could be put in along there without major hassle.

Nothing is impossible but the problem is the bad planning, if you look at the development plan for sixmilebridge its all to one side of the railway snd there is still a few green fields between the track and any of the housing estates so most people would nearly end up driving to the station if they were to use it.

Mark Gleeson · 26-06-2007, 22:26

35 minutes end to end is realistic, add in 10 minutes for a turnaround and you can squeeze a train every 90 minutes but then it doesn't match the roughly every two hourly service to meet Cork trains at Limerick Junc

So its either hourly or every two hours

The hold up at Sixmilebridge is Clare CC

Jister · 27-06-2007, 09:52

In the grander scheme of things what would a passing loop at longpavement cost?

Mark Gleeson · 27-06-2007, 10:00

Assumming CIE own the land ballpark 1.25-1.75 million.

comcor · 27-06-2007, 11:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Its worth noting Limerick really doesn't care about public transport, we tried, wrote reports etc once the initial interest waned we heard nothing more and that was from 2 separate attempts. its really sad compared to the can do approach down in Cork

Were the problems actually in Limerick or was it the whole Clare/Limerick, Kilkenny/Waterford GAA colours issue raising its head again?

ccos · 27-06-2007, 11:55

Sorry I know this is off topic but......

Quote:

its really sad compared to the can do approach down in Cork

Not that that has got them anywhere, I noticed a shovel hasn't been waved in anger anywhere near the Midleton line

Colm Moore · 28-06-2007, 20:43

Would it be better if the Limerick-Limerick Junction shuttles were extended to Ennis? Thereby operating reasonably seemlessly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ccos

surely there is a definite case for improving this service especially if a stop in the north of limerick and one at sixmilebridge (with a shuttle bus to Shannon) were included in the line.

I'm not sure if that works.

Plane to Shannon. Bus to Sixmilebridge. Train to Limerick. Change train. Train to Limerick Junction. Change train....

Mark Gleeson · 28-06-2007, 20:46

While the timetable shows them separate most Ennis Limerick trains depart Limerick 10 minutes later and run to Limerick Junc, same applies in reverse

Examples
8:00 Ennis Limerick, becomes the 8:55 to Limerick Junction
10:05 Ennis Limerick, becomes the 10:55 to Limerick Junction

ccos · 02-07-2007, 10:01

Even though it says on the time table to change train at Limerick the one I travelled on was the same train straight through with a long layover because we got in to Limerick almost 10 minutes early.
My idea of a shuttle bus is not really for passengers who from my use of the airport don't seem to be too thick on the ground and will probably be fewer as the open skies takes hold, I was thinking of the throngs of workers who commute from Limerick and ennis to shannon every day.

dowlingm · 13-07-2007, 17:06

Shannon should be the county town of Clare in all but name. It should be a densely populated metropolis with a railway line running in from Ennis through the free zone, airport and town out through Bunratty to the main line shuttling in and out to Limerick . You'd have to ask Clare Co. Co. how they managed to miss the Celtic Tiger and fail to build on their intercontinental airport.

Derek Wheeler · 13-07-2007, 21:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by dowlingm

Shannon should be the county town of Clare in all but name. It should be a densely populated metropolis with a railway line running in from Ennis through the free zone, airport and town out through Bunratty to the main line shuttling in and out to Limerick . You'd have to ask Clare Co. Co. how they managed to miss the Celtic Tiger and fail to build on their intercontinental airport.

Because they have their heads up their.......

Cork has done everything by the book and got F**k all over the years. They built a ring road that worked with one bad bit...(Kinsale Road Roundabout) and grade seperated it without any fuss or ****e talk from some TD or enviromental warrior. Driving in and around Cork is like a UK experience.

They planned for a reopening of the midleton line and wait 10 + years. The WRC got the blessing of the Virgin Mary apparently and is more of an apparition. I bet Ennis-Athenry happens before Midleton.

Do it right.....get ridden!

Kick up an incestuous fuss....do the ridin'.

Its Ireland Inc. What a way to go!!!

dermo88 · 13-07-2007, 22:06

Derek, I had pretty much the same argument on boards.ie, but typically, you managed to sum it up faster and say it in 10 words, instead of my style....of 100.

Colm Donoghue · 14-07-2007, 00:24

nuthin wrong with a hindred words dermo
(nuthin wrong with ten either Derek)

I was gonna make a comment earlier about shannon town being the only pland town in Ireland; story I heard was resettled people from the six counties set up in Rineanna for a large part back in the day.

Ennis is a big town still, from Barefield to Clarecastle is definitely bigger than Shannon town. still.

Poor planning has been the ruin of the west.
As Derek pointed out COrk got thewir ducks in a row. Is the ?Middleton line under construction x+12 years later????

Even Fingal which arose phoenix like from the ashes of the flood tribunal, talk the talk but dont even have the decency of crawling the crawl..
but "direct services from Galway to Limerick" will resume shortly and Tuam will be next...

Even in the capital city, alec has posted about the disdain proper transport systems are held by the powers that be,

Iarnrod Eireann are beyond caring/redemption. they are ****ing useless.
The CEO can't spell.
He confuses Hansfield with Hazelhatch.
The company treat customers like ****.
The company don't care about safety of their customers.
The company when told about gross errors in their timetables at bank holidays or the monday following public holidays repeat them again at the next opportunity.

I've changed jobs to work a lot nearer home this month. I can drive ther in 10 mins. or cycle in 25. I won't be going by public transport anyway. I'm not anti-public transport, but it has to be as good* as opening yer front door and driving there.

(* Good is a variable metric. cheaper, faster, more convienent, more reliable, less stressful, .....)

Tadhg17 · 30-11-2007, 14:37

There was an article in last months Clare Champion newspaper (havent seen it online) that 180,000 used the Ennis-Limerick train service in 2006 and that the figures for January-September 2007 were up by 10% on figures for Jan-Sept 2006. I think somewhere around 100,000 used the service in the first year of the improved track and train services in 2003 so nice to see patronage has been growing annually.

Tadhg17 · 30-11-2007, 14:39

[quote=Victor;22631]Would it be better if the Limerick-Limerick Junction shuttles were extended to Ennis? Thereby operating reasonably seemlessly.I'm not sure if that works.

Most Ennis-Limerick train services that do not connect with a direct Limerick-Dublin train in Limerick continue onto Limerick Junction.

dowlingm · 30-11-2007, 18:39

What's the equipment used for Ennis services now? Have journey times improved any bit?

26-06-2007, 14:29	#1
ccos Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Kazbegi Posts: 281	Ennis services Last Friday due to delays on the Dublin-Cork line we miised our train from Limerick to Ennis. But when I was in Limerick station I wasn't happy to see that the next train to Ennis was an Hour away and we were already an hour late for th last one. Fortunatly the IE man on hand at the station rounded up all the intending Ennis Passengers and put us on a bus to Ennis, so fair play to IE for sorting that out. I feel that any line that has a 2 hourly service is never going to attract any passengers from cars because its a diasaster if you miss a train. This holds especially true on short regional runs like Limerick-Ennis which IMHO should be a mininum of an hourly service with extra runs at peak hours. When I called my friend to tell her we missed the train she offered to come in to collect us but gave up trying to drive in because the traffic was tailed back 10Kms north of limerick, which is I've been told a normal occurance so surely there is a definite case for improving this service especially if a stop in the north of limerick and one at sixmilebridge (with a shuttle bus to Shannon) were included in the line. Last edited by ccos : 26-06-2007 at 14:30. Reason: spelling

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26-06-2007, 14:38	#2
Mark Gleeson Technical Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coach C, Seat 33 Posts: 12,669	Single line section the whole way to Ennis means one every 2 hours is about as good as it gets, you then get a train every 2 hours to Limerick Junction to make the bi hourly connection to Dublin. There was talk of shipping logs to Waterford from Ennis, didn't happen since the line is too busy. We have to wait to see what happens in Sixmilebridge even if they add a loop there ain't no trains to run the extra services Current daily carrying is less than 400 except on Friday Its worth noting Limerick really doesn't care about public transport, we tried, wrote reports etc once the initial interest waned we heard nothing more and that was from 2 separate attempts. its really sad compared to the can do approach down in Cork

26-06-2007, 14:50	#3
ccos Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Kazbegi Posts: 281	My point is you're never going to get those numbers to increase with a two hourly service, this is th 21st century, people want trains when they want to go and people who've got 2 hour waits between trains are going to stay in 10km tailbacks. I don't think a passing loop some where between Ennis and Limerick is too big a deal to build (maybe at sixmilebridge station )

26-06-2007, 14:56	#4
Mark Gleeson Technical Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coach C, Seat 33 Posts: 12,669	It should be at least hourly, but it won't work unless it is done in the context of the provision of extra stations in Limerick and sorting out the line to Raheen and getting the bus system to work

26-06-2007, 22:26	#6
Mark Gleeson Technical Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coach C, Seat 33 Posts: 12,669	35 minutes end to end is realistic, add in 10 minutes for a turnaround and you can squeeze a train every 90 minutes but then it doesn't match the roughly every two hourly service to meet Cork trains at Limerick Junc So its either hourly or every two hours The hold up at Sixmilebridge is Clare CC

27-06-2007, 09:52	#7
Jister Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 118	In the grander scheme of things what would a passing loop at longpavement cost?

27-06-2007, 10:00	#8
Mark Gleeson Technical Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coach C, Seat 33 Posts: 12,669	Assumming CIE own the land ballpark 1.25-1.75 million.

28-06-2007, 20:46	#12
Mark Gleeson Technical Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coach C, Seat 33 Posts: 12,669	While the timetable shows them separate most Ennis Limerick trains depart Limerick 10 minutes later and run to Limerick Junc, same applies in reverse Examples 8:00 Ennis Limerick, becomes the 8:55 to Limerick Junction 10:05 Ennis Limerick, becomes the 10:55 to Limerick Junction

02-07-2007, 10:01	#13
ccos Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Kazbegi Posts: 281	Even though it says on the time table to change train at Limerick the one I travelled on was the same train straight through with a long layover because we got in to Limerick almost 10 minutes early. My idea of a shuttle bus is not really for passengers who from my use of the airport don't seem to be too thick on the ground and will probably be fewer as the open skies takes hold, I was thinking of the throngs of workers who commute from Limerick and ennis to shannon every day.

13-07-2007, 17:06	#14
dowlingm Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,371	Shannon should be the county town of Clare in all but name. It should be a densely populated metropolis with a railway line running in from Ennis through the free zone, airport and town out through Bunratty to the main line shuttling in and out to Limerick . You'd have to ask Clare Co. Co. how they managed to miss the Celtic Tiger and fail to build on their intercontinental airport.

13-07-2007, 22:06	#16
dermo88 Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 136	Derek, I had pretty much the same argument on boards.ie, but typically, you managed to sum it up faster and say it in 10 words, instead of my style....of 100.

14-07-2007, 00:24	#17
Colm Donoghue Really Regular Poster Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 873	nuthin wrong with a hindred words dermo (nuthin wrong with ten either Derek) I was gonna make a comment earlier about shannon town being the only pland town in Ireland; story I heard was resettled people from the six counties set up in Rineanna for a large part back in the day. Ennis is a big town still, from Barefield to Clarecastle is definitely bigger than Shannon town. still. Poor planning has been the ruin of the west. As Derek pointed out COrk got thewir ducks in a row. Is the ?Middleton line under construction x+12 years later???? Even Fingal which arose phoenix like from the ashes of the flood tribunal, talk the talk but dont even have the decency of crawling the crawl.. but "direct services from Galway to Limerick" will resume shortly and Tuam will be next... Even in the capital city, alec has posted about the disdain proper transport systems are held by the powers that be, Iarnrod Eireann are beyond caring/redemption. they are **ing useless. The CEO can't spell. He confuses Hansfield with Hazelhatch. The company treat customers like *. The company don't care about safety of their customers. The company when told about gross errors in their timetables at bank holidays or the monday following public holidays repeat them again at the next opportunity. I've changed jobs to work a lot nearer home this month. I can drive ther in 10 mins. or cycle in 25. I won't be going by public transport anyway. I'm not anti-public transport, but it has to be as good as opening yer front door and driving there. (* Good is a variable metric. cheaper, faster, more convienent, more reliable, less stressful, .....)

30-11-2007, 14:37	#18
Tadhg17 Regular Poster Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 49	There was an article in last months Clare Champion newspaper (havent seen it online) that 180,000 used the Ennis-Limerick train service in 2006 and that the figures for January-September 2007 were up by 10% on figures for Jan-Sept 2006. I think somewhere around 100,000 used the service in the first year of the improved track and train services in 2003 so nice to see patronage has been growing annually.

30-11-2007, 14:39	#19
Tadhg17 Regular Poster Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 49	[quote=Victor;22631]Would it be better if the Limerick-Limerick Junction shuttles were extended to Ennis? Thereby operating reasonably seemlessly.I'm not sure if that works. Most Ennis-Limerick train services that do not connect with a direct Limerick-Dublin train in Limerick continue onto Limerick Junction.

30-11-2007, 18:39	#20
dowlingm Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,371	What's the equipment used for Ennis services now? Have journey times improved any bit?