Waterford-Dublin commute

[pixiebean22]

I am starting a month long (hopefully no longer than that) Waterford to Dublin commute on the 4th of October. I have gotten ticket prices (€154-weekly/€559-monthly, for anyone whose interested) but I'm just wondering am I able to buy my ticket at either Hueston or Waterford and if I was to buy my ticket at Waterford station, when is the ticket office actually open? I only ask this because anytime I have travelled from Waterford to Dublin (which is fairly regularly) I have never seen the ticket office open and I assume that I wouldn't be able to buy this type of ticket from the ticket machines.

Also, will my weekly/monthly ticket be valid if say I wanted to travel to a stop along the route? For example, if I wanted to travel from Waterford to Kilkenny and back will my ticket be valid? I hope so for the amount it's costing

Thanks for any replies.

[Mark Gleeson]

The booking office in Waterford should be open at least 30 minutes before scheduled departure of the train

Tickets may be bought in advance

You might want to look at the 4 day trekker ticket for 100 euro, valid any train for any 4 day period. You will need a CIE ID card for a weekly or monthly ticket. These are valid from Sunday-Saturday/ 1st of month only

Ticket is valid Waterford - Heuston and all journeys within

Given Irish Rail aggressive online discounts you might be able to travel for less if you book online ahead of time

[pixiebean22]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

The booking office in Waterford should be open at least 30 minutes before scheduled departure of the train

Tickets may be bought in advance

You might want to look at the 4 day trekker ticket for 100 euro, valid any train for any 4 day period. You will need a CIE ID card for a weekly or monthly ticket. These are valid from Sunday-Saturday/ 1st of month only

Ticket is valid Waterford - Heuston and all journeys within

Given Irish Rail aggressive online discounts you might be able to travel for less if you book online ahead of time

Ah but Mark it never is. I frequently travel on a variety of different services between Waterford and Dublin so I would be in the station at different times and days and I have yet to see that ticket office open.

Where can I get a CIE ID card and is there a charge for this?

"Ticket is valid Waterford - Heuston and all journeys within" - that's something at least!

It makes more sense and is more convenient for me to just get a monthly ticket as it's very likely I'll be travelling at weekends too.

Thanks for your help.

[Colm Moore]

Any train Dublin-Waterford should be able to take 3 bikes + any number of folding bikes (as luggage, they are expected to be covered).

Where the train is made up of a two 3x22000 sets, it should be able to take six. However, some sets have been found to be without racks, so they are only able to take one (in the cupboard - you'll need a staff member to open it, make sure you have enough time when getting off).

Waterford-Limerick Junction trains can carry some bikes, I'm not sure how many.

There are no reservations for bikes yet, but it is expected.

Fares: http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/bicycle_information.asp

[pixiebean22]

Originally Posted by Colm Moore

Any train Dublin-Waterford should be able to take 3 bikes + any number of folding bikes (as luggage, they are expected to be covered).

Where the train is made up of a two 3x22000 sets, it should be able to take six. However, some sets have been found to be without racks, so they are only able to take one (in the cupboard - you'll need a staff member to open it, make sure you have enough time when getting off).

Waterford-Limerick Junction trains can carry some bikes, I'm not sure how many.

There are no reservations for bikes yet, but it is expected.

Fares: http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey...nformation.asp

Thanks Colm, had actually found information on this somewhere else on this website so that's why I deleted post. Is it true so if I show up of a morning and another person is there with a bike I can be refused? (some sets have been found to be without racks, so they are only able to take one)

To be honest I would gladly pay a token fare (say an extra €2-€5) if it meant I was guaranteed a space for my bike or if they allowed me to bring my dog on the train.

Also, do you know where i can apply for the IE rail card, does this need to be done far in advance and is there a charge for the card? Thanks.

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by pixiebean22

Thanks Colm, had actually found information on this somewhere else on this website so that's why I deleted post. Is it true so if I show up of a morning and another person is there with a bike I can be refused? (some sets have been found to be without racks, so they are only able to take one)

Unfortunately, yes, this can be the situaton.

To be honest I would gladly pay a token fare (say an extra €2-€5) if it meant I was guaranteed a space for my bike or if they allowed me to bring my dog on the train.

Well, hopefull thats coming soon.

You can bring a dog, but there are rules for that also.

Also, do you know where i can apply for the IE rail card, does this need to be done far in advance and is there a charge for the card? Thanks.

Is this the student travel card? I imagine they are geared up for it, but there will be 100,000 applications this month, although many will be done in colleges. http://www.studenttravelcard.ie/

Or do you mean a Railcard - http://www.irishrail.ie/images/pdfs/RAILCARD_APP_Form.pdf - it seems the same people process them.

[dowlingm]

pixiebean - if you are passing the station and the office is closed at times when meant to be open, it might be helpful to RUI if you noted dates/times and posted them?

[pixiebean22]

Originally Posted by Colm Moore

Unfortunately, yes, this can be the situaton.

Well, hopefull thats coming soon.

You can bring a dog, but there are rules for that also.

Is this the student travel card? I imagine they are geared up for it, but there will be 100,000 applications this month, although many will be done in colleges. http://www.studenttravelcard.ie/

Or do you mean a Railcard - http://www.irishrail.ie/images/pdfs/...D_APP_Form.pdf - it seems the same people process them.

Well that sucks, guess I'm just going to have to try and get there before that other lad that I see with his bike.

Well unfortunately the brains at IE don't seem to realise there are different breeds of dogs, I have a great dane and have been told categorically that I can't bring him on any services despite what their website states.

10euro for a bloody railcard as if they're not getting enough money out of their customers as it is!

[pixiebean22]

Originally Posted by dowlingm

pixiebean - if you are passing the station and the office is closed at times when meant to be open, it might be helpful to RUI if you noted dates/times and posted them?

It's never open on a Friday evening at around 5.30 or 9 pm. It's never open on a Sunday evening between 5.30 and 6.10. It's never open on a Monday morning between 5.45 and 6.10. Those are the definite times I can give but I have travelled on many different days (odd Wednesday afternoons, Saturday mornings, Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons) and have never seen it open.

I would assume that it's supposed to be open when the station is open without conditions attached.

[Mark Gleeson]

There are required opening hours if its not open let us know, yet further evidence of the lazy management in Waterford

The ID card required is free, all you need is a passport photo and it will be done in a matter of a minute in Waterford

[Thomas Ralph]

The ID card is free or at most €2.50; it's different from the 16-25 Railcard.

[pixiebean22]

Oh okay, I must have downloaded the wrong form then. Where can I get the ID card?

[Mark Gleeson]

Show up at Waterford booking office with a passport photo and they will hand you a piece of card, fill in your name and sign it and they laminate it.

[pixiebean22]

Thanks Mark, you've been so helpful

[Alan French]

A while ago I started a thread in the members' section of this forum called "Dogs on trains - Ireland is out of step". I don't know whether you got to see it. Essentially I argued that most European countries have no difficulty accepting dogs for travel by train, generally with the passenger, with nothing more than a lead required.

I have a lot of experience of travelling with dogs on both sides of the Irish Sea. In Britain, a great Dane would probably not be refused if the train was not too full. My experience with two golden retrievers is that I have rarely been asked to move along to another part of the train, though staff have the right to do so.

Here in Ireland, you should be able to bring a great Dane on the Dublin-Cork or Dublin-Belfast lines, if you provide a cage big enough and put him in the van. That might not be much help if you live in Waterford. I got my two retrievers used to this from an early age - I remember Sophie's first such journey, between Connolly and Drogheda on the Enterprise, which is only half and hour. It may be more difficult to get an older dog to accept this.

I wanted to sound out RUI members to see if others agreed. There was no great enthusiasm, and some people focused on things that could go wrong (which seems to be IR's attitude), rather than realising that the same risks must exist in every other country, but their attitude is that passengers with dogs are part of the customer base.

In one sense this is a different issue to carrying bikes by train, but they have this in common. In their rush to accommodate as many passengers as possible, IR have forgotten that real live passengers don't come in an idealised, standardised form, but have a variety of things to bring with them. IR needs to be flexible if they are to attract people out of their cars.

Maybe I'm not a lone voice in this. It would be good if we could highlight just how much Ireland is out of step with most of the rest of Europe.

[ccos]

I wanted to sound out RUI members to see if others agreed. There was no great enthusiasm, and some people focused on things that could go wrong (which seems to be IR's attitude), rather than realising that the same risks must exist in every other country, but their attitude is that passengers with dogs are part of the customer base.

In most other European countries (UK excepted) people don´t sue, more to the point they cant afford to. This is because the "no win, no fee" system is not allowed with lawyers. A consequence of this is if dogs bite people on the train it wont bankrupt the operator.
The amount of open unprotected diggings, scaffold without surrounds etc throughout Europe are examples of a lack of a "suing culture". Most people tend to have themselves insured including third party liability insurance.

[Alan French]

But that can't be the whole story. First, Britain has a similar legal set-up to Ireland. Apparently, in Britain, if something goes wrong, the passenger is liable. They used to charge half-fare for dogs, but now, by not charging, the liability is shifted to the passenger - perhaps prompted by a culture of suing.

Besides, the rule on Dublin Bus is that dogs are allowed on board at the driver's discretion (though not all drivers realise this). On the Belfast and Cork lines, you still have to walk the dog along the platform to get to the van. So the legal reason doesn't really stand up.

There are several options open to IR. On internal services in the North, dogs are allowed in cages in the passenger area. Or it could be made possible to ring up IR in advance to check which trains are likely to be least crowded. They can do that for internet fares, so they can do it for passengers - yes, customers - with dogs.

My cage measures 90 x 60 x 60cm and holds two retrievers. In most of the railcars, there is plenty of room for this outside peak times. In the ICRs, there is still the wheelchair space, in which a wheelchair passenger obviously has priority. I don't know how big a cage for a great Dane would be.

Two years ago I counted six dogs (two were mine) spread out over the length of a Glasgow-Birmingham train. They were travelling with families, and you can be sure that if dogs weren't allowed, none of the accompanying humans would have gone by train. That's a lot of revenue to be throwing away.

Nearer to Pixiebean's home, the Waterford-Limerick Junction line has good dog-walking places near each station. Can they afford to throw away that kind of business?

[ccos]

I remember a few years ago some cows where allowed onto a track out west and caused a derailment. Now as far as I know the cows didn't have tickets and the farmer was found to be mostly liable but because he didnt have any money irish Rail had to pay to rectify the damage and foot the compensation bill.
Now I dont know how they manage it in the UK but one way around it here could be to force any travelling dog to have sufficent liability insurance to cover any potential damage, I cant see how that would work in practice though.

[Alan French]

I'm not convinced. If you don't know how it works in Britain, then try finding out. That's what I want IR to do. Because it does work in Britain. Lots of dogs are carried, and presumably the companies know the risks, but they also know about catering for customers.

Remember what I said about Dublin Bus? And walking along the platform to the van?

If enough people expressed an interest, IR would find a way of conveying dogs by train, at least outside the peak times.

[Mark Gleeson]

We raised the issue with Irish Rail and the blunt no was the response.

Dublin/Cork/Belfast the luggage van option remains and dogs which are classified as lap dogs will be carried everywhere.

For reference my RUI email, concerning dogs, 1, concerning bikes, 100+

There is a lot of work to do to bring up the standards on the network before we can focus on the 'like to haves' instead of the 'must have'