Rail Users Ireland Forum

Go Back   Rail Users Ireland Forum > Irish Rail Customer Service Issues > Commuter Services > Drogheda-Balbriggan-Skerries-Donabate Line
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Unread 04-11-2009, 21:37   #1
Rashers
Really Regular Poster
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 431
Thumbs down New Timetable Nov 09 - 2010

Have not had a detailed look yet, but at a high level:
Good News:
  1. No service cuts in the peak time.
  2. With the express bus journey times now hitting heavy congestion between Blakes X, Lissenhall and the airport in the mornings, and on the quay's in the evenings, at least the trains should be quicker.
Bad News:
  1. The journey times, which have already been extended in recent years, have had another few minutes added to them - why? They were already heavily padded, with waits between Connolly and Malahide in the mornings and evenings.
  2. The few fast trains that ran in the past now stop en route (18.40 ex Connolly- Drogheda, now stops at additional stations = longer journey times), or have strange journey times:
Example: 20.20 ex Connolly, calls at 5 stations, before arriving into Skerries 32 mins later. 20.30 ex Connolly, runs express to Skerries, yet journey time is 32 mins??? This used to take 25 minutes, so how did it gain an extra 7 minutes (or in other words = 28% disimprovement in journey time )

I hope the service gaps on the Saturday services will finally be addressed, and with better pricing, we could finally start to see people using the Saturday services.

Last edited by Rashers : 04-11-2009 at 21:40.
Rashers is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06-11-2009, 09:23   #2
tigger1962
Member
 
tigger1962's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Kilcurry
Posts: 501
Default

and the 18.40 no longer goes to Dundalk!!
tigger1962 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 25-11-2009, 14:50   #3
bookworm
New to the board
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 1
Angry Timetable Disaster

What are they thinking? I will have to get to the station 5 minutes earlier to arrive at the same time as usual (or later). The 17:13 from Pearse will get in 5 minutes than it used to. That's at least 10 more minutes a day wasted.

There are no express trains at commuter times - the closest thing used to be the 17:13 from Pearse but it's now slower due to the addition of an extra stop. It will probably be more crowded too.

The 6:45am from Balbriggan has 2 extra stops but the timetable says it will get in 1 minute earlier?!

Many users found out that the train was not the fastest way to Dublin during the bridge collapse fiasco. And this is supposed to help win us back?

In my opinion the answer is smaller more frequent trains with less stops each. The reason the temporary bus service was so successful was because everyone got a seat, there was very little waiting time between buses and there were no stops on the way.

Also, almost every day an unscheduled dart pulls into Pearse station minutes before the 17:13 train is due. This has the affect of slowing the train to a crawl all the way to Howth junction.

I think this could be the final straw for me. Private bus services are finally looking good. I certainly will not be putting in my order for an annual ticket just yet.
bookworm is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 26-11-2009, 10:59   #4
tigger1962
Member
 
tigger1962's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Kilcurry
Posts: 501
Default

what they have basically done in the northern line is added Portmarnock/Malahide which have a good dart service and made the journeys 10 minutes longer to the rest of the northern line.. No doubt to allow for them normally being late anyway. the only service that has remained unchanged timewise is the enterprise service, which is going to get much busier.

I'd have switched to private bus service already only my work place won't deal with anyone except taxsaver.ie! But its beginning to look like even the CIE Bus Service will be better than Irish Rail from Dundalk!
tigger1962 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 30-11-2009, 13:09   #5
tigger1962
Member
 
tigger1962's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Kilcurry
Posts: 501
Default

I don't suppose anyone knows if the new Bus Service From Dundalk (06.15) from the station is still running? After this morning i think I'll have no choice but to switch to bus!
tigger1962 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 01-12-2009, 10:08   #6
Junior
New to the board
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 1
Default 6:15 from Balbriggan to City

Does the change in the 6:15 from Balbriggan to the City effect anybody else now that it terminates in Connolly instead of Pearse? This is putting about 20 minutes on my journey. Can anything be done about this?
Junior is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02-12-2009, 08:31   #7
roamling
Member
 
roamling's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Lusk
Posts: 112
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by tigger1962 View Post
what they have basically done in the northern line is added Portmarnock/Malahide...
actually for some people, me , that is something positive. I work in Clontarf. Until now I needed to travel from Lusk into Connolly and then back to Clontarf. With the new arrangements my travel time drops by a whopping 15mins.
roamling is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02-12-2009, 16:09   #8
tigger1962
Member
 
tigger1962's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Kilcurry
Posts: 501
Default

yeah but it pisses off those who used to get off at Howth Junction and now have to get off at portmarnock or travel to connolly..
tigger1962 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 01:41.


Powered by vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.