Old Commuter & Dart Announcements!

[paddyb180285]

For the past year the announcements on both the Commuter and the DART have been in English and then Irish. For instance, "The Next Station is <English station name>, <Irish station name>". Also, when it gets near town it says "Please mind the gap and have your ticket ready for validation" after the announcements for the next station. While I am aware of the introduction for exit validation I much preferred the old announcements when it said "passengers leaving the train at <named Dublin station>, please mind the gap between the train and the platform, please ensure you have your ticket ready for INSPECTION". It sounded smarter and more precise. Some passengers might not know what the announcements mean when they say "gap" or "validation". Correct me if I am wrong but Pearse still doesn't have exit validation.

As well as that, when I would have gotten on the Commuter a year ago the announcements would have said "this train is for <destination name>, calling at <destination 1>, <destination 2>...... and <destination name>". Now it says "this train is for <destination name>, <destination name in Irish>". I think it is important that the passenger knows the exact list of stations being served as soon as they board the train as they may end up being trapped on the train, accidently passing their intended stop. Recently they partially fixed this problem where it calls out the remainder of the stations when it gets into town. While it may have been quite intrusive for the passenger who has been on the train since it's departure, it is important that these announcements are made when taking on new passengers at later stations. Alternatively, the announcements could be made at stations being serviced by Commuter branded trains when the train is approaching. I personnaly think that the old announcements should be brought back!

[KSW]

Im with you on every point that you've mentioned. It is important for the calling out at every new station. The Please have your ticket ready for inspection bring that back. But then your going to get someone who will say there is no inspection but you enter your ticket through the validation machine and Bla, Bla, Bla....... After all the machines inspects your ticket...

[Thomas Ralph]

In most cases the information notice on the platform (where installed) will have said which stations the train is serving. I've also found (on my limited experience of suburban railcars) that once the train gets into limited-stop sections, the driver announces "next stop Dalkey" or whatever after the doors open.

[John J]

I think it is important that the passenger knows the exact list of stations being served

"This train is for Bray calling at Leixlip Louisa Bridge, Leixlip Confey, Clonsilla, Coolmine, Castleknock, Ashtown, Broombridge, Drumcondra, Dublin Connolly, Tara Street, Dublin Pearse, Grand Canal Dock, Lansdowne Road, Sydney Parade, Booterstown, Blackrock, Seapoint, Salthill, Dun Laoighaire, Sandycove, Glenageary, Dalkey, Killiney, Shankill and Bray."

Repeat at every stop, reducing the number of stations called out by one.
Also repeat every time the driver attempts to close the door but cannot due to overcrowding.

Trust me - this can become annoying. Especially on the mornings when for some reason the announcement is deafeningly loud.
I prefer the current setup. One less annoyance to bear. In fact, I'm all for manual announcements.

The double announcements in Irish should be got rid of - I doubt there are too many people travelling on Dublin suburban routes who speak Gaelic only.

[Mark Gleeson]

The legal requirement is to state the destination and next stop only.

There is a statutory requirement on Irish Rail as a state body to display all destinations in Irish and English. The Mk4 Dublin - Cork trains are perfectly bilingual

An automated system is favored as it is consistent in the information it provides and the voice is known and recognised by those who are blind or partially sighted

Irish Rail should not be using the tickets for validation line, thats not a required statement, mind the gap is however required for safety reasons at certain stations only and the computer knows which

[KSW]

Automated system is favored as it is consistent in the information it provides and the voice is known and recognised by those who are blind or partially sighted. Irish Rail should not be using the tickets for validation line, thats not a required statement

Everyone may agree or disagree but everytime I board any train, I expect the PA information to be displayed and the driver/onboard announcements to work/said.