Irish Rail Web Fare Policy

[sean]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

So Irish Rail changed the system recently and well for some people it has been a negative for others a positive

Some guidance

Ok, a few observations:

1. Nothing wrong with pricing based on projected demand, IMHO, as what I consider THE best example of fares policy anywhere, New Yorks Metro North Railroad, has used such a system very effectively for decades
2. I don't see the point in selling €10 seats on any known busy train. I just don't - it seems like a waste of money.
3. The situation is still a mess in Longford!
4. There seems to be no effort to promote regional travel (i.e. travel not involving Dublin city on Dublin-elsewhere IC trains). Again, this is another thing Irish Rail could rip off wholesale from Metro North RR.

I played around with the system today on the Sligo line, there are very few 10 euro fares around, starting in Longford you STILL cannot use the booking system - even though Longford has a TVM with a "collect pre-booked tickets" option (and I know this because I just took a train to Longford today). I also know that this TVM has been there for a very long time so Irish Rail has no excuse.

You can get web fares going from Connolly or Sligo, and while for Connolly-Sligo travel it seems alright, with most fares being €22 each way, it's the same €22 to go Connolly-Longford. I just checked a fare for Sligo to Longford and that would be €20.30 ...

Way to go Irish Rail!

So from where I am standing a few things need to happen:
1) The situation WRT Longford needs to be examined very carefully, with a view to some prompt action.
2) It would be fine by me if borrowed the Metro North RR forumla for train pricing - i.e. anything arriving in Dublin City before 10AM, and anything leaving Dublin between 4PM and 8PM is a Peak fare, whereas EVERYTHING esle is discounted Off Peak.
3) Regional travel on Dublin bound trains needs to be encouraged, some combinations I was playing around with today should be made MUCH cheaper.
By that I mean things like Charleville-Portlaoise (same price as Charleville-Dublin) and Sligo-Longford (almost the same price as Sligo-Dublin) should be discounted massively, as this kind of travel is very efficient - one seat can be occupied by two passengers in this fashion during a single service run.

Again, my views in point 3 are backed by practice on the Metro North Railroad, travel on it not involving New York City is super-cheap, even in peak times, given the inherent efficiency of same.