Bus Transfer Provided for Busy Westport Service

[Jamie2k9]

http://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?opt...news&Itemid=46

Irish Rail has encouraged rail users to pre-book their tickets after a bus transfer was provided for passengers travelling to Dublin on Friday, when demand in Mayo outstripped the train’s capacity.
The Mayo News was informed by Irish Rail that an alternative transport service was offered to passengers at Claremorris train station intending to use the 1.10pm Westport to Dublin Heuston service, rather than letting them travel on an ‘overcrowded train’.
A spokesperson for Irish Rail explained that because the ‘high volume’ of passengers who turned up on the day to buy tickets at the stations in Mayo, it was decided to provide alternative transport.
“A high volume of passengers turned up on the day, and the District Manager called on a local bus service to provide transport. We have people on hand locally to provide a bus service if it is needed to get people to their destination. We apologise to people who may have been inconvenienced.
“We don’t want passengers standing on our intercity services, and we provide buses for our customers because we feel it is better that they have a seat on a bus rather than standing on the train.
“We would always advise people to pre-book online as they can get cheaper tickets, but it will also give us a better idea of how busy the service will be,” the spokesperson explained.
The bus service was also provided for passengers getting on the train in Ballyhaunis and Castlerea stations. While some passengers accepted the alternative transport others chose to travel on the train. It is understood that a bus service was not provided at other stations along the route.
The 1.10pm service is currently a three-carriage train which seats approximately 200 passengers, and Irish Rail confirmed this service was particularly busy on Fridays.
Last week, it was revealed that 21 surplus Intercity train carriages valued at €44 million are sitting idle at any one time. When asked if Irish Rail will provide extra capacity for the Friday afternoon service, a spokesperson said the company has to take into account a number of factors before providing extra capacity.
“There are some instances where we will provide additional capacity if there is advanced notice. But you can’t provide just one extra carriage, you have to provide three extra carriages [at one time] and we have to look at the cost as well. Adding an additional three carriages would be a significant cost for us.”
However, Irish Rail did say that it would monitor the service ‘going forward’ and that if the service continues to be busy, it will ensure it provides the best service for the public.
Independent councillor Richard Finn told The Mayo News that he got on the train at Claremorris and felt there was no need for a bus, as there were ‘plenty of seats’ available all the way to Dublin. He said it was his first time travelling by train in five years and he had no complaints describing it as a ‘lovely service’.
An extra service was recently added to the Westport to Dublin line, with a new 9.45am service added to the 2013 timetable. This brings the frequency from Westport to Dublin from four to five time daily. The additional service and some departure time changes were introduced by Irish Rail following consultations with the tourism industry in Mayo, and it is hoped that this extra service will meet the demand for the train service.

It great how we have to put up with standing and Mayo passengers get a bus and a train that is not full. I supose its purly down to geographical location.....