Slack in timetables...

[John J]

Is anything going to be done about the level of slack in Irish Rail timetables? It has surely gone beyond a joke since the end of last year.
This is something that really pisses me off as this slack costs me up to an hour and a half per week.

For example, I caught the 17.00 Connolly-Sligo this evening as far as Longford. First stop was Mullingar. Used to the long spells of hanging around, I decided I'd keep an eye on my watch.

It arrived in Mullingar at 17.58, but the scheduled departure time isn't till 18.06. Cue a 10 minute wait until the eventual departure at 18.08.
Next stop Edgeworthstown, where we waited 3-4 minutes.
The train also sat in Longford for quite some time.
I was well out of sight by the time it left for the rest of its trip to Sligo, which it would complete at the lightning fast average speed of 40mph.

I can see why Irish Rail might want to add slack at the end of a journey, but surely adding these lengths throughout the schedule is totally inexcusable?
The Sligo line was faster last year with loco-hauled stock and token exchange.
In fact, the best end-to-end speed declined from 45.5mph to 43.8mph.

I can only speak for the Sligo line - is this widespread elsewhere? And if so, what is going to be done about it?