The Cork Dublin Express Train has entered service

[2Funki4Wheelz]

5:30 from Cork 20 mins late arriving in Portarlington. Didn't make up the time and 20 mins late into Heuston.
Apology on PA for 20 min delay caused by a "technical fault at Kent Station".

Also, on the 21.00 out of Heuston last night (10/12/06) train sat for 10 mins in Inchicore, apology on the PA but no reason given.

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by 2Funki4Wheelz

5:30 from Cork 20 mins late arriving in Portarlington. Didn't make up the time and 20 mins late into Heuston.
Apology on PA for 20 min delay caused by a "technical fault at Kent Station".

Most likely the brake test

Also, on the 21.00 out of Heuston last night (10/12/06) train sat for 10 mins in Inchicore, apology on the PA but no reason given.

Did another train pull alongside? IE are well known for doing staff changes on the move, experienced it myself

[2Funki4Wheelz]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Did another train pull alongside? IE are well known for doing staff changes on the move, experienced it myself

I was thinking of something like that, but I only saw one go in the opposite direction too fast for anything like that.

[Mark Gleeson]

Well when the drivers swap you don't see the other train till after the other guy moves off

At that hour of night no other reason to stop other than staff, and lets face it the railway is run for the staff not the passengers, we even get this monkey business on the DART and I'm not talking about Fairview

[Mark Gleeson]

Great laugh today 9:30 Cork Dublin

IT went nuts on coach D, but that wasn't all about 2 miles from Lisduff (the quarry beyond Templemore) the PA awakes in the usual robo voice

Due to a mechnical fault on the train there may be a need to detrain, remain onboard until the driver instructs you to leave

Or something close to that

About 15 seconds later the brakes come on hard and I mean as hard as they go and we go from 80-85mph to about 60 mph now of course there is a 70 limit through Lisduff but we dropped to 60 mph which got me somewhat worried

At this point people get really concerned around me, worst case its a suspension bolt nothing that hasn't happened before.

Then the PA does the driver contacting train manager chime and the train manager comes on and instructs us to ignore it

[comcor]

Next week, I get my first run up to Dublin since these were brought in.

The 9:30am set ex-Cork will be a CDE, but the 9pm set ex-Dublin will still be a Mark III.

Is that correct?

[Mark Gleeson]

All Mk4 next week, in fact today should have been all Mk4 bar the 10:40/14:30 but the citygold from Cork this morning was Mk3 since there was a Mk4 breakdown in Heuston last night

21:00 ex Dublin has been Mk4 since September

[comcor]

Originally Posted by comcor

Next week, I get my first run up to Dublin since these were brought in.

The 9:30am set ex-Cork will be a CDE, but the 9pm set ex-Dublin will still be a Mark III.

Is that correct?

I've been offline with a bust computer all week, but a quick follow up to this.

The best news was that both trains actually arrived a little early. God bless timetable padding...

I was very impressed on the 9:30 up to Dublin. The customer service was at a level I hadn't expected of Irish Rail. The 21:00 to Cork was more like the IE of old. No trolley because of staff shortages, just the standard ticket checker, but no sign of a train manager.

PIS worked in both directions. On the way back it announced that passengers for Kerry could change in Mallow, which is not the case on that train. I was wondering if there was any chance of a quiet carriage where passengers could just read the display and not need to hear the incessant announcements in two languages.

I didn't find the ride quality to be problematic (I was in coach D to Dublin and coach F to Cork). It did seem to sway more than I remembered between Charleville and Limerick Junction, but if anything, it was better between Mallow and Cork where the springiness in the Mark IIIs meant that it never stopped bouncing.

Reserved seats were clearly indicated on the train although, there was no indication of who had actually reserved them.

As a side note, the train was very crowded after Limerick Junction with people standing from Port Laoise onwards.

And it stops too much. Cork-Dublin trains should only stop in Mallow (with connections to Kerry and future Cork suburban), Thurles (with a connection to Limerick using the bay platform) and Port Laoise (with connections to Dublin suburban). Everything else is unneccessary.

[portarlington_user]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Great laugh today 9:30 Cork Dublin

IT went nuts on coach D, but that wasn't all about 2 miles from Lisduff (the quarry beyond Templemore) the PA awakes in the usual robo voice

Due to a mechnical fault on the train there may be a need to detrain, remain onboard until the driver instructs you to leave

Or something close to that

About 15 seconds later the brakes come on hard and I mean as hard as they go and we go from 80-85mph to about 60 mph now of course there is a 70 limit through Lisduff but we dropped to 60 mph which got me somewhat worried

At this point people get really concerned around me, worst case its a suspension bolt nothing that hasn't happened before.

Then the PA does the driver contacting train manager chime and the train manager comes on and instructs us to ignore it

I actually noticed some strange noises myself on that train today, sounded like metal dragging type of thing but as I'm suffering a very bad hangover I wondered if it was all in my head!

[Mark Gleeson]

I was back in coach F and apart from being quite wobbly there where no funny noises I picked up on

The noise to listen for is a solid thump under the floor that might indicate a suspension bolt failure