WOW!!!

[Pierce]

But do Iarnrod Eireann care!

[Colm Donoghue]

Do IE get extra subsidies to run a cross border service from the EU? that a bus service wouldn't?

Point to note is if a dart is more than ten minutes late, it is late in IE land....

I wonder how much a premium coach service would cost to run with powerpoints and Internet access versus First class on the Enterprise.

wouldn't be great for parents or people with reduced mobility climbing up into a bus though.

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by Colm Donoghue

wouldn't be great for parents or people with reduced mobility climbing up into a bus though.

Ulsterbus are now using some wheelchair accessible coaches, but not on cross-border services to my knowledge.

[tigger1962]

I recently took a bus service from dundalk to dublin. it left around same time as the enterprise and got to oconnell st around the same time. it was as comfortable and I met other people on it that I knew from commuting last year who have given up commuting with ie because of the service. they seem to be losing the frieght battle. they might end up losing commutters too

[markpb]

I regularly travel from Dublin to Belfast and can't see any reason to take the train anymore. The bus has a better timetable both frequency and operating hours, takes about the same time, is just as comfortable, drops me closer to the city centre of Belfast and costs less (excluding some special offers). It's hard to see train taking much of the market in the future.

[KSW]

I dont think Iarnrod Eireann do speed! I just hear of all its services being late, 2 slow, rude staff and uncomforable journeys and not 2 mention the company not listening to the public. I mean if Rail Users Ireland had that chance I'm sure you would do a much better job. Espically with Mark G and Derek W onboard...... If I was Barry Kenny I would invest in a high speed track 300kph and with state of the art electric high speed trains with first class seating in each coach instead of standard for the same price.. Also with extremly polite staff with full black uniform with the orange iarnrod eireann symbol on the front of the shirts, with the symbol also on the belt.

[dowlingm]

KeithStephen - "if you were Barry Kenny"? How about being Minister for Transport or better still Minister for Finance?

[dowlingm]

Originally Posted by Colm Donoghue

Do IE get extra subsidies to run a cross border service from the EU? that a bus service wouldn't?

No, because the road the bus runs on got an EU subsidy to be built. Subsidies for everyone

[Colm Donoghue]

Originally Posted by dowlingm

No, because the road the bus runs on got an EU subsidy to be built. Subsidies for everyone

the M1 from Gormanstown(sp) to Ballymascanlon is a PPP. the tunnel on the M50 was paid by govt and I think the new N1 dual carriageway was mostly funded by the irish govt( as far as Armagh anyway)

[dowlingm]

http://www.n11.ie/News/PressReleases...t,2501,en.html

Over €700m has been invested to date in the upgrading of the M1 to motorway standard. A substantial contribution - €270m – was made by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund. EU Commissioner for Regional Policy and Institutional Reform, Mr. Michel Barnier, said, “It is important to emphasise that the M1 has a European dimension which has two important aspects:

• Firstly, the main reason that all the projects along the M1 attracted such important investment from the European Union was because European Heads of State designated certain transport corridors as Trans European Priorities. This led directly to a concentration of resources in line with national and European priorities. From a European perspective the M1 is a designated part of the Ireland-UK-Benelux corridor.
• Secondly, significant investment from the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund have been made in the M1 over many years. At least €270m have been made available to all the projects that have led to the completion of the M1 as far as Dundalk. This is clearly a significant act of European solidarity. Completion of this major section of the M1 is a national and a European success story.”

[Terrontress]

I don't think most people care who funds the roads (except for when they have to pay through the wretched toll booths).

Is it fair to say that Dublin - Belfast is not a long enough journey to operate the kind of service they are attempting to?

How would a service with a lower ticket price, operating every 30 minutes, in a four carriage train which stops at the same stops at present go?

Don't forget that when the Sheepbridge to Cloghogue section of the A1 opens and the Westlink upgrade is complete it will be possible to drive from Antrim to Dublin in 2 hours never mind taking the train from Belfast to Dublin.

I think the key is making the train convenient rather than trying to emulate a long distance European service.

[dowlingm]

Terrontress - I think 104 miles road distance is long enough for rail. The problem is that the existing track follows the commuter need rather than long distance need. The intercity track alignment is now substantially longer than the M1/A1 road distance, particularly with the curve around to Skerries and the curve around to Portadown.

A similar new track from Newry-Banbridge-Lisburn would reduce track mileage from about 47 miles to 37 miles (don't have a rail atlas, perhaps someone can give the exact current number from Belfast-Newry) - to get the same time reduction a 90 mph train would have to be replaced with one that could do 120mph, allowing for extra acceleration and deceleration time combined with trains, track and signals to handle it.

If there had been enough imagination at the Department of Transport, a similar alignment in the M1 median from north of Dunleer to north of Malahide would have given Enterprise a clear run around Drogheda/Skerries/Balbriggan/Donabate traffic a long way into Fingal, not to mention avoiding the single track across the Boyne in Drogheda. Too late now.