A damning indictment of Irish Rail's Intercity service.

MrX · 02-12-2007, 12:00

Mark,

That's actually not the normal situation on the CDE.

The luggage van is open to the rest of the train, the doors are rarely closed and you can see into it / walk into it without any problems.

Perhaps the doors *should* be closed, but it's never been the case.

I've also been on trains where the glass doors failed / we bypassed at the head of 1st class and the luggage van doors were wide open. This resulted in a stench of rubbish wafting through the unnecessarily drafty coach.

The problem is the on-board cleaners walk in and out of that area and don't keep the doors shut.

Also, it's questionable as to whether on-board cleaners should be hanging around in that area if there are indeed loose heavy objects.

I would also think it would be prudent practice to lock down / belt down heavy items in there.

You can get large items being carried in fast track service and also I've seen items of heavy railway equipment i.e. parts for trains en route to Cork in there. These large metal objects could potentially fly around if the train crashed / derailed.

If stowed in the middle of the coach, they could potentially shoot through the doors and into the first class area. Those glass doors wouldn't stop anything.

However, I would be more worried about the poor unfortunate cleaner who might be 'hanging out' in there. He/she could quite easily be pommelled by heavy objects. I think the HSA/RSA needs to take a look at how they're handling this issue.

Also, while it has improved, the train hosts need to ensure that people don't stow heavy items overhead. I've seen crazy things put on overhead racks in many trains. It's really up to staff to take those items and put them into a luggage rack, or into the luggage van if there's no space available.

I don't fully agree with the boards.ie poster, but I do think the management of the luggage van is very sloppy.

Mark Gleeson · 02-12-2007, 13:12

The doors into the luggage van are meant to be locked, I've never seen them open

They are a set of bi parting manually operated doors, its glass reinforced plastic with a metal frame, they will take a huge amount of punishment, they are not the single sheet no frame partition doors.

MrX · 02-12-2007, 19:08

I've seen them open on many an occasion and I take CityGold fairly regularly. It seems the cleaning staff just leave them open as it's a lot of hassle to close them. As they're cleaning the train they bring the bags back into that area and leave them there.

KSW · 02-12-2007, 19:41

I travelled to Cork and returned on the First Coach only ever once. Standard class has so much going for it than first anyway, I was greeted by the 1st class host and he walked me to my seat and took my bag and placed it in the rack overhead. Mind you I dont travel the service that often unlike you so I cant really complain. The Rosslare staff are very polite I have to say, They are the kind of guys who want to talk to you and all the rest... Mr.X on your other thread about your Grandmother I do agree with you, But you will not get anywhere if you dont ask for help. I often see a luggage Go-kart going to the Cork train and bringing down the luggage through the platform you could ask if you could hop on that I did three times I'm only 19 so... There's always room if your lucky that is..
There should have been IE staff at Cork and at Hueston to assistant your Grandmother on and off. The staff could have called Hueston and informed them and so on........

StephenM · 02-12-2007, 23:37

Keith, fair play at writing to IE about that guy he obviously deserved it.

Thomas J Stamp · 03-12-2007, 11:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean

Read this thread on Green Issues on Boards.ie about a week ago, I didn't know it was this bad, particularly vis-a-vis international standards.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showt...p?t=2055188717

Thoughts?

He decided that he wanted to open the gate and get on. We all know here why they leave the CDE gates closed till last min (as they cant be quite sure its going to work) but come on, just deciding to open a closed gate and get on?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrX

I've seen them open on many an occasion and I take CityGold fairly regularly. It seems the cleaning staff just leave them open as it's a lot of hassle to close them. As they're cleaning the train they bring the bags back into that area and leave them there.

Oh yeah, me too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by StephenM

Keith, fair play at writing to IE about that guy he obviously deserved it.

Yep, glad he was sacked. If you hadnt complained he'd still be in that job assaulting other members of the public.

I dont doubt but for one minuite the experiance that our friend on boards had. It was nasty, the staff seemed universally rude for no reason that was apparent from the post. It's the simple things that keep customers coming back, even if they are hot headed, fustrated and prone to giving out you are supposedly trained to deal with that. Otherwise go get a different job.

KSW · 03-12-2007, 13:10

I cant see why the gates for the platform were closed, on the timetable it says Gates will close 2mins prior to departure. But thinking here those gates were probably accidently closed by someone who slamed the gate behind them as they thought the gates are closed to early also...... But if he had stayed behind the gate and waited for a member of IE staff to come to him and told him it was okay to pass the gate.... If he did stay behind the gate and the train departed then what would be the situation?

02-12-2007, 12:00	#1
MrX Really Regular Poster Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 585	Luggage van Mark, That's actually not the normal situation on the CDE. The luggage van is open to the rest of the train, the doors are rarely closed and you can see into it / walk into it without any problems. Perhaps the doors should be closed, but it's never been the case. I've also been on trains where the glass doors failed / we bypassed at the head of 1st class and the luggage van doors were wide open. This resulted in a stench of rubbish wafting through the unnecessarily drafty coach. The problem is the on-board cleaners walk in and out of that area and don't keep the doors shut. Also, it's questionable as to whether on-board cleaners should be hanging around in that area if there are indeed loose heavy objects. I would also think it would be prudent practice to lock down / belt down heavy items in there. You can get large items being carried in fast track service and also I've seen items of heavy railway equipment i.e. parts for trains en route to Cork in there. These large metal objects could potentially fly around if the train crashed / derailed. If stowed in the middle of the coach, they could potentially shoot through the doors and into the first class area. Those glass doors wouldn't stop anything. However, I would be more worried about the poor unfortunate cleaner who might be 'hanging out' in there. He/she could quite easily be pommelled by heavy objects. I think the HSA/RSA needs to take a look at how they're handling this issue. Also, while it has improved, the train hosts need to ensure that people don't stow heavy items overhead. I've seen crazy things put on overhead racks in many trains. It's really up to staff to take those items and put them into a luggage rack, or into the luggage van if there's no space available. I don't fully agree with the boards.ie poster, but I do think the management of the luggage van is very sloppy.

02-12-2007, 13:12	#2
Mark Gleeson Technical Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coach C, Seat 33 Posts: 12,669	The doors into the luggage van are meant to be locked, I've never seen them open They are a set of bi parting manually operated doors, its glass reinforced plastic with a metal frame, they will take a huge amount of punishment, they are not the single sheet no frame partition doors. __________________ Unhappy with new timetable - let us know

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02-12-2007, 19:08	#3
MrX Really Regular Poster Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 585	I've seen them open on many an occasion and I take CityGold fairly regularly. It seems the cleaning staff just leave them open as it's a lot of hassle to close them. As they're cleaning the train they bring the bags back into that area and leave them there.

02-12-2007, 19:41	#4
KSW Really Regular Poster Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Rosslare Line Posts: 600	I travelled to Cork and returned on the First Coach only ever once. Standard class has so much going for it than first anyway, I was greeted by the 1st class host and he walked me to my seat and took my bag and placed it in the rack overhead. Mind you I dont travel the service that often unlike you so I cant really complain. The Rosslare staff are very polite I have to say, They are the kind of guys who want to talk to you and all the rest... Mr.X on your other thread about your Grandmother I do agree with you, But you will not get anywhere if you dont ask for help. I often see a luggage Go-kart going to the Cork train and bringing down the luggage through the platform you could ask if you could hop on that I did three times I'm only 19 so... There's always room if your lucky that is.. There should have been IE staff at Cork and at Hueston to assistant your Grandmother on and off. The staff could have called Hueston and informed them and so on........

02-12-2007, 23:37	#5
StephenM Regular Poster Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Back using the car due poor service Posts: 135	Keith, fair play at writing to IE about that guy he obviously deserved it.

03-12-2007, 13:10	#7
KSW Really Regular Poster Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Rosslare Line Posts: 600	I cant see why the gates for the platform were closed, on the timetable it says Gates will close 2mins prior to departure. But thinking here those gates were probably accidently closed by someone who slamed the gate behind them as they thought the gates are closed to early also...... But if he had stayed behind the gate and waited for a member of IE staff to come to him and told him it was okay to pass the gate.... If he did stay behind the gate and the train departed then what would be the situation?