[22-2-08] 1616 Pearse to Drogheda - 4 carriages

[Aphfaneire]

I was lucky enough to get off early from placement today and got the luas into connolly and hopped back to pearse to catch the same train as my mother.

But when the train finnally arrived, it was half the size it should have been, instantly at least the last 2 carraiges were severly overcrowded and the train went on. At Connolly it got so bad that we sat there for nearly 10 minutes while the drive kept trying to close the doors. During this time the automatic announcement would restart every time the doors were activated, this happened nearly 10 times.

Then after a dash up the line thanks too are delay, around 1/5 of passengers got off at malahide or portmarnock. Now in rush hours to accomidate the gap in malahide services the commuter should be able to handle the over load, or shouldnt be expected to take it at all. Ive seen it a lot that almost all the standing room leaves the carraige at malahide, and when you've spent 20+ minutes sandwich face to face with these people its pretty annoying!


Sorry, for the rant, after a day on my feet nursing people for free, i hate standing on the train.

Was there a 29000 unit that has broken down recently, or was it a major screw up?

[Mark Gleeson]

Timetable requires one extra 4 coach train on Fridays, 14:50 Connolly - Dundalk

[Aphfaneire]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Timetable requires one extra 4 coach train on Fridays, 14:50 Connolly - Dundalk

Wtf, is this because of the enterprise in the afternoon slump not stopping at drogheda on fridays?

Its shocking because the "raheny" train is a busy one, especially with school going passengers, even between malahide-donabate.

Im pretty peeved about it, that kind of overcrowding is awful for a friday!

It could have been a worse day for me though, since at the moment i wasnt busy in james's as the theatre department has no where to put anyone because of overcrowding and the a & e crisis. So as a student nurse there was sweet f all to do in recovery this week, WONDERBAR!

[Mark Gleeson]

There is a long standing 14:50 Connolly - Dundalk, 16:20 Dundalk - Pearse which is Fridays only

It doesn't seem to serve any real purpose at all, its one of those mid 1970's things which is still lurking in the timetable

16:16 is the Friday escape train, anyone who gets off just before 4. Its somewhat policy in some 3rd level institutions to avoid classes after 4pm to allow the students to escape

[Aphfaneire]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

There is a long standing 14:50 Connolly - Dundalk, 16:20 Dundalk - Pearse which is Fridays only

It doesn't seem to serve any real purpose at all, its one of those mid 1970's things which is still lurking in the timetable

16:16 is the Friday escape train, anyone who gets off just before 4. Its somewhat policy in some 3rd level institutions to avoid classes after 4pm to allow the students to escape

Thanks for saying "some", but the trinity school of nursing and midwifery isnt one of them, 9-5 pretty much most days. We're nearly tripping over suitcase's if theres a class on a friday just before a holiday or a break, its shocking.

I guess IE really dont look at what trains are needed where and when, just add too the schedual and "improve" the times and capacity, and pretend that thats progress.

[James Shields]

I've on that train when it's a 4 car and it's not pleasent. On the other hand, it is just about possible to cram everyone in, which it wouldn't be if they pulled coaches from any of the later trains.

What Iwant to know is why there are still commuter trains on the Sligo line.

[chipper]

The 16:16 to Drogheda can be 8, 6 or 4 carriages on any given Friday. For two years it, or its 16:15 predecessor, was always 8 but sometime last autumn the Friday service was reduced to 6 and occasionally 4. It improved in January with more 8 carriage sets but you never know know what to expect.

The 16:16 is always busy on any day of the week because, as the opening poster said, it doubles up as a Malahide DART but Friday is definitely the busiest day for this train. In my experience the Friday 16:16 has a heavier demand than the 16:42. Four carriages are not enough. A large number of people were left behind at Connolly last Friday.

[Terrontress]

I was on that train. I have never experienced the likes of it. The mass of bodies in the last carriage had it so hot. I got on in Pearse after getting away early for the afternoon. It immediately was overcrowded and the extra people getting on in Tara, Connolly and Raheny made it even worse.

As we waited for ten minutes in Connolly, one Northbound DART came into Connolly and was able to overtake us. I didn't think the run out the route was that speedy. The 10 minute delay in Connolly was simply unbearable. The pressure was relieved a bit in Malahide where plenty of people got off although a good few got on as well.

I was never as glad to see Donabate in my life.

When we got off, the platform display said something the lines of "This train will be a reduced service. Iarnrod Eireann would like to apologies for any difficulties caused." so it is obviously not the norm.

Made me wish I had had to sit in work untill 5 on Friday!

[Mark Gleeson]

It is unacceptable, for years Irish Rail have relied on the fact no one noticed short trains, in the era of the internet they can no longer hide

We now can flag the 16:16 as a train to avoid on Friday

[chipper]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

It is unacceptable, for years Irish Rail have relied on the fact no one noticed short trains, in the era of the internet they can no longer hide

We now can flag the 16:16 as a train to avoid on Friday

I avoided it for about a month last year but then I decided to bite the bullet and go for it again. Irish Rail had already deprived me of 2 minutes in bed every day when they moved the 06:48 from Drogheda to 06:46 (without arriving in Pearse any earlier) so I'll be damned if they add an extra half hour to my Friday. To be fair, since the start of the year it has been an 8 carriage train most weeks, but short trains cannot be considered a rarity on that service.

[James Shields]

It's 4 coaches again today. Glad to say I'm not on it. Was on the platform at Connolly waiting for a train going the other way, and it looked pretty unpleasent. Lots of people unable to get on, and it took several attempts to get the doors shut.

[Aphfaneire]

I was there too. I hoped on a dart and went to pearse, i was just disgusted when i saw it roll up. Everyone at the far end of the platform saw the lack of a second union as it came around the corner and there was a mad dash up the platform. Sickening, truely sickening

[James Shields]

Better off going for a pint and getting a train after six. The 17.50 used to be almost civilised, but it's also been a bit mental the last few weeks.

[Mark Gleeson]

Its 4 as well today again

[James Shields]

I think this train returns to Connolly to become the 18:40 to Dundalk, because it arrived in Connolly as 4 cars. A second set of 4 cars then turned up and they had a farcical attempt to merge the two. They tried to drive the second set into the first twice, and then tried to drive the original set into the new one (with people on board), but they weren't cooperating, so everyone was told to cram into the front 4 cars.

The delay meant we missed our slot, so we were stuck behind a DART all the way to Malahide, adding about 15 mins to the journey.

And this is partly my own fault, but when we got to Drogheda, the driver was so keen to leave that I had only just got my bags when the doors closed and the train moved off. I'd say we were stopped for less than 30 secs, which is far less than normal. So now I'm on my way to Dundalk, when I want to be at home. :-(