Waterford-Dublin commute

[pixiebean22]

While i understand that Irish Rail say they accept dogs on certain rules, they don't. Anytime I have enquired about my dog I have been told no, not on any service at any time. I have been told that he would be too big for the car (used for carrying dogs), his crate would be too big, he would be harder to control etc etc etc. I would be happy to pay full fare for my dog if it meant I could transport him on the train. I would be happy to muzzle him if it meant people wouldn't fear him biting them. There is no reasoning with IR on this issue, they're not interested in tailoring their services to the needs of their customers.

On a separate issue. I went to Waterford train station this morning, I wanted to buy a 4 day trekker ticket. There was 3 employees in the station (I'm sure there were more behind closed doors), none of whom could open up the ticket office to sell me my ticket, I was told by the 3 of them to get on the train without a ticket and get off at Kilkenny to purchase my ticket there. I wonder in that instance what would happen if my travelling without a ticket was questioned. I also wonder why if there are 3 employees standing around one of them can't just go into the office and sell me a ticket.

Again, another instance of the ticket office not being open.

I also wonder, is there no communication between Irish Rail and Dublin Bus about the times the 90/92 leave the station? Train was late this morning (oh the shock!) and when the people off my train got outside there was at least 100 people already waiting on the 90/92. I ended up getting a taxi into work and there was still no sign of the 92 well after 9 o'clock (the last stop on the 92 is right outside my office). You would think that they could coordinate their services even just at peak hours to have buses ready and waiting for the busier trains. The train that I get would be quite a busy commuter train for people from Athy, Kildare and Newbridge (and obviously the other stops). Also, does anyone know when the 92 route will cease and the 145 will take over?

[Mark Gleeson]

In the case of Dublin Waterford only lap dogs may be carried. Its been this way for several years.

The 92 doesn't exist anymore, the 145 route now operates every 10 minutes from Heuston to Bray via the old 92 routing via Lesson Street.

You can get a monthly or weekly ticket from Waterford which includes the 90/91/145 as far as Leeson Street

What time were you in Waterford station at?

[ccos]

There is a lot of work to do to bring up the standards on the network before we can focus on the 'like to haves' instead of the 'must have'

Agreed

[pixiebean22]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

In the case of Dublin Waterford only lap dogs may be carried. Its been this way for several years.

The 92 doesn't exist anymore, the 145 route now operates every 10 minutes from Heuston to Bray via the old 92 routing via Lesson Street.

You can get a monthly or weekly ticket from Waterford which includes the 90/91/145 as far as Leeson Street

What time were you in Waterford station at?

Yes I know they only allow lap dogs but I have been told that under no circumstances would my dog be allowed travel on any train.

I was at the station at 5.40 and the ticket office didn't open that entire time, it wasn't open yesterday evening either nor was it open this morning. I have never seen it open.

Also, I had to pay €8 to carry my bike on the train, one way Sick of the attitude of staff in Hueston station thinking everything is a big joke. I walked up to the barriers at platform 6, asked the man standing there if I could bring my bike on the train, he said yes, I then got my ticket out of my bag and went to proceed through the barriers and he then decided to stop me and ask me do I have a ticket for the bike. Never heard of this before, where can I purchase the ticket? Oh you have to go around to the ticket office, so had to walk all the way around the other side of the station (I wonder how much this shower wasted on building that ticket office up by platform 8 that is NEVER USED!) and went to buy a ticket for the bike and the man told me to hurry up and get up to the train, I asked why, he said because all the spaces might be filled up. So i said you mean to tell me i buy my ticket here and then get to the barrier and may be told that i can't bring it anyway and he said yep. What the hell is wrong with IE?

[Mark Gleeson]

Office hours 06.35-19.05 Mon-Sat; 08.30-18.45 Sun If you find it closed outside those hours we will cause trouble. But we need date and time

The customer service desk (extreme right) is open when the booking office window is closed, they will issue a ticket if requested

Bike fares are published and bikes are carried thanks to work we did in the past. Booking for bikes will be along shortly http://www.railusers.ie/passenger_info/bikes.php

[pixiebean22]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Office hours 06.35-19.05 Mon-Sat; 08.30-18.45 Sun If you find it closed outside those hours we will cause trouble. But we need date and time

The customer service desk (extreme right) is open when the booking office window is closed, they will issue a ticket if requested

Bike fares are published and bikes are carried thanks to work we did in the past. Booking for bikes will be along shortly http://www.railusers.ie/passenger_info/bikes.php

I've never seen it open, I will make a note of actual dates and times in future.

Does anyone know if there will ever be some sort of reshuffle of the 145 timetable? As it is having a bus route like that going from Hueston Station is ridiculous in my opinion. This morning for instance the train got in early, you would think that the train driver or some IE employee would be able to radio out to the bus inspector (who is always standing around) and say Waterford train is in early can you hold the buses? Because when we got outside a 90 and a 145 were pulling away both half empty. The train I get is probably the busiest commuter train in the mornings because of the time it gets in at. So about 100 people are standing around waiting on buses and a 90 pulls up, another customer asked the bus inspector if the 145 would be along soon, he was told yes, yes. So the 90 was filling up fast, still no sign of the 145 and another customer asked the bus inspector when the 145 was due, 10 minutes So a lot of people charge over to the 90 before it pulls away and just as the 90 is pulling out of the station the 145 pulls out behind us Why can't IE and Dublin Bus just be decent to their customers?

[Thomas Ralph]

At the risk of going off-topic (this is a Dublin Bus issue after all) the DART only runs every 15 minutes most of the time, so a 10-minute wait for a bus isn't that bad is it?

[pixiebean22]

A 10 minute wait for a bus isn't the issue. It's buses leaving the station half empty just before the busiest train of the morning pulls in and bus inspectors not keeping passengers informed, how simple would it have been to tell customers this morning that the 145 was about to pull up instead of telling us there would be a 10 minute wait, people get onto a different bus and then the 145 pulls away straight after?

Whether it be a bus/dart/train whatever, it should operate on it's proper timetable. I think it's ridiculous for rail passengers to have to rely on a bus that comes in from Kilmacanogue? If the bus did actually operate to the timetable then there should be a bus at 8.30, 8.40 and 8.50, as it is there is one bus between 8.30 and 8.50 that sometimes boards between 8.35 and 8.40 and doesn't leave the station until 8.45 or thereabouts.

[Colm Moore]

There are problems with the changeover and we are trying to make contact to see if things can be improved.

Route 145 buses should be leaving Heuston every 10 minutes for most of the day.

[pixiebean22]

I hope so. Late again this morning.

[Mark Gleeson]

I've had a chat with Dublin Bus on the Heuston issue

They have extra buses in the evening starting from Lesson Street to ensure a constant flow towards Heuston so that should solve some issues

New timetable in the next day or so should further improve matters

The 90 and 91 are still there, the 145 will be held for a short time if there are passengers arriving, but holding it for too long makes no sense given there is a 10 minute frequency

There will be further routes passing Heuston by joining a west city with a north city route.