Thurles-Limerick Junction 12+ Minutes late

[Destructix]

What is happening lately that all these trains seem to be occurring some sort of delay. I know the signals where down yesterday in the station in Thurles but that had nothing to do with it because they let the 10:53 Cork-Dublin go through and it was on a red light also a 2600 dmu (which i have no idea why it was in Thurles) was allowed go through. Its inexcusable not letting passengers know that the train would be delayed. At 11:22 the time the train was due they announce on the speaker ( next train on platform 2 will serve Limerick junction mallow cork etc etc and THIS TRAIN IS ONLY 12 MINUTES LATE) Its getting as bad as it was in the 1990s where the trains were anything up to 30 minutes late. There have been alot breakdowns too at the stations with many passengers pushed on to other trains. I would expect delays like this on any other lines but not on the Dublin-Cork line. They did in recent years really improved the punctuality and reliability of these trains why is it falling apart now? Some good news though at least the Limerick Junction-Limerick train didn't have a big crowd on it as usual, i think the weather put many people off. Coming home Limerick junction-Thurles they used the 6 car 22k actually arrived back early in Thurles. Not a fan of these trains but they do seem to be better timed than the 201/MK4.

[Colm Moore]

The timings to intermediate stations tend to be tight, with almost all the padding placed towards the end of ht ejourney, which is the only point where punctuality is measured.