[05/03/2012] Nenagh, Limerick and Commuter service improvements

[Inniskeen]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

More like trying to make some money by stopping where there might be some actual business

Is there a big volume of high revenue business at Adamstown then ? As I said there is more than adequate capacity on pre-existing commuter services into Heuston without having to be supplemented by the 0515 from Limerick. Stopping at Hazelhatch and Adamstown also means using the slow line as the platforms serving the fast lines at these stations appear to be mothballed.

[Kilocharlie]

I think this train is meant to travel ahead of the 0600 from Waterford:

It is scheduled to travel 6 mins after the 0505 from Cork (at Portlaoise) which stops at Portarlington and Newbridge so the 0515 should be right behind the Cork train. The Cork train passes through Kildare at around 0730 so you would expect the 0515 to pass at 0735 and the Waterford to fall in behind at 0740.

As the 0515 uses the slow line, one would expect the Waterford to overtake it thus preserving it's 0820 arrival slot.

Clearly the 0515 failing to make this slot and ends up running between the Waterford and the 0725 from Portlaoise (0748 at Kildare) and delaying the later and following Westport services.

[Destructix]

Couldn't a 2700/2800 do this service and it could meet a Portlaoise commuter service or the Cork-Dublin train on the mainline. Cost less and faster service. Alan Kelly wants a shiny new train though.

[Thomas J Stamp]

Originally Posted by Inniskeen

The calls at Sallins, Hazelhatch and Adamstown and the scheduling of the new service behind the 0600 from Waterford mean that it is less attractive than it might be. There was already ample capacity at these stations and in any event logic would dictate that a fast run up the main line would compensate somewhat for the pedestrian operation on the branch.

It is clear that Irish Rail (and others) would prefer to see the service fail.

i dont agree, for once. I think that what they had to do was try and find a way to come to terms with the directive that this train had to serve the Nenagh branch line at a reasonable hour and still get into Heuston at a reasonable hour.

Originally Posted by Inniskeen

Is there a big volume of high revenue business at Adamstown then ? As I said there is more than adequate capacity on pre-existing commuter services into Heuston without having to be supplemented by the 0515 from Limerick. Stopping at Hazelhatch and Adamstown also means using the slow line as the platforms serving the fast lines at these stations appear to be mothballed.

there seems to be, as it gets into Heuston full from having 19 or so at Ballybrophy (including a trainspotter and a CIE rep on the first day)

Originally Posted by Destructix

Couldn't a 2700/2800 do this service and it could meet a Portlaoise commuter service or the Cork-Dublin train on the mainline. Cost less and faster service. Alan Kelly wants a shiny new train though.

well, for 17 people, and we dont know how many of them are off the early trains to dublin from Templemore and Thurles, its a lot of effort. Pity that effort isnt put into having a train going the other way, into limerick, from Ballybrpohy at a reasonable hour instead. Although, that may be the next experiment after this one.

[Thomas Ralph]

Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp

well, for 17 people, and we dont know how many of them are off the early trains to dublin from Templemore and Thurles

Nor, for that matter, how many are on free passes!

[Inniskeen]

Originally Posted by Thomas Ralph

Nor, for that matter, how many are on free passes!

Probably around the same proportion as the the rest of the mainline railway, although having said that, I can't imagine too many OAPs getting up to take the 0515 !

[dowlingm]

The 2700/2800 would be slower Ballybrophy to Portlaoise so you'd lose what you gained on the branch.

One option might be to swap the 0725 Portlaoise so it departed at 0716 and did the Nenagh service's stops. How late is the Nenagh service when it hits Portlaoise? If it's more than 9 minutes then you'd have to look at whether there is scope for say skipping Cloughjordan to save an additional minute if there are no pickups being made there and maybe Birdhill too with a moving pickup of the token?

EDIT: probably not doable - I'm guessing the 0615 Heuston arr 0720 Portlaoise is where that train comes from.

[Kilocharlie]

Originally Posted by dowlingm

The 2700/2800 would be slower Ballybrophy to Portlaoise so you'd lose what you gained on the branch.

One option might be to swap the 0725 Portlaoise so it departed at 0716 and did the Nenagh service's stops. How late is the Nenagh service when it hits Portlaoise? If it's more than 9 minutes then you'd have to look at whether there is scope for say skipping Cloughjordan to save an additional minute if there are no pickups being made there and maybe Birdhill too with a moving pickup of the token?

EDIT: probably not doable - I'm guessing the 0615 Heuston arr 0720 Portlaoise is where that train comes from.

Nope. It does the 0743 not the 0725.

[Destructix]

Originally Posted by dowlingm

there is scope for say skipping Cloughjordan to save an additional minute if there are no pickups being made there and maybe Birdhill too with a moving pickup of the token?

Birdhill normally has more passengers than Nenagh though. The trains use to have turned back in Birdhill most days.

[dowlingm]

Originally Posted by Destructix

Birdhill normally has more passengers than Nenagh though. The trains use to have turned back in Birdhill most days.

I'm only saying for the 0515. If pickups are being made then fine.

[Inniskeen]

Originally Posted by Inniskeen

"Is there a big volume of high revenue business at Adamstown then ? As I said there is more than adequate capacity on pre-existing commuter services into Heuston without having to be supplemented by the 0515 from Limerick. Stopping at Hazelhatch and Adamstown also means using the slow line as the platforms serving the fast lines at these stations appear to be mothballed."

Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp

there seems to be, as it gets into Heuston full from having 19 or so at Ballybrophy (including a trainspotter and a CIE rep on the first day).

Yes but the following 0725 from Portlaoise is now half empty !

While Irish Rail probably considers this service to be a temporary irritant imposed on them by their paymaster, one would have thought that it would afford an opportunity to improve other services. For example the 0505 from Cork could perhaps have been altered to run non-stop from Ballybrophy to Heuston, with the Limerick via Nenagh service serving Portlaoise and Portarlington only. There is no shortage of capacity at either Hazelhatch or Adamstown and stopping the new service at these stations is both frivilous and unnecessary.

Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp

well, for 17 people, and we dont know how many of them are off the early trains to dublin from Templemore and Thurles, its a lot of effort. Pity that effort isnt put into having a train going the other way, into limerick, from Ballybrpohy at a reasonable hour instead. Although, that may be the next experiment after this one.

The last time I travelled to Limerick (via Nenagh), the train picked up no passengers for Limerick at the intermediate stations, but dropped passengers from Dublin at Roscrea, Cloughjordan, Nenagh and Birdhill. While there may be some potential for commuter traffic into Limerick, the failure to provide a decent service to/from Dublin is the primary reason for the minimal usage of this line.

[doherty jack]

very good article !! in the paper quoted there!

[dowlingm]

Originally Posted by doherty jack

very good article !! in the paper quoted there!

Well I suppose "Arrival in Heuston at 8.25am is ideal for daily commuters" isn't a lie since he didn't actually claim that train makes that arrival time, merely that it is ideal.

[Thomas J Stamp]

Originally Posted by doherty jack

very good article !! in the paper quoted there!

your own work may I ask?

[Thomas J Stamp]

Originally Posted by Inniskeen

Originally Posted by Inniskeen

"Is there a big volume of high revenue business at Adamstown then ? As I said there is more than adequate capacity on pre-existing commuter services into Heuston without having to be supplemented by the 0515 from Limerick. Stopping at Hazelhatch and Adamstown also means using the slow line as the platforms serving the fast lines at these stations appear to be mothballed."



Yes but the following 0725 from Portlaoise is now half empty !

While Irish Rail probably considers this service to be a temporary irritant imposed on them by their paymaster, one would have thought that it would afford an opportunity to improve other services. For example the 0505 from Cork could perhaps have been altered to run non-stop from Ballybrophy to Heuston, with the Limerick via Nenagh service serving Portlaoise and Portarlington only. There is no shortage of capacity at either Hazelhatch or Adamstown and stopping the new service at these stations is both frivilous and unnecessary.



The last time I travelled to Limerick (via Nenagh), the train picked up no passengers for Limerick at the intermediate stations, but dropped passengers from Dublin at Roscrea, Cloughjordan, Nenagh and Birdhill. While there may be some potential for commuter traffic into Limerick, the failure to provide a decent service to/from Dublin is the primary reason for the minimal usage of this line.

depends on the time of day, however the horse has bolted, it takes me about 50 mins to get from Roscrea to the courthouse in Limerick thanks to the motorway and ring road. we had a big push here four years ago to have a proper running commuter shuttle service on the line from Ballybrophy to Limerick which would ahve catered for the fact that in the morning the traffic is mostly going into Limerick when the train is coming out. The train split/short return from Nenagh was an odd result, the whole thing seemed to be dictated by the fact that the drivers were in Limerick. Change them to Portlaoise and you have a more interesting potential situation.

anyway as I say, horse has bolted now with the motorway so perhaps this is a reasoning behind a service that, as far as I am aware anyway, wasnt being demanded and isnt really being used anyway.

and it was late again today.