2013 Draft Connolly Timetable

luasifer · 22-09-2012, 05:54

It is very misleading to say Maynooth services will remain unchanged when in fact the off peak frequency for most stations on the Maynooth line are being halved.

The move to reduce the off peak service, from half hourly to hourly, in both directions for Drumcondra, Broombridge, Ashtown, Navan Road Parkway, Castleknock, Coolmine and Clonsilla Stations is unacceptable and goes against where we should be going in developing a proper transport service for Dublin. Irish Rail should be looking to increase the off peak frequency on the line to eventually achieve a DART level of service instead of providing an effectively useless service to people in these areas.

The Navan Road Parkway is an example of an underutilized asset which could be promoted and benefit from a reliable frequent service. One only has to look at the successful Red Cow Park and Ride to see how the provision of a reliable, frequent service will attract people to use it. If the potential wait for a train is 1 hour this is much less attractive to people who might park and ride.

What had once looked like developing towards a proper commuter/rapid transit railway has now been pushed back to nothing more than a skeleton service. However this is not surprising given the history of Irish Rail running our railways

AdiB · 25-09-2012, 10:30

Can't believe how few trains are now going to Sligo. They should be upping the number of trains during hours that would suit people who work and study in sligo. I finally just got a taxsaver ticket to commute from carrick on shannon to sligo. I had to change my hours to fit the trains to 10.30 to 6.30. With the new timetable there will only be 6hrs 50mins between the first train arriving and the last train leaving, no way of fitting a working day in there. It's rediculous. If they want to increase revenue they should be looking at a commuter service for sligo. By not driving I save about €40 a week. I know plenty of people who would use a commuter service, especially if they marketed on the savings you could make. Given sligo has a hospital, two colleges and numerous large businesses and schools it's a neglected oportunity for making revenue, the only people who will be able to use the new trains are people with free tickets who fancy popping into sligo for lunch or shopping.

James Howard · 25-09-2012, 12:41

They can't even organise the trains such that they can match hospital shift hours going into Dublin so that nurses further out than Maynooth can use the train to commute to the big Dublin hospitals so it might be a while before they manage to organise trains that match the shifts in Sligo.

What any business should be doing if faced with a lack of trade is to find out the reasons they are giving people not to use the service. To do this, they should be visiting large employers near stations (if sufficiently large - near the line with a view to adding a station) and finding out what they can do to increase commuting business. Things like shuttle buses, special deals on parking - even just visiting a company and doing a presentation with a few free tickets is how you build business.

The odd thing about this is that I perceive a distinct jump in the level of business on the trains I use on the Sligo line over the last few months. The 1805 to Longford is consistently jammed now with people standing all the way down the aisles and a need to arrive before 1750 to be guaranteed a seat. The same goes for the 0545 from Sligo. A year ago, I could be fairly sure of having a bay of four seats to myself as far as Enfield if not Kilcock but lately I rarely have the bay to myself after Mullingar. On Monday this week I had to share a bay of seats when I got on in Edgeworthstown.

As far as the 1805 is concerned, I know that the 1817 only has a handful of passengers going beyond Maynooth but if these get displaced onto the 1805, it is going to be well beyond capacity.

I don't know where this coming from and if it is just my own perception but it would seem to be to be a good idea to leave the resources on the Sligo line while it is doing well with the hope of growing overall business. They also desperately need to get online booking in place so that they do something about pushing some of the demand onto the less used services.

James Howard · 27-09-2012, 17:24

I just filled out their surveymonkey thing. One thing I noticed when going back over it is that the last up-train between Longford and Maynooth is now a whopping 90 minutes earlier.

This is an occasional bother to me as I sometimes take a train up in the evening if I have an early flight in the morning. It is a fairly dramatic reduction in the coverage.

ThomasJ · 07-02-2013, 20:45

Is Tara street the only station that has not updated its timetable notices almost a month after the introduction of the new timetable?

karlr42 · 07-02-2013, 21:55

Pearse is the same with the posters showing big Dublin area diagrams and all the departures for the full day on them. if they can't replace them straight away they should at least cover the times or take them down.

Mark Gleeson · 08-02-2013, 09:37

It was raised with Irish Rail 2 weeks ago

08-02-2013, 09:37	#7
Mark Gleeson Technical Officer Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coach C, Seat 33 Posts: 12,669	It was raised with Irish Rail 2 weeks ago __________________ Unhappy with new timetable - let us know

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22-09-2012, 05:54	#1
luasifer Regular Poster Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 37	It is very misleading to say Maynooth services will remain unchanged when in fact the off peak frequency for most stations on the Maynooth line are being halved. The move to reduce the off peak service, from half hourly to hourly, in both directions for Drumcondra, Broombridge, Ashtown, Navan Road Parkway, Castleknock, Coolmine and Clonsilla Stations is unacceptable and goes against where we should be going in developing a proper transport service for Dublin. Irish Rail should be looking to increase the off peak frequency on the line to eventually achieve a DART level of service instead of providing an effectively useless service to people in these areas. The Navan Road Parkway is an example of an underutilized asset which could be promoted and benefit from a reliable frequent service. One only has to look at the successful Red Cow Park and Ride to see how the provision of a reliable, frequent service will attract people to use it. If the potential wait for a train is 1 hour this is much less attractive to people who might park and ride. What had once looked like developing towards a proper commuter/rapid transit railway has now been pushed back to nothing more than a skeleton service. However this is not surprising given the history of Irish Rail running our railways

25-09-2012, 10:30	#2
AdiB New to the board Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: carrick on shannon Posts: 3	Can't believe how few trains are now going to Sligo. They should be upping the number of trains during hours that would suit people who work and study in sligo. I finally just got a taxsaver ticket to commute from carrick on shannon to sligo. I had to change my hours to fit the trains to 10.30 to 6.30. With the new timetable there will only be 6hrs 50mins between the first train arriving and the last train leaving, no way of fitting a working day in there. It's rediculous. If they want to increase revenue they should be looking at a commuter service for sligo. By not driving I save about €40 a week. I know plenty of people who would use a commuter service, especially if they marketed on the savings you could make. Given sligo has a hospital, two colleges and numerous large businesses and schools it's a neglected oportunity for making revenue, the only people who will be able to use the new trains are people with free tickets who fancy popping into sligo for lunch or shopping.

25-09-2012, 12:41	#3
James Howard Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sligo Line Posts: 1,115	They can't even organise the trains such that they can match hospital shift hours going into Dublin so that nurses further out than Maynooth can use the train to commute to the big Dublin hospitals so it might be a while before they manage to organise trains that match the shifts in Sligo. What any business should be doing if faced with a lack of trade is to find out the reasons they are giving people not to use the service. To do this, they should be visiting large employers near stations (if sufficiently large - near the line with a view to adding a station) and finding out what they can do to increase commuting business. Things like shuttle buses, special deals on parking - even just visiting a company and doing a presentation with a few free tickets is how you build business. The odd thing about this is that I perceive a distinct jump in the level of business on the trains I use on the Sligo line over the last few months. The 1805 to Longford is consistently jammed now with people standing all the way down the aisles and a need to arrive before 1750 to be guaranteed a seat. The same goes for the 0545 from Sligo. A year ago, I could be fairly sure of having a bay of four seats to myself as far as Enfield if not Kilcock but lately I rarely have the bay to myself after Mullingar. On Monday this week I had to share a bay of seats when I got on in Edgeworthstown. As far as the 1805 is concerned, I know that the 1817 only has a handful of passengers going beyond Maynooth but if these get displaced onto the 1805, it is going to be well beyond capacity. I don't know where this coming from and if it is just my own perception but it would seem to be to be a good idea to leave the resources on the Sligo line while it is doing well with the hope of growing overall business. They also desperately need to get online booking in place so that they do something about pushing some of the demand onto the less used services.

27-09-2012, 17:24	#4
James Howard Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sligo Line Posts: 1,115	I just filled out their surveymonkey thing. One thing I noticed when going back over it is that the last up-train between Longford and Maynooth is now a whopping 90 minutes earlier. This is an occasional bother to me as I sometimes take a train up in the evening if I have an early flight in the morning. It is a fairly dramatic reduction in the coverage.

07-02-2013, 20:45	#5
ThomasJ Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Clonsilla Posts: 2,812	Is Tara street the only station that has not updated its timetable notices almost a month after the introduction of the new timetable?

07-02-2013, 21:55	#6
karlr42 Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Clonsilla Posts: 340	Pearse is the same with the posters showing big Dublin area diagrams and all the departures for the full day on them. if they can't replace them straight away they should at least cover the times or take them down.