Ennis services

[Tadhg17]

[quote=Victor;22631]Would it be better if the Limerick-Limerick Junction shuttles were extended to Ennis? Thereby operating reasonably seemlessly.I'm not sure if that works.


Most Ennis-Limerick train services that do not connect with a direct Limerick-Dublin train in Limerick continue onto Limerick Junction.

[dowlingm]

What's the equipment used for Ennis services now? Have journey times improved any bit?

[Thomas Ralph]

I think it's two-car 2700s most of the time.

[Tadhg17]

Originally Posted by dowlingm

What's the equipment used for Ennis services now? Have journey times improved any bit?

They use two 2700 railcars on the Limerick-Ennis railway line.

Journey times vary from 31mins -40mins. Often journeys are closer to the 31min mark. Other times it is closer to a 40min journey because the train has to wait for a few mins before entering a platform at Limerick station or sometimes when the gatekeepers at level crossings are a bit slow to close the gates like last week when the gatekeeper seemed to be asleep at the level crossing near LIT/Moyross and the train had to wait for 5mins til he finally closed the gates on the road.

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by Tadhg17

sometimes when the gatekeepers at level crossings are a bit slow to close the gates like last week when the gatekeeper seemed to be asleep at the level crossing near LIT/Moyross and the train had to wait for 5mins til he finally closed the gates on the road.

Somegates don't have a 'resident' gate keeper. I heard of one instance of a gate keeper going ahead of the Ennis train by car.

[Alan French]

Going back to Tadhg17's point (30-11-07), it is right and proper that some of the Ennis-Limerick Junction trains run through, without a change at Limerick, even though the timetable shows a change.

Having to change trains is a deterrent to passengers - ranking alongside poor timekeeping, bumpy rides, failed heating or bus replacement. OK, maybe it's not as bad as that, but you can't simply introduce a change where there used to be a through train, and assume there will be no loss of passengers. If, for genuine operating reasons, some trains require a change, let it apply to those trains only. Of course, all trains that operate through should be shown thus in the timetable.

It will be important when the the Western corridor opens, that some trains run through to Limerick Junction. This is because Galway-Cork was always seen as one of the main links, and to have two changes between Galway and Cork would be a serious deterrent. I have made the same point about Limerick-Waterford and Mallow-Tralee.