Major service cuts??
 

Is there any truth to the reports on another forum of massive service cuts in the new timetable including the storage of half the mk4 trains and withdrawal of some or all Dublin-Limerick services?

Some off peak Cork services are rumoured to be switching to 3 car railcars of the new kind that have arrived.

No idea where that leaves the new Dublin Cork carriages which are only about 3-4 years old I believe.

There is a thread in the members area concerning this

As it stands there are not enough Mk4 sets to operate the service, 3 car ICR sets may be used on some mid week off peak services. The hourly service remains

give some to the Rosslare line:) :) the line could do with nice trains

i wonder are Irish Rail regretting their decision to withdraw the mk3s. They should be.

The original plan was Mk4s for Dublin Cork, 22ks all other Intercity routes. That plan appears to have changed now. I wonder will we see Mk4s going to Limerick or Tralee in the future.

As regards Rosslare...

Since the Mk3's went there isn't any cover for the Mk4's on the Dublin Cork route, many trains mid week are carriying less than 100 people so a 3 car ICR is the best solution. The Mk4 couldn't hack the Dublin Limerick run, too many stops.

There is no mention of any reduction in services between Dublin and Cork other than the 20:30 Cork Dublin service being at risk though it can't be cancelled unless a Dublin Cork service is cancelled. The hourly service will be maintained.

Surely that given the issue of 22ks needing SDO because some of the platforms on the Rosslare line are too short, if MK3/MK4s are on the line it will make matters worse because the locomotive has to be on the platform as well as the carriages?

Aren't the MK3/MK4 carriages bigger than the 22k carriages?

So whats the point of that, given that the MK3/MK4s will be less capacity for passengers than the 22ks?

Any update as to whether the Sligo services will be reduced

Lets be clear here there should be more scheduled services in 2010 than 2009

Sligo if anything need more services to meet demand, its the busiest route after Dublin Cork!

Yeah and amazingly there is no restaurant/buffet car on any services and there are still commuter trains being used for that length of a journey on sundays:confused:

I hate to make any comparison to Ryanair but when faced with chalenges in their market place they cut prices. Given the reduction in money in the economy why can't fares be cut to stimulate traffic. Every supplier is under pressure to reduce charges or price in order to stay afloat. Irish Rail cannot ignore the reality of reduced disposable income and hope to maintain all its routes. So if fares are to be kept artificially high until whenever (if ever) the economic prosperity returns what happens to the rail service and passengers?
I haven't heard of Michael O'Leary reducing aircraft on the Dublin Cork route or putting aircraft into storage until he thinks can fill them.

But the facts tell a different story

The enhanced timetable and investment program was predicated on quite moderate passenger growth of 3-5% per annum, when in fact the numbers climbed 5-10% per annum for the last few years

In that case the passenger numbers are above target for the proposed service levels, revenue is up as well.

The real problems, are customer service, reliability and journey times, all fully within the control of Irish Rail

You can't use the Ryanair fare analogy. The 600,000 free travel passes are not valid on Ryanair! People who should know say that 60 - 70% of Intercity passengers don't pay for their tickets. McCarthy had'nt a word to say about that. I don't think we can afford entirely free transport anymore. Subsidise certainly but not free. And we must remember that free travel applies currently to a far wider section of society than just OAPs.

Free travel pass is like the medical card, you can't touch it and live to tell the tale. The system is broken, senior people within IE are getting really angry about it and the fact they are not getting even close to market value for the service provided. The Luas operator originally refused to accept the travel pass until some very last minute discussions changed their minds

We are drafting a list of reforms to deliver an improved service for less money and a photographic id smartcard free travel pass would be high on the list.

This is how you do it!
 

http://www.translink.co.uk/NI-Railways/New-Trains/

wake up IR.

the problem here is that IE have to deal with an bord snip, and the economic situation.

leaving aside the fact that in times of recession they should not cut infrastruture at all it just seems to me that IE have got a mindset that lines and kit can be sacrificed at will. Rosslare, Ballybrophy and Clonmel are preserved in my opinion simply so that they can be sacrificed in due course.

the WRC is not going to be cut, too much political capital has been invested in it. it will get the treatment, however. after a few years service levels will be reduced to Ballybrophy/Clonmel/Rosslare levels and all at the wrong time which will alow it to be shut between Ennis and Galway. So, ten years or just a little over there.

as for kit, well, there is more new kit arriving, presumably already paid for, which will be deployed on commuter lines (although in a few years commuter may be the best definition for the entire network), and which will see a cascade down of the existing 29K stock.

Its a long way from 2 hourly service on every intercity route...

NIR have their own problems, with desperately needed track replacement and other work put on the long finger.

If we were to judge the health of a rail network by new trains, the 22000s in production in Korea would deem IE a fairly healthy system! Presumably their arrival will only mean converting 3 car trains to 6 in places because there's no money to expand driver headcount.

speaking for myself even three car trains doing the job is preferable once there is a regular service which is well advertised and which can expand and lead to six car services in time.