New Timetable Leads To Commuter Pain
September 6 2024
Irish Rail introduced a new timetable on August 26th. While the additional services on Galway, Waterford and Wexford routes have been welcomed and appear to be working well the same can't be said for services operating through Dublin Connolly station. There have been daily widespread delays. Commuters have been vocal in their dissatisfaction. Delays, changes where trains were direct previously, overcrowding, poor and conflicting information.
There are always winners and losers with timetable changes, the least commuters can expect is that the timetable as printed is delivered. This is before students return to college and the dreaded leaf fall season has not yet started. Commuters are rightly worried delays will get worse in coming weeks.
Mark Gleeson spokesperson Rail Users Ireland: "We have not seen such repeated delays or such widespread passenger anger in many years. There has been no apology or acknowledgement from Irish Rail. A single delay has a domino effect resulting in knock-on delays across multiple services which cannot be recovered. More passengers must now change at Dublin Connolly resulting in longer journey times made worse by repeated delays and overcrowding."
Why?
The introduction of hourly Dublin Belfast services is a long awaited improvement and provides benefits for commuters in Drogheda and Dundalk. This has forced a recast of the timetable. The new timetable requires a degree of operating precision never seen before.
For example the time provided at Grand Canal Dock to turn a train around is 5-7 minutes, this is tight and allows no margin for error, 8-10 minutes is more typically allowed. A train every 10 minutes through a single dead end platform is pushing the limits and results in trains queuing awaiting a delayed departure to clear the platform.
Bus transfers Belfast - Newry appear to have injected delays into services which have a domino effect across DART and Northern Line commuter.
Irish Rail's signalling control centre is archaic lacking any prioritisation or automation to optimise the recovery from delays. Its replacement is delayed and over budget.
There are well known, but solvable capacity issues at Connolly station, which restrict the free flow of trains.
Mark Gleeson spokesperson Rail Users Ireland: "We believe the level of delays now meets the criteria under EC passenger rights regulations, that monthly and annual ticket holders have a right to seek compensation for the cumulative sum of delays over a period. Irish Rail has never acknowledged this obligation or defined the criteria to make a claim."
What can be done
A comprehensive review needs to be conducted to build a robust timetable which is reflective of passenger origin and destination. Leap card data provides solid data to be followed. December should be targeted to align with the pan European timetable change date.
Irish Rail needs to focus on operational discipline, ensuring trains depart exactly on time, 8am means doors closed and moving at 08:00:00 not 30 seconds past. While it appears nice to wait for late arriving passengers running for a train, the train cannot wait. Every second counts as it is all but impossible to recover time later.
A large gap in service impacts morning commuters on the Northern line as a result of trying to make space for the hourly Belfast Dublin service. It would be possible to provide a departure at 0750am from Balbriggan to Connolly, if the Belfast train is late this can leave on time and be overtaken at Skerries to minimise delays.
Until Belfast Grand Central opens in October, additional time should be allowed in bus transfers i.e. depart Belfast earlier to ensure the passengers arrive in good time at Newry to avoid delaying departures for Dublin.
Extend a limited number of trains terminating/starting at Grand Canal Dock to Dun Laoghaire or Bray to reduce congestion and provide more direct journeys
Irish Rail needs to progress trackwork modifications at Connolly urgently to increase capacity and flexibility. No planning permission is required. NTA funded reports made recommendations as far back as 2019.