Ireland - public transport services, issues, plans and consultations (merged posts)

[whole diary]

[IndustryInsider]

Interesting to see that IE's annual passenger figures dropped massively by getting on for 20% between 2007 and 2012 following the global recession, whilst Britain's figures grew by roughly the same percentage during the same period.

Pleasing to hear they are bouncing back now.

[Noggin]

Interesting to see that IE's annual passenger figures dropped massively by getting on for 20% between 2007 and 2012 following the global recession, whilst Britain's figures grew by roughly the same percentage during the same period.

Pleasing to hear they are bouncing back now.

Good news

I'm no expert, but I believe that until the economic boom, there was little rail commuting or business travel in Eire outside Dublin, and so part of IE's response to the loss of subsidies and declining ridership was to cull services, which didn't help passenger numbers.

Even now, long distance service density is pretty low, and services no faster than the motorway, so unless you are going city centre to city centre, it's probably faster (and more convenient to take the car). For example, Cork to Dublin (which is a bit further than Cardiff to London) is 2h15 at best, and mostly 2h40, with a roughly hourly service, although it's a snip compared to GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) at €70 return. Wexford and Waterford (roughly the same distance as Bristol to London) to Dublin are about the same timings, so not really commutable, even though they are even cheaper.

 

 

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

A new Irish Rail timetable comes into effect today Sunday 10th December, 2017.

In general only minor changes with a more comprehensive change scheduled for next year.

The 17.55 ex Rosslare is deferred until 18.00hrs arriving into Dublin Connolly at 21.00. Therefore a connection into the last Enterprise to Belfast (at 20.50) is no longer possible.

New timetable in operation from Sunday 10th December

29 November 2017

Iarnród Éireann advises customers that a number of changes to its timetables across all routes will take effect from Sunday 10th December.

Customers on all routes are advised to check times before travel as there have been minor changes to departure and arrival times on many services including intermediate stations.

Please search the Journey Planner above for full details, or see our printed timetables here.

The most significant changes are:

    Journey time improvements following line improvement works
        between 3 and 10 minutes to services on the Dublin Heuston to Cork route
        between 2 and 12 minutes between Limerick and Dublin (including via Limerick Junction) also benefiting from signaling and platform works in Limerick Station
        between 2 and 6 minutes to services between Portlaoise and Dublin Heuston
    Minor changes to departure times on routes in the Dublin area (including DART, Northern Commuter, Maynooth/M3, Kildare, and Grand Canal Dock to Newbridge) to improve punctuality
    Services which currently depart Cork at 20 past the hour will depart at 25 past the hour (eg 09:20hrs will depart at 09:25hrs)
    On Sundays only the 08:20hrs Limerick to Heuston, 11:30hrs Portlaoise to Heuston, 18:25hrs and 19:25hrs Heuston to Limerick will all stop additionally at Monasterevin.

Customers should particularly note the following services which will depart earlier than at present:

    05:40hrs Longford to Dublin Pearse is advanced to depart at 05:35hrs
    09:45hrs Limerick Junction to Waterford is advanced to depart at 09:40hrs
    15:30hrs Heuston to Portlaoise is advanced to depart at 15:25hrs
    17:25hrs Limerick to Ballybrophy via Nenagh is advanced to depart at 17:20hrs
    Sundays only 09:40hrs Limerick to Limerick Junction is advanced to depart at 09:30hrs
    Sundays only 20:50hrs Cork to Mallow is advanced to depart at 20:40hrs

Iarnród Éireann plans a further and more significant timetable revision in the first half of 2018 to enhance DART frequency, off-peak Maynooth services and other changes, subject to a full public consultation process, and the approval of the National Transport Authority.

http://www.irishrail.ie/news/newtimetable2017

[grahame]

A new Irish Rail timetable comes into effect today Sunday 10th December, 2017.

In general only minor changes with a more comprehensive change scheduled for next year.

Thanks for the update ... it remains worse than Newquay with the first arrival at 12:25 into Rosslare Europort.

Remind me what time the boats leave ...

[RailCornwall]

Due to the weather situation worsening in the Republic, Iarnród Éireann have closed their entire network for the rest of today 01-Mar-2018 and withdrawn all services tomorrow 02-Mar-2018. They hope to restart service on Saturday.

(Twitter)

[Lee]

I'm by no means an Irish Rail expert, but it does seem a little on the extreme side - Has this happened much in the past?

[didcotdean]

Large parts of the Republic of Ireland are under a red weather warning for snow until 18:00. Blizzard overnight, and continuing through the morning.

[grahame]

Last week, I was presenting a course in Ireland and I took the opportunity to sandwich it between some rail travel - taking a look at how things work over there.  Many experiences, much to learn and some I will share in due course.  Some things good, some bad.  Some would work in Great Britain and others would not.   But I look not at the trains - but how the public transport network works for the people.

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

A nice set of photos there - I see you travelled through Limerick Junction (fifth photo). There are plans for another platform there.

PS: for anyone who may be interested there is a project (and attendant consultation) underway to totally revamp the Dublin city bus network.

More info on Bus Connects:
https://www.busconnects.ie/

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

A heads up that €4.99 web fares (adult single) are available from Rosslare Europort to Central Dublin stations (Pearse/Tara St./Connolly). Must be booked in advance.

The €4.99 fare is also available in the reverse direction and from Rosslare Strand and Wexford (O'Hanrahan) stations to Central Dublin stations too.

An ideal opportunity for anyone who yet as to travel or wishes to re-experience this highly scenic line.

www.irishrail.ie

Ps: a SailRail ticket is available for travel from any National Rail station to Rosslare (including the Fishguard-Rosslare ferry which is another pleasant experience)

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

Apologies...this went unanswered...

The Fishguard ship sails from Rosslare at 08.00 and 18.10 (no connection into 08.00 except a Local Link bus from Wexford Mon-Sat) but daily train connection into the 18.10 (arriving Rosslare circa 16.30)

In the reverse direction the overnight sailing (23.45 ex Fishguard) arrives at 04.00 (05.35 train). The ferry terminal is open and warm even at this early hour so no need to wander out and walk over to the station till 05.15/20.

13.10 ex Fishguard arrives 16.25hrs (18.00 hrs train/ 17.40 hrs Sundays)

[grahame]

The Fishguard ship sails from Rosslare at 08.00 and 18.10 (no connection into 08.00 except a Local Link bus from Wexford Mon-Sat) but daily train connection into the 18.10 (arriving Rosslare circa 16.30)

Sadly, no connection from Dublin into the 08:00 boat, and no connection to Swansea or beyond (train to Carmarthen only) off the 18:10 bus.  Net effect, no connections from Dublin to Swansea / Cardiff (let alone to Bristol or London).  All journeys require an overnight at some location.  Broken route for tourists.

In the reverse direction the overnight sailing (23.45 ex Fishguard) arrives at 04.00 (05.35 train). The ferry terminal is open and warm even at this early hour so no need to wander out and walk over to the station till 05.15/20.

13.10 ex Fishguard arrives 16.25hrs (18.00 hrs train/ 17.40 hrs Sundays)

Both work (relatively) well for tourist journeys.

[WEX-RSB-FGH-BPW-PAD]

Sadly, no connection from Dublin into the 08:00 boat, and no connection to Swansea or beyond (train to Carmarthen only) off the 18:10 bus.  Net effect, no connections from Dublin to Swansea / Cardiff (let alone to Bristol or London).  All journeys require an overnight at some location.  Broken route for tourists.

The 22.14 train from Fishguard Harbour (23.03 on Sundays) runs to Swansea daily providing a connection out of the 18.10 sailing ex Rosslare (arrives Fishguard Harbour 21.25).

I sampled it a few months ago.

Myself and the two other passengers (both off the ferry too; none of us knew each other) were admitted to the waiting room at Swansea (the station shutters are closed for a period in the early hours). The staff encountered were friendly. We were able to board the 03.52 Paddington HST^▸ (High Speed Train) in good time which helped. I alighted at Cardiff - I believe the others were bound for London or beyond. The time actually passed quite quickly. But admittedly it is far from ideal. One wonders would there be merit in the 22.14hrs train (ex FGH) running through to Cardiff particularly at weekends. Of course in an ideal world one could have a slow overnight train the whole way through to Paddington!!! Perhaps not such an outlandish thought!

[grahame]

Sadly, no connection from Dublin into the 08:00 boat, and no connection to Swansea or beyond (train to Carmarthen only) off the 18:10 bus.  Net effect, no connections from Dublin to Swansea / Cardiff (let alone to Bristol or London).  All journeys require an overnight at some location.  Broken route for tourists.

The 22.14 train from Fishguard Harbour (23.03 on Sundays) runs to Swansea daily providing a connection out of the 18.10 sailing ex Rosslare (arrives Fishguard Harbour 21.25).

My error?   Not sure where I would have got Carmarthen - I tried looking it up for a journey a couple of months back.  Perhaps I was unfortunate enough to hit engineering works and rail replacement buses? 

I sampled it a few months ago.

Myself and the two other passengers (both off the ferry too; none of us knew each other) were admitted to the waiting room at Swansea (the station shutters are closed for a period in the early hours). The staff encountered were friendly. We were able to board the 03.52 Paddington HST^▸ (High Speed Train) in good time which helped. I alighted at Cardiff - I believe the others were bound for London or beyond. The time actually passed quite quickly. But admittedly it is far from ideal. One wonders would there be merit in the 22.14hrs train (ex FGH) running through to Cardiff particularly at weekends. Of course in an ideal world one could have a slow overnight train the whole way through to Paddington!!! Perhaps not such an outlandish thought

The boat used to run later ... connection off the last train from Dublin, with the 03:52 from Swansea to London starting back at Fishguard Harbour to connect with it.    But with only three passengers, some bright spark would turn around and say "no demand", ignoring the current demotivational timing.   Alas, the train is no longer the key traffic for that boat, and the boat's timing is to suit the other (road) traffic of cars and lorries.

[grahame]

Two trains a day.  Out and back from Limerick in the morning, out and back in the evening. You may say it's a long way to Tipperary, but the lessons are here (or there) to share.

Article somewhat edited down as I quote it ...

Tipperary County Council official questions viability of Premier County rail links

COUNCILLORS DEFEND NEED TO UPGRADE SERVICES

A senior official with Tipperary County Council has raised the question over whether or not Tipperary’s rail lines should remain open.

The Ballybrophy to Limerick line, which serves Roscrea, Nenagh, Cloughjordan and Birdhill, and the Tipperary Junction to Waterford line have been threatened with closure over the past number of years by Irish Rail.

Now, senior council official Pat Slattery has questioned why they should remain in use.

He stated that there were 4,000 people commuting from North Tipperary to Limerick daily, but less than 50 used the train.

Maintaining that each passenger cost the taxpayer €750 in subvention, he said: “Buses can go from door to door. Could we not get a better service to serve our needs.”

However, he was criticised by a number of councillors, with the main criticism coming from Cllr Joe Hannigan.

“Rather than shutting down the line, we should be asking how we can make it commercially viable,” he said.

Cllr Hannigan said that the timetable was “not user-friendly” and needed to change.

“We should hold what we have and look at upgrading it. Closing it won’t solve our rural transport problems,” he said.

He was backed by Cllr Hughie McGrath who said that the line should be looked at as not just going to Dublin, but could be a feeder line to help develop Shannon Airport.

“It’s a link to Limerick and to the airport,” he said.

“The trains do not travel in the right direction at the right time,” said Cllr Ger Darcy. “The service does not suit the people who would use it.”

He said that it “shouldn't be rocket science” to put a link to UL so students from North Tipperary could commute to college.

Quoting (myself!) what I posted on the RailFuture Campaigners Facebook Group at ((here))

That story looks so familiar. We too had one train each way (Swindon to Westbury via Melksham) at each end of the line until 2013 - less passenger journeys even than the Limerick to Ballybrophy via Roscrea line. Put in a sensible service and use will rocket - passenger journeys up from 3,000 per annum to 75,000 per annum at Melksham - and then stopped growing because there was no more space on the new trains!!

Limerick's official is correct - it's pretty useless as it is. I've been / seen / looked as a comparison / benchmark to Melksham. The solution is probably not to pull the service - it's to make the service appropriate, and with goodwill and other ducks (such as fares and reliability and information systems) in line, it *will* work.