Irish Rail 2010 timetable now online

Nostradamus · 07-11-2009 3:13pm

T Corolla wrote: »

There will not be enough passenger to justfy opening the line any futher that what is currently going to be open so let IR do some old fashioned thinking and invite freight onto the line it is guarnteed revenue

Sorry mate, but that's classic WestonTrack magical thinking you're spouting there.

Cookie_Monster · 07-11-2009 3:21pm

MOH wrote: »

And in fact the longest gap between services is now 34 minutes, with two of 25 minutes - on the current timetable there's one of 30 minutes and anything else is under 25 mins.

Any claim by IE that the DART service is improved is pure spin.

So they're advertising a 15 minute clockface service yet have a 34 min gap

Cool Mo D · 07-11-2009 3:33pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

So they're advertising a 15 minute clockface service yet have a 34 min gap

There are large gaps if you're travelling from Howth or Malahide - the DARTs are split between them.

Cookie_Monster · 07-11-2009 3:42pm

Cool Mo D wrote: »

There are large gaps if you're travelling from Howth or Malahide - the DARTs are split between them.

Ah right, prob could have just checked it but too lazy:D

L1011 · 07-11-2009 5:13pm

T Corolla wrote: »

I agree with MYOB. IR cannot expect to make the line from Limerick to Galway pay for itself with a handful of services per day. There is space on this line for freight to be hauled. I mentioned in an earlier thread about the freight trains from Ballina/Westport could use this railway to haul goods to Waterford instead of using the Athlone to Portarlington stretch and maybe futher on in time IR could attract more freight to the WRC if the section to Clairemorris is operational IR could gain market share for freight traffic. There will not be enough passenger to justfy opening the line any futher that what is currently going to be open so let IR do some old fashioned thinking and invite freight onto the line it is guarnteed revenue

Here, I wasn't actually supporting re-opening it! Just saying that it wouldn't be anywhere near as expensive as a pax. reopening would be.

MOH · 09-11-2009 1:44pm

Cool Mo D wrote: »

There are large gaps if you're travelling from Howth or Malahide - the DARTs are split between them.

It's not from Howth or Malahide - there's a 33 minute gap between southbound DARTs from Connolly.

Cookie_Monster · 09-11-2009 1:50pm

MOH wrote: »

It's not from Howth or Malahide - there's a 33 minute gap between southbound DARTs from Connolly.

when? just had a look through for a week day and I can't see it... all 15 min intervals

KC61 · 09-11-2009 2:31pm

Looks like 2155 to 2228 ex-Connolly.

MOH · 09-11-2009 2:36pm

KC61 wrote: »

Looks like 2155 to 2228 ex-Connolly.

That's the one

Cookie_Monster · 09-11-2009 4:22pm

KC61 wrote: »

Looks like 2155 to 2228 ex-Connolly.

Ah missed that cos it was either side of a page change and I wasn't paying attention all that much. Seems an odd gap.

That to allow a communter / IC thru or just bad planning

MOH · 09-11-2009 6:47pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Ah missed that cos it was either side of a page change and I wasn't paying attention all that much. Seems an odd gap.

That to allow a communter / IC thru or just bad planning

Had a look again - there is a southbound DART but it terminates at Connolly.

dowlingm · 10-11-2009 4:44pm

I suppose technically Nenagh was the first use of the split (the early service to Ballybrophy splits with one turning back to form the joke that is Limerick commuter)

One interesting use of the split-join (or at least split) could be Pace/Mullingar, no? Cobh/Midleton too.

How feasible would a DART split be, I wonder - 2/4 cars to Howth, 2/4 cars to Malahide? Might help with Connolly outbound slots?

Cookie_Monster · 10-11-2009 5:33pm

dowlingm wrote: »

I suppose technically Nenagh was the first use of the split (the early service to Ballybrophy splits with one turning back to form the joke that is Limerick commuter)

One interesting use of the split-join (or at least split) could be Pace/Mullingar, no? Cobh/Midleton too.

How feasible would a DART split be, I wonder - 2/4 cars to Howth, 2/4 cars to Malahide? Might help with Connolly outbound slots?

With Irish rail involved the less splits the better please. Though I suppose splittin gthem is not as bad as joining. At least both halves of the train will arrive at the same time then split:p

Where do these split services pickup / lose a driver. Does (s)he stay or start from the station of the split or would they think outside the box and use them as ticket checkers on the joined trains

munchkin_utd · 10-11-2009 6:10pm

These lads in irish rail are gettin paid 50grand + (minimum) for driving a train so are obviously above ticket checking duties.

In Munich, on the line to the airport the extra driver from a joined up train waits for the next outcoming train that is to be split and needing an extra driver.
Would presume irish rail would do likewise.

KC61 · 10-11-2009 6:47pm

There are Athlone based drivers.

paulm17781 · 29-11-2009 2:58pm

Being launched tomorrow

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/changes-to-rail-schedules-come-into-effect-436223.html

Captain Chaos · 29-11-2009 3:05pm

MOH wrote: »

It's not from Howth or Malahide - there's a 33 minute gap between southbound DARTs from Connolly.

Just looked at the time table and not all DARTs are 15mins apart. In some cases its got worse. I used to get the early DART at 6:14, the next being at 6:35 if I missed that. Now the 6:14 is at 6:15 and the 6:35 is now at 6:40.

And both of those trains do be fairly well loaded at that hour. So there's a 25min gap for starters and I have spotted more throughout the day.

I knew it was impossible to have DART services at a minimum of 15mins apart at all times. There is not enough DART units to do it and it will feck up northern and southern Commuter services.

Carawaystick · 29-11-2009 3:10pm

I see the first train from Limerick to Dublin takes 2hours and 25 mins.
The first train to Galway will take 2hours and 25 mins also.

The first BÉ bus from Limerick to Galway takes 2hours and 20 mins. and will be less when the next bit of N18 opens.

good to see Irish rail are ambitious in getting some modal shift.....

Chris_533976 · 29-11-2009 3:42pm

Gobus and Citylink direct are approx equal to the train at the moment between Galway and Dublin.

Once the last bit of the M6 is open, say goodbye to the train.

bmaxi · 29-11-2009 4:05pm

Carawaystick wrote: »

I see the first train from Limerick to Dublin takes 2hours and 25 mins.
The first train to Galway will take 2hours and 25 mins also.

The first BÉ bus from Limerick to Galway takes 2hours and 20 mins. and will be less when the next bit of N18 opens.

good to see Irish rail are ambitious in getting some modal shift.....

You guys get all the fast trains, the 06.45 from Gorey (<60miles) takes 2hrs 6mins :mad:

Cookie_Monster · 29-11-2009 4:48pm

bmaxi wrote: »

You guys get all the fast trains, the 06.45 from Gorey (<60miles) takes 2hrs 6mins :mad:

:eek: how

Cool Mo D · 29-11-2009 5:26pm

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Just looked at the time table and not all DARTs are 15mins apart. In some cases its got worse. I used to get the early DART at 6:14, the next being at 6:35 if I missed that. Now the 6:14 is at 6:15 and the 6:35 is now at 6:40.

And both of those trains do be fairly well loaded at that hour. So there's a 25min gap for starters and I have spotted more throughout the day.

I knew it was impossible to have DART services at a minimum of 15mins apart at all times. There is not enough DART units to do it and it will feck up northern and southern Commuter services.

It might feck up southern commuter, but there is NO reason for it to affect northern commuter services. A DART trip from Connolly to Howth Junction, stopping at every stop should only take about 12 minutes. If a northern commuter sets out 5 mins after a DART to Howth, it can do it in 7 minutes - hardly significant compared with the overall journey time. At the moment, Connolly can take in 12 trains an hour - so that could be 4 DARTs, 2 Northern Commuter, 3 Maynooth, and an Enterprise and a Sligo/Mullingar train, before the resignalling even goes ahead. This would be a perfectly good service pattern throughout the day.

Hungerford · 29-11-2009 5:46pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

:eek: how

Crap timetabling. Bad work practices. Laziness. What's better is that apparently just driving there takes just 1 hour 20 mins. Good to see that IE are seeking to match the competition.

bmaxi · 29-11-2009 10:11pm

Hungerford wrote: »

Crap timetabling. Bad work practices. Laziness. What's better is that apparently just driving there takes just 1 hour 20 mins. Good to see that IE are seeking to match the competition.

Going on holiday last May, I left from Courtown at 6am and was in Dublin airport car park at 7.15, no speeding involved.
BTW apologies to IE, I've just noticed that the new schedule has managed to cut a whopping four minutes off the journey time.

Victor · 29-11-2009 11:39pm

http://www.aaroadwatch.ie/rail/

29/11/2009 Irish Rail: Service Changes

• Two new early bird Monday to Friday services, 05.15 Westport to Dublin and 06.05 Galway to Dublin will leave Westport and Galway and will join together at Athlone to complete the journey as one service. • Similarly, a new 15.30 service from Dublin to Galway/Westport will operate from Dublin to Athlone as one train, split at Athlone. • Waterford-Dublin: A new express 07.10 Waterford-Heuston service (Mon to Sat) will be introduced, with one intermediate stop only, at Carlow. • Westport–Dublin & Galway–Dublin: The first morning weekday service from Dublin-Westport and Galway will also be an amalgamated service at 07.30hrs, splitting at Athlone. The 6.05 service from Galway to Dublin will also operate on Saturdays. • Cork–Dublin & Tralee-Dublin: The 06.30 Cork-Dublin service will serve Mallow. This will also deliver, through a connection from the 05.20 Tralee-Mallow/Cork service.

• One service in each direction will be removed (19.30 Cork to Heuston and 20.00 Heuston to Cork), with the last services remaining as the 20.30 Cork to Heuston and 21.00 Heuston to Cork, and a total of 14 services each way daily. • Limerick – Dublin: The number of services each way daily will increase from 15 to 16, with an increase in the number of connecting services at Limerick Jct, and a decrease in direct services. • Rosslare Europort/Wexford – Dublin: The number of direct services for Wexford increase to five, with the extension of the 16.30 Connolly to Wexford (previously terminated at Gorey), and 17.30 Connolly to Wexford (previously terminated at Enniscorthy. There will also be an additional evening direct service from Wexford to Dublin at 19.30.

• Sligo – Dublin (incl. Longford / Mullingar commuter): A new early morning 5.45 service from Longford to Pearse will be introduced, offering an additional commuting option for passengers from Longford, Edgesworthtown, and Mullingar. In addition, the 17.05 Connolly to Sligo service will have an additional stop at Maynooth. • DART services: In a major review of DART schedules, a new regular 15-minute interval service is to be introduced across the full day (Monday to Saturday), with additional services operating at peak times (Monday to Friday) to match demand. This will result in Greystones seeing a major increase in services with every second DART serving the Co Wicklow town (Monday to Friday). • Waterford to Limerick Junction: Service frequency will be revised from four trains each way daily to three. • Note: Passengers on all routes should check departure times from 29th November for all services, as there may be minor changes, including some earlier departure times.

KC61 · 01-12-2009 10:32am

Carawaystick wrote: »

I see the first train from Limerick to Dublin takes 2hours and 25 mins.
The first train to Galway will take 2hours and 25 mins also.

The first BÉ bus from Limerick to Galway takes 2hours and 20 mins. and will be less when the next bit of N18 opens.

good to see Irish rail are ambitious in getting some modal shift.....

There is a very good reason for this.

Scheduling this service is actually very difficult because the schedulers are trying to:
1) Maintain Ennis connections into/out of Dublin services at Limerick
2) Maintain Ennis/Limerick commuter services
3) Slot the Liumerick/Galway services around the Dublin/Galway services at Athenry
4) Provide commuter services into/out of Galway

The first train out of Limerick at 0600 arrives at Ennis at 0640. It then splits in two halves, the rear portion returning to Limerick at 0645 to provide a connection into the 0735 Limerick/Dublin service.

The front half then waits at Ennis until 0705 before continuing to Galway, arriving there at 0825. It passes the 0640 Galway/Limerick train at Gort. The latter then runs in the path of the existing 0800 Ennis/Limerick commuter service.

I would like to think that there would be a better way of doing it, but I honestly have to say that in this particular case there isn't, given the constraints of maintaining the two trains into Limerick out of Ennis at 0645 and 0800. The 0600 service really is two separate trains, an 0600 Limerick/Ennis and an 0705 Ennis/Galway commuter service.

KC61 · 01-12-2009 10:50am

Captain Chaos wrote: »

Just looked at the time table and not all DARTs are 15mins apart. In some cases its got worse. I used to get the early DART at 6:14, the next being at 6:35 if I missed that. Now the 6:14 is at 6:15 and the 6:35 is now at 6:40.

And both of those trains do be fairly well loaded at that hour. So there's a 25min gap for starters and I have spotted more throughout the day.

I knew it was impossible to have DART services at a minimum of 15mins apart at all times. There is not enough DART units to do it and it will feck up northern and southern Commuter services.

The 15 minute frequency is in operation between Howth Junction and Bray. There are a small number of gaps northbound between Bray and Howth Junction in the 15 minute timetable, namely: 0540 - 0610 and 2255 - 2320.

Southbound the gaps from Howth Junction in the 15 minute service are from 0614 - 0639, 1809-1826, 2154 - 2213, 2239 - 2304.

So the gaps are hardly "throughout the day". The DART timetable is a significant improvement in terms of standardising the frequency, but there is a lot of work to be done in terms of designing clockface suburban services around it and standardising the patterns from Howth and Malahide.

manc · 01-12-2009 10:59am

with the new timetable from Leixlip Confey there is suppose to be a 07:40 and 07:55 but the 07:40 one arrived at 07:50 the last two mornings, that extra 10minutes standing in the freezing cold beside the canal is not welcomed.

I'm not sure if the 07:55 arrives.

KC61 · 01-12-2009 11:01am

bmaxi wrote: »

You guys get all the fast trains, the 06.45 from Gorey (<60miles) takes 2hrs 6mins :mad:

It's a bit longer than 60 miles given the diversion inland to serve Rathdrum and the route around Killiney and Dalkey.

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

:eek: how

Well, unfortunately the downside of introducing a standard DART service pattern is that trains take a minimum of 43 minutes to get from Bray to Connolly. This train gets to Bray in 1 hour 15 minutes from Gorey, and then takes 45 minutes to get to the city.

The line is peppered with permanent speed restrictions and some seriously large climbs between Arklow and Wicklow, Bray and Greystones, and Killiney and Dun Laoghaire that do impact on the ability to ever deliver fast journey times, which when coupled with the need to slot in around the DART service means that I'm afraid 1 hour 45 minutes is pretty much as fast as it'll get.

positron · 01-12-2009 11:06am

I don't understand IrishRail's approach on this. Is clock-facing DART service such a hugely desirable thing to do it even if it ruins many other commuter routes?

Thanks to their "planning" I now spend 12 more minutes on board these trains daily and my wife spends 20 more minutes every day - that is if they run on time. This morning for example, the 0712 service from Drogheda (used to be 0718) which was expected to be at Blackrock at 0834. Come 0834, it was sitting pretty at Pearse!

I have been commuting for more than 4 years now in this route, and the ticket prices has been going up steadily, while the quality of service has been degrading year after year! May be this is what they call "Negative Growth".

Well, I am not even surprised..!

PS: There's a public meeting arranged for Monday, December 7th, 7:30 pm at WestCourt Hotel in Drogheda, arranged by TD Fergus O'Dowd (I think), and IrishRail and Bus representatives are supposed to be there to discuss our concerns..! As usual, if you don't fight for yourself, no one else will!

Irish Rail 2010 timetable now online

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