[PR] Ballina-Castlebar-Westport rail service

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Haven’t seen this posted before, so...

MODERN FLEET PROVIDES NEW, INNOVATIVE LOCAL SERVICE IN MAYO

A new local service will begin operation, linking some of the Mayo’s major towns courtesy of modern railcars operating on the Ballina branch line.

The existing operation of a Ballina to Manulla Junction service connecting into Westport to Dublin trains is being extended to provide a local service.

Modern railcars, which are replacing old locomotive-hauled carriages on the line, will continue to connect into Westport-Dublin services, but will also operate return connections to provide a Ballina-Foxford-Castlebar-Westport service three times each way daily. These railcars will be accessible to mobility-impaired customers.

The new service, among other new links provided, connects two hub towns under the National Spatial Strategy: Ballina and Castlebar.

http://www.iarnrodeireann.ie/news_centre/general_news.asp?action=view&news_id=225

MarkoP11

Irish Rail promised this in 1997, 10 years later it arrives

None of the railcars dedicated to this service comply with the accessibility regulations agreed with the DoT. They will take a wheelchair but they fail every other requirement

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MarkoP11 wrote:

Irish Rail promised this in 1997, 10 years later it arrives

There’s no election around the corner, is there?

MarkoP11 wrote:

None of the railcars dedicated to this service comply with the accessibility regulations agreed with the DoT. They will take a wheelchair but they fail every other requirement

That alone is a marked improvement from the old Ballina to Manulla Junction train. An Irish Rail staffer once told me of the embarrassment of having two options with a wheelchair-bound passenger – taxi or Garda van.

Out of interest, what are the other requirements? – That is besides the wheelchair user being unable to easily access the train with different floor/platform heights (or is that even a requirement?).

MarkoP11

Door buttons are wrong
Door buzzer is wrong
No PIS
No vertical grab rail at door
Lack of colour contrast on interior surfaces e.g grab rails
Floor area at door should contrast to floor elsewhere
As far as I know the seats marked priority don't measure up

IE talk a lot about accessibilty but they seem to take the easy way out (none of the DART fleet even the refurbished DART's comply), there is no legal enforcement here. Just because you can get the wheelchair in doesn't mean the train is accessible

Been 10 years waiting on the railcar, 10 years waiting for the Westport Ballina service, still waiting for accessibility

enterprise

Weren't the trains now used on the Ballina service built (1993) long before the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (RVAR) Guidelines was introduced on 1st of November 1998?

As Ireland doesn't have our own Disability regulations as usual IE follow the UK Guidelines.

MarkoP11

Bulk of post 2000 is non compliant anyway, all the Japanese DART coaches for a start, even the refurbished ones. IE are claiming it is 'accessible' when in fact the only accessible feature is a automatic door wide enough to allow a wheelchair to be loaded, a blind person is mobilty impaired but train has nothing for them bar the door buzzer which is wrong, so the train is wheelchair accessible not accessible to mobility-impaired customers.

UK rules have a obligation to include improvements at overhaul, IE could have fitted the proper door buttons, new floor, painted the handrails yellow etc hasn't happened and its not as if the trains haven't spent ages in the shed being fixed.

Max penalty is 10% of turnover in the UK

MarkoP11

Actually it doesn't matter

Since to do Ballina Westport you must change at Manulla Junction (which has no access) onto a Mk3 which is suspect on wheelchair access and has zero in terms of mobilty impaired access

Its only as good as the weakest link

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MarkoP11 wrote:

Bulk of post 2000 is non compliant anyway, all the Japanese DART coaches for a start, even the refurbished ones. IE are claiming it is 'accessible' when in fact the only accessible feature is a automatic door wide enough to allow a wheelchair to be loaded, a blind person is mobilty impaired but train has nothing for them bar the door buzzer which is wrong, so the train is wheelchair accessible not accessible to mobility-impaired customers.

UK rules have a obligation to include improvements at overhaul, IE could have fitted the proper door buttons, new floor, painted the handrails yellow etc hasn't happened and its not as if the trains haven't spent ages in the shed being fixed.

Max penalty is 10% of turnover in the UK

Good points Mark but as you know there is NO incentive for IE to do this as they aren't bound by the regulation.