Rubbish Public Transport Links to/from KK city

road_high

Something that really bugs (among other things) is KK's less than adequate bus and rail links; especially the rail one..
Why is that Sligo town has now 8 services to/from Dublin whilst we much closer and with the large centres of Waterford and Carlow on the same line.

Also that aforementioned line was given the new trains ahead of us even though if memory serves me right the Waterford line carries twice the passengers per year. I don't mean to pick on Sligo, i am just pointing out what I percieve as inequitable treatment.

And i had an old timetable I saw at home from 1992; the rail journey from KK to Heuston was 1hr 40mins, and even 1 hr 35 at best; why is it in 2008 it takes longer to get to Dublin with supposedly all new welded track??

Firetrap

+1.

As it so happens, I was checking out the train timetable today and it hit home again to me how shockingly bad it is. The only thing I can think of is that a few years ago the Sligo line had a reputation for having an appalling service and the worst rolling stock in the entire country (unless you were the type who liked being able to see large chunks of the track under you as you moved from carriage to carriage) and they had to improve it.

fricatus

mfitzy wrote: »

Something that really bugs (among other things) is KK's less than adequate bus and rail links; especially the rail one..
Why is that Sligo town has now 8 services to/from Dublin whilst we much closer and with the large centres of Waterford and Carlow on the same line.

Tell me mfitzy, when has the South-East ever been treated equitably? It's only now that we in Waterford for example are getting the roads network we need (with consequent benefits for KK, happily enough too). Take a look in the Commuting and Transport forum and you'll see a thread called "Waterford Whinge".

While I'm all for a good bit of alliteration, you never hear the west being accused of whinging, do you? No, they would rightly refer to it as "campaigning". The likes of the M9 is dismissed as a "white elephant", whereas you and I as south-easterners know how essential it is. Of course during the '80s, we couldn't afford to improve it. Why? Because we were pouring money into Knock Airport (and ignoring Galway and Waterford airports, the two regional airports that actually made sense!)

I could go on...

The thing is, we've never shouted loud enough in the south-east, but if you look at the Waterford Whinge, you'll see we're finally finding our voice. Maybe you should start a Kilkenny Kampaign!

ergonomics

I'm in Limerick in college. After 3 years of crappy transport I have bought a crappy car. So much easier and it's worth putting up with the never ending repairs if I can get home at a decent time and back to Limerick at a decent time.

At the moment it takes about 1hour 40 minutes for me to drive from Limerick to Kilkenny. That's from leaving my front door to getting in my door here. By bus I'd be looking at about 6 hours by the time you include change overs and all that crap. I'd normally get into Limerick at about 11pm after leaving at 6. Same coming back. Kilkenny is a bit of a no-man's land for transport.

Cabaal

Bus service from Waterford to Kilkenny is some joke, as are the bus services that go from smaller towns within the county such as Callan to Kilkenny City

ztoical

Kilkenny to Thurles - 40/45 min drive tops. Bus takes at least an hour and 35 mins.

brettmirl

OK, I've not taken the Dublin-Kilkenny train in quite some time, but I used to twice a week for three years.

What I used to find was that Fridays and Mondays, the trains were jammed. Standing room only. If you didnt get in the queue for the 6pm train home on a Friday, you had to stand the whole way home.

However, if you took the 11am train on a Tuesday, you could have a carraige to yourself.

What they need to do is put on more trains during rush hour times. Aside from that I thought the service was pretty good.

Plus, Heuston is a lot nicer now and has a lot more facilities than it did back in the days of my train travel.

Deliverance XXV

mick_irl wrote: »

OK, I've not taken the Dublin-Kilkenny train in quite some time, but I used to twice a week for three years.

What I used to find was that Fridays and Mondays, the trains were jammed. Standing room only. If you didnt get in the queue for the 6pm train home on a Friday, you had to stand the whole way home.

However, if you took the 11am train on a Tuesday, you could have a carraige to yourself.

What they need to do is put on more trains during rush hour times. Aside from that I thought the service was pretty good.

Plus, Heuston is a lot nicer now and has a lot more facilities than it did back in the days of my train travel.

It's pretty much similar these days. I get the train about once every two weeks and mostly it's grand. The train coming back from Dublin, you can book a seat online, which could be quite handy. Never tried it myself though.
Imagine telling some frail old man that he's sitting in my reserved seat?
I think they can only have a certain maximum of carriages for legal/insurance reasons? What's stopping them from running a extra train?

It's my belief that if you by a ticket you are getting a seat with it. It's not that cheap.

Firetrap

Heh. You're suggesting that Iarnród Éireann was set up to serve its passengers? :rolleyes:

road_high

fricatus wrote: »

Tell me mfitzy, when has the South-East ever been treated equitably? It's only now that we in Waterford for example are getting the roads network we need (with consequent benefits for KK, happily enough too). Take a look in the Commuting and Transport forum and you'll see a thread called "Waterford Whinge".

While I'm all for a good bit of alliteration, you never hear the west being accused of whinging, do you? No, they would rightly refer to it as "campaigning". The likes of the M9 is dismissed as a "white elephant", whereas you and I as south-easterners know how essential it is. Of course during the '80s, we couldn't afford to improve it. Why? Because we were pouring money into Knock Airport (and ignoring Galway and Waterford airports, the two regional airports that actually made sense!)

I could go on...

The thing is, we've never shouted loud enough in the south-east, but if you look at the Waterford Whinge, you'll see we're finally finding our voice. Maybe you should start a Kilkenny Kampaign!

Yep, sure i've been partaking in that debate myself. Think it is scandulously flippant the title that thread was given. But the bottom line is the N9 is well underway and half built really so that debate is over really, well and truly.

And hopefull KK's transport links will improve in line with the new road

road_high

I read somewhere that the 5.30pm from Heuston to Carlow is to be extended to Kilkenny which is great rather than the awkward 4.35 and 6.20 pm only.
A step in the right direction.

However, I do feel that rail from Kilkenny will suffer with the M9 opening; I for one am not going to pay over €20 return for a service that takes the guts of two hours when the swish new road will bring me in half the time.

randylonghorn

fricatus wrote: »

While I'm all for a good bit of alliteration, you never hear the west being accused of whinging, do you?

Oh god, are you joking?!!

According to the Dubs, the West does nothing but!! :rolleyes:

fricatus wrote: »

Because we were pouring money into Knock Airport (and ignoring Galway and Waterford airports, the two regional airports that actually made sense!)

I agree with you there though, especially re: choosing Knock over Galway as the western airport, so flipping crazy!

Actually, I agree with most of the comments on this thread.

And if you think the rail service to Dublin is poor, try going from Waterford or Kilkenny to anywhere west of Dublin!!! No-one is supposed to do that apparently, or at least not without calling into Heuston to admire the new decor on the way!

irishleedsfan

Im from tipp town and i actually think there is NO public transport to kilkenny. South east is definatly neglected. It seems noting happens that wont suit dublin. Then the lads are out with their hardhats for the cameras

brettmirl

mfitzy wrote: »

I read somewhere that the 5.30pm from Heuston to Carlow is to be extended to Kilkenny which is great rather than the awkward 4.35 and 6.20 pm only.
A step in the right direction.

However, I do feel that rail from Kilkenny will suffer with the M9 opening; I for one am not going to pay over €20 return for a service that takes the guts of two hours when the swish new road will bring me in half the time.

Heard Barry Kenny from Iarnród Éireann on Newstalk or Radio 1 on Friday evening. He was saying that they are going to start running express trains from Waterford to Dublin, avoiding Kilkenny from next year...but that they are also going to start some trains originating and terminating in Kilkenny also from 2010.

jiggajt

mfitzy wrote: »

Something that really bugs (among other things) is KK's less than adequate bus and rail links; especially the rail one..
Why is that Sligo town has now 8 services to/from Dublin whilst we much closer and with the large centres of Waterford and Carlow on the same line.

Also that aforementioned line was given the new trains ahead of us even though if memory serves me right the Waterford line carries twice the passengers per year. I don't mean to pick on Sligo, i am just pointing out what I percieve as inequitable treatment.

And i had an old timetable I saw at home from 1992; the rail journey from KK to Heuston was 1hr 40mins, and even 1 hr 35 at best; why is it in 2008 it takes longer to get to Dublin with supposedly all new welded track??

In the news last week. Its not much but at least its a slight improvement:

http://www.kilkennyalive.com/story/better-train-service-kilkenny

Riskymove

just to say, in fairness, that the sligo line is a line on its own from Connolly

It does not have the same competition KK would have to Hueston (e.g. from cork, limerick etc) many train times are affected by this as it ususally means timing it to let other trains get out of your way.

Sligo trains are only affected by dublin commuter services


on another note I live in kildare and once considered a job in KK city and had examined the options for a train commute. Despite living near a station i could not see any reasonable options. I would not get to KK before around 10.30/11 am I think and not get a train home until around 7pm

both would mean having to change somewhere and hang around or esle travel all the way into hueston to get a train back. leave home around 8am and not get home until 9pm

jiggajt

Riskymove wrote: »

just to say, in fairness, that the sligo line is a line on its own from Connolly

Belfast line also runs from Connolly as do a number of commuter trains.

randylonghorn

jiggajt wrote: »

Belfast line also runs from Connolly as do a number of commuter trains.

Aye, but Belfast line is a separate track from Sligo line.

I can see what he's saying, the Kildare - Dublin bottleneck in particular does cause problems with the Mayo, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford lines all converging by that point, as well as the Arrow running on it as well. Hopefully all this "upgrading" they've been doing on that stretch will finally bear fruit, and allow for a bit more customer-friendly timetables and transfer options.

Kildare station itself will have to be fixed first though ... in fairness, the new Hazelhatch just down the track is a good example of what can be done with a bit of thinking and effort.

highgiant1985

I'm based in Kilkenny but do alot of travel all over the country with my job. I also don't drive so have been relying on public transport for it all. Heres my two cents.

The public transport to/from KK is OK mostly I find for most places I get sent I can get anywhere I need to. The most difficult aspect I find of getting to/from Kilkenny is if you're trying to go sideways. I.e. Galway/Limerick to Kilkenny. Otherwise its ok.

I can get to Cavan, Cork, Dublin, Sligo etc... ok by being flexible i.e. heading to Dublin night before get 6am bus to Cavan etc... Head down to Cork the night before. This goes via a change in waterford. A direct route from Kilkenny to cork would be ideal but I can still get to cork this way just not as quickly.

Could it be improved?

yeah certainly I'd like later trains than the 6:25pm coming back to kilkenny yes, but the 8:30pm (ish?) bus is normally ok to get me back to kilkenny. I'd also like an easier way of getting to Galway/Limerick from Kilkenny. All in all though even with the amount of travel I do for work I find I can survive ok with the Kilkenny public transport.

brettmirl

highgiant1985 wrote: »

A direct route from Kilkenny to cork would be ideal but I can still get to cork this way just not as quickly.

Bus Eireann go to Cork from Kilkenny:
http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1213026602-Table-7.pdf

highgiant1985

brettmirl wrote: »

Bus Eireann go to Cork from Kilkenny:
http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1213026602-Table-7.pdf

sorry you're right what I meant to say was a later direct bus from Kilkenny to cork last direct one is around 3pm i think say i finish work at 5:30 only way from kk to cork for me is the 5:55pm bus to waterford then bus to Cork. get there almost 10pm. Ideally for me there'd be a direct one around 6/7pm. Likewise on sunday no direct routes at all i think so again would be handy to have a direct route then. thats for my own pref though said times are likely not financially viable or im sure BE would have looked at setting them up.

road_high

There's a good bus service from Urlingford-Cork. It is the Dublin route so one every hour or two, and is obviously pretty fast with M8 all the way down.

highgiant1985

mfitzy wrote: »

There's a good bus service from Urlingford-Cork. It is the Dublin route so one every hour or two, and is obviously pretty fast with M8 all the way down.

is there any connection to/from kilkenny and urlingford?

djScarey

I left Kilkenny about 20 years ago. It's great that CIE has cracked down on those very speedy 40mph trains and buses to Dublin, cutting them to 37.5 and 25mph (on a good day) respectively. At this rate, it will soon be quicker to send yourself to Dublin in a sack via An Post. Hurray! The extra cost of public transport will then be eradicated from the tax burden. Give that civil servant who thought up this scheme a medal.

road_high

highgiant1985 wrote: »

is there any connection to/from kilkenny and urlingford?

Am pretty sure there is some kind of Kavanaghs privatew service between the two but I would have no idea of times or frequency.

DO'Carlo/Wex

Heard unoficialy from a station-master in Bagenalstown that from September there will be a morning-train originating in Kilkenny at 5.50 to get to Heuston at 8 O' Clock. Serving Bagenalstown at 6.10am.

On a slightly related issue, I see there is an extra train running up to Dublin from Waterford on Saturday ondly for U2 Concert but, wait for it, nothing coming down after it! Not exactly joined-up thinking now is it?

There are extra trains from Cork, Limerick, Galway & Westport going up too but the difference is they're going back at 1.00AM & 1.15AM from Heuston.

road_high

DO'Carlo/Wex wrote: »

Heard unoficialy from a station-master in Bagenalstown that from September there will be a morning-train originating in Kilkenny at 5.50 to get to Heuston at 8 O' Clock. Serving Bagenalstown at 6.10am.

On a slightly related issue, I see there is an extra train running up to Dublin from Waterford on Saturday ondly for U2 Concert but, wait for it, nothing coming down after it! Not exactly joined-up thinking now is it?

There are extra trains from Cork, Limerick, Galway & Westport going up too but the difference is they're going back at 1.00AM & 1.15AM from Heuston.

5.50 AM to get into Heuston at 8.OO AM that really is rubbish...I wonder is that going to be an extension of the 6.30 am from Carlow ?? Would sound about right. But over two hours to do a 70 mile journey; IR are really taking the p***!

I certainly won't be using it...this time next when the M9 is complete, the car will blow these times out of the water..unless things improve drastically with the Kildare track doubling (which seems to be going on for ever), which I sincerely doubt..

DO'Carlo/Wex

Well as I said, it was repeated by Barry Kenny on The Right/Left Hook on Newstalk-106 about the extra or extended commuter train from Kilkeny from September.
Also as an aside, have any of ye gotten the 10-Euro one-way fares from Waterford bookable online?
Could then get train from an intermediate train station (i.e., Bagenalstown, Kilkenny) where fare is dearer return than 20-Euro if you get my drift!

JohnMc1

Irish Rail also jacked up the prices for their train fares. A return ticket from KK to Waterford is now e15.50 and from KK to Dublin is now e32.00.

What a rip-off for the service they give.

DO'Carlo/Wex

JohnMc1 wrote: »

Irish Rail also jacked up the prices for their train fares. A return ticket from KK to Waterford is now e15.50 and from KK to Dublin is now e32.00.

What a rip-off for the service they give.

Yeah but Johnny-Boy, you can circumvent this by cheating the system. Since it's that expensive, get the 10-Euro Day-Saver thing from Waterford to Dublin. I think it's one-way so by getting two, you're saving 12-Euro.
In regard to the intervening stations, I'd sudgest avoidance but that could get post edited.
It's 14-Euro return from Carlow-Kilkenny or possibly Muine Bheag-Kilkenny. Either way that's outrageously priced.

JohnMc1

DO'Carlo/Wex wrote: »

Yeah but Johnny-Boy, you can circumvent this by cheating the system. Since it's that expensive, get the 10-Euro Day-Saver thing from Waterford to Dublin. I think it's one-way so by getting two, you're saving 12-Euro.
In regard to the intervening stations, I'd sudgest avoidance but that could get post edited.
It's 14-Euro return from Carlow-Kilkenny or possibly Muine Bheag-Kilkenny. Either way that's outrageously priced.

Thanks DO'Carlo/Wex. How can I get those Day Savers?

DO'Carlo/Wex

Well, I'm open to correction but afaik, these day-savers are available on line @ Irishrail.ie
E.g., 10-Euro One-Way from Waterford to Dublin and 10-Euro back.
I've done it & I board & disembark at one of the intervening or intermediate stations like Muine Bheag/Bagenalstown where the fare is 25 Monthly Return (still ondly 2 journeys; what a joke!).
It makes sense financially from Waterford, Thomastown, Kilkenny & Muine Bheag/Bagenalstown especially if you're going up & coming down same day. Not sure if it's a saving from Carlow/Athy.
Can't see anything wrong with it as it's valid on Waterford-Dublin route. Which all the above stations are on.

JohnMc1

DO'Carlo/Wex wrote: »

Well, I'm open to correction but afaik, these day-savers are available on line @ Irishrail.ie
E.g., 10-Euro One-Way from Waterford to Dublin and 10-Euro back.
I've done it & I board & disembark at one of the intervening or intermediate stations like Muine Bheag/Bagenalstown where the fare is 25 Monthly Return (still ondly 2 journeys; what a joke!).
It makes sense financially from Waterford, Thomastown, Kilkenny & Muine Bheag/Bagenalstown especially if you're going up & coming down same day. Not sure if it's a saving from Carlow/Athy.
Can't see anything wrong with it as it's valid on Waterford-Dublin route. Which all the above stations are on.

Thanks again. Though they don't seem to have any deals for KK [or Waterford] to Dublin atm.