New Late Evening Rail Service to Portlaoise

KC61

Some good news!

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=438

Iarnród Éireann advises customers that a new late evening service to Portlaoise will be introduced from Monday, 3rd November.

The new service, departing Heuston at 22.15hrs, will be a huge boost for Commuters to Monasterevin, Portarlington and Portlaoise in particular, as the last train for Portlaoise currently departs at 21.00hrs.

The new service will also serve Newbridge and Kildare, giving an added late evening option for commuters from these towns. The schedule will operate, from Monday to Friday as follows:

Heuston 22.15hrs

Newbridge 22.45hrs

Kildare 22.50hrs

Monasterevin 22.57hrs

Portarlington 23.04hrs

Portlaoise 23.14hrs

With this late departure, commuters along the route can work, study or socialise late in the city, and have a convenient option available to commute home. This service will increase the attractiveness of commuting by rail, and look forward to strong support for this extra late evening train from the commuters it will serve.

paulm17781

Is this anything to do with the ghost trains that RUI were on about? If so, well done RUI.

Last train at 22.15 is still a tad Victorian mind. I wonder if we'll ever have a modern rail service.

KC61

I would say that it has more to do with new rolling stock links introduced this week that has seen more services go over to railcar operation.

That 2215 empty service was apparently somewhat hit and miss but has (I believe) been firmed up now that the two six car sets are in operation on the Westport route.

dowlingm

Just a thought but given the synergy of having regional* commuter trains based in Portlaoise and Drogheda allowing late outbound service from Dublin, wouldn't Mullingar and Gorey (being about 70-80km from Connolly as Portlaoise is from Heuston) be a good spot to build small depots so that those lines can have service until about 2200?

At present last departure to Drogheda is 2304 and from Monday 2215 to Portlaoise, while to Mullingar is 1905 and Gorey is 1837. Perhaps this is already being considered?

* I think regional is a better term than "outer suburban" or "sprawl"

T Corolla

This is good news about the ten fifteen pm train to Portlaoise. I hope Irish rail can give the town of longford and mullingar a later than seven o clock service as this would be handy. I hope were are not going to get something like the five fifteen pm train witch stops at all stations and take an extra twenty minutes to mullingar. If we get something like the six o clock train we will be very pleased. This in turn could be used as an early service from Longford starting at five thirty am arriving in Dublin at seven seven am and in turn would put more passenger on the intercity service leaving after three pm.

fh041205

dowlingm wrote: »

Just a thought but given the synergy of having regional* commuter trains based in Portlaoise and Drogheda allowing late outbound service from Dublin, wouldn't Mullingar and Gorey (being about 70-80km from Connolly as Portlaoise is from Heuston) be a good spot to build small depots so that those lines can have service until about 2200?

At present last departure to Drogheda is 2304 and from Monday 2215 to Portlaoise, while to Mullingar is 1905 and Gorey is 1837. Perhaps this is already being considered?

* I think regional is a better term than "outer suburban" or "sprawl"

Last train to Drogheda (from Connolly) is 23:20 Mon-Sun. Correct me if i'm wrong but Mullingar and Gorey are much further away than Drogheda. Most commuter services start and end in Drogheda and Maynooth which are both served pretty well. Serving towns further away from the city than those should be the next prioirity for IR if you ask me. However, It think its unfair to use Drogheda as a benchmark when you're talking about Mullingar and Gorey.

T Corolla

The main thing that is required is a % of the population in the towns of mullingar and gorey to use the service. I have used the late trains to Maynooth and they can be pretty crowded with people standing up even as 10pm at night. there are bus services to Mullingar last one leaving at 11pm from Busaras. I think with the current economic climate that all long distance travel be turned over to the train and that more frequent bus service travel in the commuter counties i.e An earlier bus service leaving Longford and Mullingar to get into dublin for 7am and try and get more people onto the trains from the Sligo/Galway/Westport regions. I would also be in favor of Bus Eireann starting to put on buses going in the opposite dirction earlier. eg a bus leaving Mullingar at 6:00am heading for Sligo to give students the option of commuting to college in Sligo.The first train to Sligo starts at 7:00am not arriving in Sligo until 10:00am Our rail infrastructure is steped up considerably due to large investment by the country(119 milion spent on new carriages) and (50 million spent on new buses).

Victor

T Corolla wrote: »

I would also be in favor of Bus Eireann starting to put on buses going in the opposite dirction earlier. eg a bus leaving Mullingar at 6:00am heading for Sligo to give students the option of commuting to college in Sligo.

I suspect that might be an outrageous misuse of resources - how many people live in Mullingar and study in Sligo? And they would spend how long commuting every day? 4+ hours?

serfboard

Victor wrote: »

I suspect that might be an outrageous misuse of resources - how many people live in Mullingar and study in Sligo? And they would spend how long commuting every day? 4+ hours?

It'll be good training for when they start working, and buy houses out in the sticks and have a roughly similar commute

Agree about the waste of resources. I presume the poster would like to do this, or knows someone who does.

T Corolla

I see your point from a population perspective it may not be feasable but the option should be put into the box and maybe a trial scheme to be run.
I travel on the N4 each morning and have not seen alot of cars going in the Slifo direction. In your opinion should Bus Eireann start to increase it travel on non national route eg N52 Dundalk to Atlone,N80 Athlone to Waterford etc to try and kick starts a feasable business on these routes and maybe take away one off peak service from its main routes eg Dublin to Galway with an hourly service which is also served with two private companies, Citylink and Nestor with two hourly services and with eight trains a day. What do the viewers think.