Missing connection due to late train

k99_64

Went from portarlington to Sallins, unfortunately the train was late 15 mins leaving port and when arrived in Newbridge for the connection the sallins train was gone already.

Man in the office didnt really give a toss.

Just wondering what my 'rights' are in this case.

Thanks in advance.

paddy cork

was on the hamburg/bremen train last week.there was an announcement on the train coming into bremen 'sorry for the train being 9 minutes late,the other trains have been held for you!'

Run_to_da_hills

k99_64 wrote: »

Went from portarlington to Sallins, unfortunately the train was late 15 mins leaving port and when arrived in Newbridge for the connection the sallins train was gone already.

Man in the office didnt really give a toss.

Just wondering what my 'rights' are in this case.

Thanks in advance.

I guess its the Ryanair approach, I.E. tough s*it.

efb

How long did you leave between connections??

Victor

If you were delayed more than an hour, you are entitled to a discount. http://www.irishrail.ie/home/faq.asp?faq_id=20#20

http://www.irishrail.ie/images/pdfs/Southern Western Discount Form.pdf

BenShermin

paddy cork wrote: »

was on the hamburg/bremen train last week.there was an announcement on the train coming into bremen 'sorry for the train being 9 minutes late,the other trains have been held for you!'

I had the same experience on a Berlin to Amsterdam train a few weeks ago, being six minutes late I thought I had missed a four minute connection in Hilversum by two minutes. The train waited on the platform directly opposite and an announcement on the delayed train was made to that effect:).

Even in Britain I've had the experience of train companies holding their trains for delayed connections from opposing companies. Arriva Trains Wales and Virgin Trains seem to have excellent co-operation when it comes to delays in the Chester/Crewe area.

Irish Rail being one company can't even get connections right...... oh wait a minute, that's right, nobody changes trains in Ireland,we all just want to travel to/from Dublin:rolleyes:.

k99_64

The delay was 15minutes from portarlington and the irish rail interweb site says
that the train would have gotten into newbridge at 18:54 and then the train for sallins would leave at 19:05.

Breezer

efb wrote: »

How long did you leave between connections??

He shouldn't have had to have left more than the time needed to physically change trains. As has been pointed out, other operators, managing much larger networks, and even interfacing with competing operators, manage to get this right. I don't know about this particular situation, but given the infrequency of our trains, leaving longer could mean getting a much earlier train and significantly lengthening your commute.

This has happened me too many times with Irish rail, though thankfully only when changing from DART to Maynooth line and vice versa. Breweries and piss ups come to mind.

paddy cork wrote: »

was on the hamburg/bremen train last week.there was an announcement on the train coming into bremen 'sorry for the train being 9 minutes late,the other trains have been held for you!'

And if for some reason they don't cop it, you can request that a train be held, and Deutsche Bahn will make all reasonable attempts to accommodate you.

Trampas

I usually get a connecting train home from work but there are times I miss my connection due to my dart been delayed as it waits for a late rosslare train to pass through. very rare the rosslare train is ever on time and the amount of times i have had to run through connolly trying to get connections is mad

Victor

11 minutes for a connection on the same route* is perfectly prudent and the journey planner on the website suggests it.

However, as you were likely to have been delayed by less than an hour (unless your second train was also late), its unlikely they will give you anything.


* Its probably unreasonable to expect the 0905 arrival from Belfast into Connolly to connect to the 0905 departure to Sligo, the timetable would need to be re-jigged to allow more time.

Breezer

Victor wrote: »

11 minutes for a connection on the same route* is perfectly prudent and the journey planner on the website suggests it.

* Its probably unreasonable to expect the 0905 arrival from Belfast into Connolly to connect to the 0905 departure to Sligo, the timetable would need to be re-jigged to allow more time.

True, but would you agree that commuters could expect a 9.05 arrival from Belfast into Connolly to connect with a 9.16 departure from Connolly to Sligo, if such a thing existed? And that if the Belfast-Connolly train were delayed by, say, 15 minutes, that the Sligo train could be held and then make up time along the route, as is practiced in other countries?

Victor

Breezer wrote: »

True, but would you agree that commuters could expect a 9.05 arrival from Belfast into Connolly to connect with a 9.16 departure from Connolly to Sligo, if such a thing existed?

Sure.

And that if the Belfast-Connolly train were delayed by, say, 15 minutes, that the Sligo train could be held and then make up time along the route, as is practiced in other countries?

Well, I think it would depend on how many, if any needed to make that connection (there are other trains that operate as far as Maynooth and Longford). There is a problem with the Sligo line if any train misses its timeslot that results in knock-on delays through the day.

k99_64

So im boned in a nutshell?

JHMEG

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

I guess its the Ryanair approach, I.E. tough s*it.

Surely this is the CIE approach and Ryanair have learned from the masters?

DWCommuter

k99_64 wrote: »

So im boned in a nutshell?

No.

You've been boned in an Irish semi state nutshell. Thats very different to just a mere "nutshell".

dowlingm

The difference is that FR don't post timetabled connecting flights - or at least they didn't last time I used them.

IE on the other hand post connecting journeys on their website trip planner so could be said to be offering a complete service.

KC61

I think that an element of common sense is needed here and the nature of the service needs to be examined.

The bottom line in holding connecting trains (and this is universally accepted by operators) is what is the greater need and what are the knock-on effects of holding that train.

If the 1905 service from Newbridge were to be delayed to have connected out of the 1630 ex-Cork, the likelihood would have been that it would been late for its next journey which is the 2010 to Carlow, which would have a far greater loading than the 1905 service.

The connection itself is not guaranteed as the Heuston-Newbridge commuter services are not primarily designed for connections at Newbridge, but rather for commuting to/from Dublin. By and large commuter services are not held for late running intercity services, and this applies to most networks.

However that does not excuse the attidude of the station staff member who should have at least been courteous, and explained that there would be another train at 1955 which would be a 50 minute delay.

Therefore I'm afraid that you aren't entitled to any form of refund.

thomasj

its a sad state of affairs when the train you are on is late, not your fault but still you are the one being punished. So much focus on enforcement of passenger fares while their customer service has collapsed through the floor.

The least ie should be made do is provide a number for passengers to ring in the event their train is late so that some effort is made to accomodate the passenger

Stonewolf

CIEs lax attitude towards lateness is scandalous in and of itself. Look at the Japanese network, something like 1 minute late and you get a note for your employer explaining your tardiness. CIE would call that on time.

It used to be said in some countries that trains were something you could set your watch by.

Cookie_Monster

Stonewolf wrote: »

It used to be said in some countries that trains were something you could set your watch by.

indeed, but not for the reasons you may think
Railway Time

fh041205

Just want to add to this, that there are occasions where trains are held to facilitate connections. I've experienced this very frequently with the 08.30/08.32 Drogheda-Pearse service which is held in the event of the Enterprise being delayed. The same used to happen with the 12.05/12.08 service when it was in existence.

foggy_lad

if you get the dublin-cork/galway/sligo/waterford/anywhere train you can not rely on any of the intermediate station times once you leave heuston as the trains are only timed on departure and arrival between terminal stations so regularly arrive up to 40minutes late in places like portarlington or portlaoise or thurles or carlow or longford

JHMEG

Back in my college days the Sligo train ex Connolly was held up for passengers connecting from the Waterford train arriving into Heuston. Only when the Waterford train was late of course.

KC61

fh041205 wrote: »

Just want to add to this, that there are occasions where trains are held to facilitate connections. I've experienced this very frequently with the 08.30/08.32 Drogheda-Pearse service which is held in the event of the Enterprise being delayed. The same used to happen with the 12.05/12.08 service when it was in existence.

That would have more to do with the fact that the commuter service would probably delay the Enterprise further if it operated ahead of it.

In the Newbridge train's case the Cork train can still overtake it between Hazelhatch and Inchicore.

KC61

foggy_lad wrote: »

if you get the dublin-cork/galway/sligo/waterford/anywhere train you can not rely on any of the intermediate station times once you leave heuston as the trains are only timed on departure and arrival between terminal stations so regularly arrive up to 40minutes late in places like portarlington or portlaoise or thurles or carlow or longford

Not quite true. They are timed all along the route. There are full working timetables all along each route - the problems start where there are temporary speed restrictions imposed or (in the case of single track routes) where one train being delayed has a knock on effect. This year there have been a myriad of temporary restrictions on the Dublin/Cork route in particular.

It is the delays that are only measured at the terminal station for performance statistics.

foggy_lad

KC61 wrote: »

Not quite true. They are timed all along the route. There are full working timetables all along each route - the problems start where there are temporary speed restrictions imposed or (in the case of single track routes) where one train being delayed has a knock on effect. This year there have been a myriad of temporary restrictions on the Dublin/Cork route in particular.

It is the delays that are only measured at the terminal station for performance statistics.

fair enough but any time i have been waiting in portlaoise or portarlington or monasterevin for trains they have been up to 40minutes late and anyone relying on bus connections will be left stranded. take the cork train for example it is regularly up to 35minutes late arriving at stations between monasterevin and limerick junction.

temporary speed restrictions should be just that and must be considered more permenant when they last more than a couple of weeks!

Victor

If you look at the Irish Rail Realtime Search http://www.irishrail.ie/your_journey/results.asp there are constantly trains to/from Heuston that are running up to 20 minutes late at intermediate stations.

However, the timing from the origin station to the next few stations, the times are typically very tight, with little make-up time for any delays (engineering work, temporary speed limits, platform delays, signalling issues, engine problems) and all the make-up time is added at the end.

foggy_lad

but looking at the up to date printed timetables without speed restrictions etc the trains are way off at intermediate stations. most people go by the printed timetables.

Carawaystick

I'd say over a hundred customers change from the 8:28 into Platform3 in Connolly to the 8:31 on platform 5, so a 3 minute connection should give plenty of time in a less busy station*

*If IÉ weren't running the show

foggy_lad

Carawaystick wrote: »

I'd say over a hundred customers change from the 8:28 into Platform3 in Connolly to the 8:31 on platform 5, so a 3 minute connection should give plenty of time in a less busy station*

*If IÉ weren't running the show

but if the connection is between platform 7 and platform 8 in heuston and the passsenger has to buy a ticket for the onward journey in the ticket office which is miles away from the platforms and has a mobility impairment that might slow their progress.......it really is a shame that irish rail are running the show.

Victor

foggy_lad wrote: »

but if the connection is between platform 7 and platform 8 in heuston and the passsenger has to buy a ticket for the onward journey in the ticket office which is miles away from the platforms and has a mobility impairment that might slow their progress.......it really is a shame that irish rail are running the show.

If some is arriving at Heuston, surely they should have a ticket already? Very few trips connect at Heuston anyway, typically trips to/from the Kildare line to the south and west and through-tickets are available.