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M3 Parkway Line: Possible solution to increase passenger numbers

  • 24-10-2011 11:37pm
    #1
    Madworld
    Closed Accounts Posts: 504 ✭✭✭


    As Im aware that people on here are involved with Irish Rail, I have an idea as to how you could increase passenger numbers on this line.

    Have the Sligo inter-city train stop at Clonsilla. This way some of the thousands of students in NUIM get a train every half hour and this line actually gets used.


Comments

  • #2
    CIE
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,463 ✭✭✭CIE


    How slow do you want the Sligo intercity train's average speed to get? It's barely above 40 mph as is. All trains make at least three stops in between Connolly and Mullingar now, and a high number of them also stop at Drumcondra.


  • #3
    Jehuty42
    Closed Accounts Posts: 560 ✭✭✭Jehuty42


    In fairness, it has very reasonable use at peak times and I see lots of NUIM students who live in and around Dunboyne changing at Clonsilla. Good patronage at the weekend too when it operates to Connolly. What would help it is opening Hansfield, setting up some feeder buses, looking at diverting it towards Connolly at peak and tightening up connections at Clonsilla. The new bay platform will help a lot with that last one. Those are all the kind of fairly cheap and simple improvements that are just too boring to be allocated money for though.

    It's a good line, but at its heart it is a very short branch that only really serves the town of Dunboyne. Maybe if it had been built closer to the Ongar area instead of the old alignment it would do better. As it stands it's probably ever going to justify anything more than a 4 car trainset.


  • #4
    n97 mini
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,295 ✭✭✭n97 mini


    The Dublin-Maynooth commuter trains, which are much more frequent than the Sligo trains, already stop at Clonsilla.

    The other thing is NUIM is quite small (8,000, whereas UCD has 25,000), a lot of students live in Maynooth, and a lot already have cars.


  • #5
    TheChrisD
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,816 ✭✭✭TheChrisD


    I echo the idea that the Sligo trains stop at Clonsilla. Since Clonsilla is now a branching station it makes sense to stop there before going express into town. It might also reduce the need to hold up the following commuter train from Maynooth if it's running late...
    Jehuty42 wrote: »
    It's a good line, but at its heart it is a very short branch that only really serves the town of Dunboyne. Maybe if it had been built closer to the Ongar area instead of the old alignment it would do better. As it stands it's probably ever going to justify anything more than a 4 car trainset.

    Until the line is extended to Navan that is, then it might need a few 8-car sets at peak times.

    This is assuming the Navan line actually happens.


  • #6
    LaFlammeRouge
    Closed Accounts Posts: 177 ✭✭LaFlammeRouge


    Send the M3 Parkway trains up the Newcomon Curve and terminate at Connolly Station. Passengers could then transfer onto the Dart.


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  • #7
    corktina
    Closed Accounts Posts: 17,733 ✭✭✭✭corktina


    is there a map somewhere on here? Im sure most people wont have a clue where all these lines and stations are.


  • #8
    Jehuty42
    Closed Accounts Posts: 560 ✭✭✭Jehuty42


    corktina wrote: »
    is there a map somewhere on here? Im sure most people wont have a clue where all these lines and stations are.

    OpenStreetMap has a fairly good map. It's the line diverging north west of Clonsilla. The three stations are marked there.


  • #9
    dowlingm
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,349 ✭✭✭dowlingm


    Bus Eireann have a service every 15 minutes from Kells-Navan-Dunshaughlin (109) departing 0545-0915. Tough for Irish Rail to compete with that since the FF Incompetency chose Western Parity Of Esteem over getting the railway to Navan (or even Dunshaughlin) done. Of course the local authority clowns in Dunshaughlin/Ratoath fighting over which alignment the line would take didn't help.


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