Irish Rail Best Station Awards 2013

TheChrisD

http://www.irishrail.ie/index.jsp?p=120&n=259

I presume that the annual trolling of these awards by voting for Broombridge will now commence? Although they seem to have added a few safeguards to the voting system since last year - requiring a mobile number and e-mail and restricting you to one vote via cookies. Shame those counter-measures are easily bypassed.

thomasj

TheChrisD wrote: »

http://www.irishrail.ie/index.jsp?p=120&n=259

I presume that the annual trolling of these awards by voting for Broombridge will now commence? Although they seem to have added a few safeguards to the voting system since last year - requiring a mobile number and e-mail and restricting you to one vote via cookies. Shame those counter-measures are easily bypassed.

I wouldnt mind voting for a maynooth line station like clonsilla seen as though the work the put into the stations over the last few months. Its nice to be able to stand in the station on a wet night and not get badly drenched.

The real time platform displays have also made a difference.

Id nearly vote for broombridge if it made a point and highlighted how bad the station was

Tube

Most of the Maynooth line stations are lacking in customer facilities. Other than some bus shelters on the platforms there is nothing else.

Compare to the likes of Malahide or even mainline stations on the Sligo line many of which have indoor heated waiting rooms, TVs, staff, customer WCs, etc

Lapin

Donegal people must feel really left out of these polls.

Gurgle

Lapin wrote: »

Donegal people must feel really left out of these polls.

Yes, those poor feckers have really been left behind.

But at least we have a modern, efficient rail network spider-webbed across the rest of the country.

foggy_lad

Lapin wrote: »

Donegal people must feel really left out of these polls.

They will be getting the Western rail corridor any day now!

gobnaitolunacy

We can have our alternative awards right here!

intellectual dosser

Lapin wrote: »

Donegal people must feel really left out of these polls.

Whats a train station?

Dravokivich

thomasj wrote: »

I wouldnt mind voting for a maynooth line station like clonsilla seen as though the work the put into the stations over the last few months. Its nice to be able to stand in the station on a wet night and not get badly drenched.

The shelters are terrible though, you only have a chance of staying dry up against the back of them, yet you are still exposed to wind and rain because of all the gaps in it to make it look stylish. You'd be more well of next to a lampost.

thomasj

Dravokivich wrote: »

The shelters are terrible though, you only have a chance of staying dry up against the back of them, yet you are still exposed to wind and rain because of all the gaps in it to make it look stylish. You'd be more well of next to a lampost.

Its a massive improvement over the shelters that had been 10 years before!

I have memories of standing at castleknock on a stormy night soaked to the bone standing under one of those half shelter things with a few other people.

Trains were cancelled becuase a tree had fallen on the line and nobody knew because no realtime screens or phone apps for maynooth line and no website updates or tweets and none of the stations were answering calls. We gave up after a while not a clue what was going on.

You cant say the work they did to the stations arent a major improvement over what was there before!

Judgement Day

TheChrisD wrote: »

http://www.irishrail.ie/index.jsp?p=120&n=259

I presume that the annual trolling of these awards by voting for Broombridge will now commence? Although they seem to have added a few safeguards to the voting system since last year - requiring a mobile number and e-mail and restricting you to one vote via cookies. Shame those counter-measures are easily bypassed.

Thanks for the heads up but it makes little difference as the awards are obviously fixed by IE and their friends in the old Heuston Goods Offices. If it weren't so then Broombridge would have swept (sorry) the awards several years running.


PS Just voted for Broombridge - you should add a poll.

end of the road

everyone else is voting for broombridge so it would be rude for me not to vote for rosslare eurodump, after all its a tourist attraction, where is it these days? is it in eniscorthy now? must be at this stage seeing as it keeps moving every few years, it must be due a move surely?

murpho999

Lapin wrote: »

Donegal people must feel really left out of these polls.

Sure they would vote 'No' anyway!

Dravokivich

thomasj wrote: »

Its a massive improvement over the shelters that had been 10 years before!

Only moved to the area mid '08. Shelters around Coolmine where better then than they are now.

Granted, it's nice that the signs are working now. But they do seem to go offline or out of sync quite regularly and display gibberish.

About being kept at the station a long time in that one instance. That just highlights the lack of a clear and definitive PA/Notification system for passengers at train stations. Most of the time they are either too loud and distorted beyond comprehension or so quite that you can't hear it. This is still a problem today. Recently when a truck drove into the bridge in town, I was at a station in Leixlip. Knew there was a problem somewhere on the line because of the announcement, but couldn't hear what exactly the announcement stated. No one there could we all turned to each other to check. Sometimes it's just that the commuter from Maynooth gets held back to let the Sligo train go by. So we assumed it was something like that.

Hilly Bill

Judgement Day wrote: »

Thanks for the heads up but it makes little difference as the awards are obviously fixed by IE and their friends in the old Heuston Goods Offices. If it weren't so then Broombridge would have swept (sorry) the awards several years running.


PS Just voted for Broombridge - you should add a poll.

It will never win no matter how many votes it get. The best it will do is get on the short list and then it gets a visit from a mystery shopper type person and the best out of that will win.
Maybe if the 4 worst stations gets the most votes then they might have to pick one of them

parsi

I think we should ask Foggy_lad for his views - from what I can see he has visited every halt and station in the land (and their bus equivalent).

BostonB

thomasj wrote: »

Its a massive improvement over the shelters that had been 10 years before!

I have memories of standing at castleknock on a stormy night soaked to the bone standing under one of those half shelter things with a few other people. ...

There's still hardly any cover? No facilities. TBH a 3rd party phone app has more information than you get our stations. We're about 20 yrs behind everywhere else.

Jamie2k9

It will never win no matter how many votes it get. The best it will do is get on the short list and then it gets a visit from a mystery shopper type person and the best out of that will win.
Maybe if the 4 worst stations gets the most votes then they might have to pick one of them

It will get on no list if the vote was fixed. It would be a real embarrassment for IE if it won!

end of the road

the ideal stations in the short list would be
1. broombridge
2. rosslare eurodump
and (yes you guessed it)
wellington bridge, oh wait

bikeman1

Voted for Broombridge.

corktina

I voted for Nenagh whilst I still can

Hilly Bill

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

It will get on no list if the vote was fixed. It would be a real embarrassment for IE if it won!

It will get on the short list if it gets enough votes. Like i said, it will never win because the stations then gets a visit and the best out of them wins.

juan.kerr

Voted for Broombridge 3 times (so far).

corktina

waste of time...they will just ignore the votes fro Broombridge....

juan.kerr

corktina wrote: »

waste of time...they will just ignore the votes fro Broombridge....

It's outrageous to suggest that any individuals or organisations would attempt to rig this poll.

BOHSBOHS

they could include Donegal people by adding a NO option to the list of stations...;)

Hilly Bill

corktina wrote: »

waste of time...they will just ignore the votes fro Broombridge....

How do you know this? Have you read the post i made about it earlier or is it just random comments that you make?

Hilly Bill

Lapin wrote: »

Donegal people must feel really left out of these polls.

Not really, they are still allowed to vote.

PaurGasm

Donegal Railway Station is the best

mikemac1

Gwan Broombridge

Another vote

corktina

Hilly Bill wrote: »

How do you know this? Have you read the post i made about it earlier or is it just random comments that you make?

yep I read it and I have a different opinion to you. whats random about that?

It wont get on any short list, no matter how many vote for it, because it's a IE vote and they will just ignore or "miscount" the votes and there is no adjudication process to stop them!

Hilly Bill

corktina wrote: »

yep I read it and I have a different opinion to you. whats random about that?

It wont get on any short list, no matter how many vote for it, because it's a IE vote and they will just ignore or "miscount" the votes and there is no adjudication process to stop them!

Can you back up them allegations with proof? Do you know anything about the process?

Twoandahalfmen

Clongriffin.

corktina

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Can you back up them allegations with proof? Do you know anything about the process?

how the blue pencil can you prove something before the event? it's just an opinion ,same as yours is! Do you know anything about the process either?

January

http://dublinobserver.com/2010/11/disgruntled-commuters-high-jack-rail-station-awards-voting/

+1 vote for Broombridge here too...

thomasj

Is it possible that there may be some criteria they have for voting. And that they may be automatically rejecting some "spoilt" votes that are not following that criteria.

For example, how could you give a vote of more than 1 for staff helpfulness and appearance for unmanned stations. Surely that would raise a few eyebrows with Irish rail.

Judgement Day

thomasj wrote: »

Is it possible that there may be some criteria they have for voting. And that they may be automatically rejecting some "spoilt" votes that are not following that criteria.

For example, how could you give a vote of more than 1 for staff helpfulness and appearance for unmanned stations. Surely that would raise a few eyebrows with Irish rail.

What you have highlighted just goes to prove that the whole thing is just a load of CIE/IE PR spin bull****.

monument

From here: http://www.irishrail.ie/cat_news.jsp?i=4451&p=116&n=237 ...

The process will be as follows:

1. Following the closing date for public ratings, a shortlist of stations in each geographic region will be drawn up, based exclusively on the public ratings.

2. An independent market research company will undertake “mystery shopper” exercises at all shortlisted stations to assess stations on a detailed basis.

3. Nominations for each geographic award category will be announced, based on a combination of public ratings and the mystery shopper exercise.

4. The winners, including overall national winner, will be announced at the awards ceremony.

Hilly Bill

corktina wrote: »

how the blue pencil can you prove something before the event? it's just an opinion ,same as yours is! Do you know anything about the process either?

So how can you say that it wont get on the short list and ignored then?
You didnt say that you THINK that it wont get on the list but that it WONT be and that it WILL be ignored .


Do i know anything about the process? I take it that you dont read posts before replying then.

bikeman1

Best of luck to the mystery shopper that has to go to Broombridge!!

Judgement Day

monument wrote: »

From here: http://www.irishrail.ie/cat_news.jsp?i=4451&p=116&n=237 ...

The process will be as follows:

1. Following the closing date for public ratings, a shortlist of stations in each geographic region will be drawn up, based exclusively on the public ratings.

2. An independent market research company will undertake “mystery shopper” exercises at all shortlisted stations to assess stations on a detailed basis.

3. Nominations for each geographic award category will be announced, based on a combination of public ratings and the mystery shopper exercise.

4. The winners, including overall national winner, will be announced at the awards ceremony.

And who checks that this actually happens and isn't just more PR BS? I know, I've been there and got the video and the T-shirt.

Hilly Bill

Judgement Day wrote: »

And who checks that this actually happens and isn't just more PR BS? I know, I've been there and got the video and the T-shirt.

Have you a link to the video?

Judgement Day

What I meant was, I have run raffles etc. (for good causes) that have never even taken place and spin, for that what's it is, cannot be trusted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wedymc7ll1Y

Hilly Bill

Judgement Day wrote: »

What I meant was, I have run raffles etc. (for good causes) that have never even taken place and spin, for that what's it is, cannot be trusted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wedymc7ll1Y

It wouldnt have taken you to be a dishonest person JD

thomasj

Judgement Day wrote: »

What I meant was, I have run raffles etc. (for good causes) that have never even taken place and spin, for that what's it is, cannot be trusted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wedymc7ll1Y

Priceless video!

Judgement Day

Not for personal gain but spin goes on and so does rigging of raffles, votes, opinion polls (best station competitions) - just the reality. Needs must when the devil drives.

Hilly Bill

Judgement Day wrote: »

Not for personal gain but spin goes on and so does rigging of raffles, votes, opinion polls (best station competitions) - just the reality. Needs must when the devil drives.

Im no fan of these voting things either but at least it doesnt cost you to enter .

corktina

Hilly Bill wrote: »

So how can you say that it wont get on the short list and ignored then?
You didnt say that you THINK that it wont get on the list but that it WONT be and that it WILL be ignored .


Do i know anything about the process? I take it that you dont read posts before replying then.

quite simple. There is ample evidence in this forum alone of attempts to rig the vote, excuse enough to disallow suspect votes.Voting for Broombridge is a total waste of time if you think it will change anything at all

Judgement Day

And my obscure point about surveys, raffles, the Kit Kat Ad (below) and Post Office Prize Bonds etc.etc. is that the public are treated like mushrooms - fed on ****e and kept in the dark. Do you know anybody that has every one anything on their Prize Bonds http://www.prizebonds.ie/ ; do you imagine that Nestle are going to take advertising space in the National media to tell us who won their competition - and even if they do, can you believe them anyway? Should be in the conspiracy forum but it does have some resonance here. CIE/IE and their buddies long ago decided on the outcome of this 'competition' and the survey is just window dressing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk2Lfgh1c4Q

foggy_lad

I can't help thinking that if Carlow station made it through to the play-offs that they would get a discreet phone call on the red phone from the bowels of heuston a few days before any visit by mystery shoppers warning of the date of the operation and to have all hands to the pumps and in full dress uniform on the day and in particular have the only wheelchair accessible entrance unlocked and opened up for the day along with the wheelchair accessible toilet. It would be like a royal visit from Victoria herself.

Hilly Bill

foggy_lad wrote: »

I can't help thinking that if Carlow station made it through to the play-offs that they would get a discreet phone call on the red phone from the bowels of heuston a few days before any visit by mystery shoppers warning of the date of the operation and to have all hands to the pumps and in full dress uniform on the day and in particular have the only wheelchair accessible entrance unlocked and opened up for the day along with the wheelchair accessible toilet. It would be like a royal visit from Victoria herself.

You wouldnt be far wrong but not quite as extreme as you put it but all stations should be up to the best standard possible anyway without being told to up the game incase they get a visit. The visit of the daily passenger should be the prime importance rather than the potential visit of a mystery passenger.