Train From Dublin to Cork

Victor

Con Logue wrote: »

For me, sitting in a bus contemplating Newlands Cross and points south is also madness, but hey, whatever cranks your shaft.

There's room for more than one mode of transport and this place shouldn't always be about a pis sing contest by bus enthuasiasts against the railway.

Decorum would be nice.

But you have a point. So folks, less of the 'county jersey' behaviour.

Moderator

Victor

bk wrote: »

Well Foggy mentioned GoBE, all of which provide a toilet and there is nothing stopping you brining a hot drink onboard. The GoBE coaches even have flip down tables with a cut out for a coffee cup holder.

I was on the 1630 GoBÉ Dublin-Cork yesterday.

Five minutes late leaving Busáras turned into 25 minutes late at Cork.

Only 35 passengers, which suggests not everyone is sold on the low price. Interesting that lot of people were showing up with Bus Éireann tickets.

BenShermin

Here's all the relevant Irish Rail "walk up" fare info for the OP:

http://www.irishrail.ie/index.jsp?p=118&n=197&a=266

As a matter of interest, how did you know the GoBÉ passengers were using BÉ tickets Victor? Any GoBÉ tickets bought on the day from the BÉ ticket office in BusAras would be printed on BÉ ticket roll.

foggy_lad

Victor wrote: »

I was on the 1630 GoBÉ Dublin-Cork yesterday.

Five minutes late leaving Busáras turned into 25 minutes late at Cork.

Only 35 passengers, which suggests not everyone is sold on the low price. Interesting that lot of people were showing up with Bus Éireann tickets.

Would you say that those with bus Éireann tickets had missed the 4pm bus or do you know if that 4pm bus was full? Were they allowed on the GoBé service?

From stories of posters here the aircoach service is rarely late.

BenShermin

Mixed opinions on timings from GoBÉ myself. However I understand it is road transport and I'm more forgiving then I would be with train delays. Yesterday's 1230 Dublin to Cork bus was delayed 10mins, however Monday's 1630 Cork to Dublin bus was 10 mins early.

In my overall experience clearing Dunkettle outbound and the North Quays in Dublin is quicker than the south quays and Dunkettle inbound. I think both Aircoach and GoBÉ should give themselves 3hrs 30mins on Friday evenings from Dublin.

Aircoach in my experience are woeful at keeping time. If the coach is toiletless then a 15 minute delay at Urlingford is almost inevitable. At least any delay to GoBÉ will be traffic related.

Hilly Bill

single to cork e62 day return e73.50 open return e79.50

Losty Dublin

Victor wrote: »

I was on the 1630 GoBÉ Dublin-Cork yesterday.

Five minutes late leaving Busáras turned into 25 minutes late at Cork.

Only 35 passengers, which suggests not everyone is sold on the low price. Interesting that lot of people were showing up with Bus Éireann tickets.

Ah Shure Victor, it was the fault of us, ahem, anti bus posters. Yes, I let the air out of the tyres on the bus, Richard stood in front of the bus several times en route to slow it down while Steamengine tampered with the odometer.

I'm sure the full catering facilities on the bus was of some solace to the passengers on board

Hilly Bill

bk wrote: »

So what you are saying Losty, is that it is better not to tell people of a way to potentially saving themselves €53

That is very kind of you!!

that would only true if the op had asked what the best option was but they didnt.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

BenShermin

Losty Dublin wrote: »

I'm sure the full catering facilities on the bus was of some solace to the passengers on board

I'd fully agree with you if the catering was of any value on the railway. Since Network Catering stopped operations both value and quality took a nosedive IMO.

markpb

Hilly Bill wrote: »

that would only true if the op had asked what the best option was but they didnt.

How about letting the OP decide what is relevant to them?

Richard Logue

markpb wrote: »

How about letting the OP decide what is relevant to them?

This thread is turning into an amateur dramatic clubs interpretation of "Entertaining Mr. Sloane"

bk

Victor I'm surprised the GoBE arrived in so late. I've never been on either an Aircoach or GoBE that arrived in more then 20 minutes late and that includes Aircoach with their Urlingford toilet break stop and I normally take peak time services ex-Dublin.

Most have been pretty much on time within 5 minutes give or take.

The number of passengers on GoBE I think is more of an indication that for some reason people still aren't choosing it over Aircoach. The 4pm Aircoach two weeks ago was totally full (and it wasn't a special weekend for any reason). I don't know why, maybe lack of awareness of GoBE or the slightly higher price or perhaps the out of way location at Busaras. I think it might be the location.

You know I find it amusing that people call me a hardcore bus supporter!!

Up till about two years ago I was a big fan of rail (and still am), I only ever took the train to Cork as I thought that the bus was too slow and uncomfortable, which it was.

Then I once took the Citylink bus to Galway for a weekend away and it was an epiphany! I saw how great a very modern comfortable bus on a smooth motorway with a direct, non stop service could be.

And now I have a similar service to Cork and as a regular commuter to Cork, it has been a revolution for me. I can now travel to Cork regularly for a fraction of the cost of the train and at times that suit me (I often take the late night buses back from Cork).

It has had a significant positive impact on my life. I now get to see my family and friends far more frequently. I can pop down to Cork pretty much on an hours notice if I hear there is something interesting going on. It really has been the best thing to happen to intercity public transport in years.

The ironic thing is I'm still a big fan of rail, I think it is absolutely vital for city mass transit and commuter services. I've been a major fan of Dart Underground and Metro North for years as my posting history on this board will show.

The funny thing is that in some ways I've been pushed into coming across as being a hardcore bus fan by the many hardcore rail fans on here. I have seen so much fear, uncertainty and doubt being spread by rail fans on here, claiming that the bus is far less comfortable or slower then it actually is, that I feel like I have to defend it against such attacks.

I wonder if any of these rail fans have actually ever taken any of these new modern coach services as the claims they make about it are no way reflected in the experience I've had with it over the last year. I wonder if they attack it so much as it is such a danger to the thing they love or perhaps the company they work for.

To be honest I wonder if many even ever commute to Cork,Galway,etc. on the train, never mind the bus. I rarely see many of them ever mentioning been on these trains or give feedback on the services and some of the issues they have. I often wonder if they are just fans or employees of rail, but don't actually use these services. Much like the WRC.

I'm not a fan of bus or train. What I am is a fan of is public transport. I see the bigger picture, I don't care if it is a tin box riding on metal or a tin box riding on tarmac. I want to see more people use public transport, I want to see public transport be affordable and frequent and meet the needs of the people.

Dgriff

Thanks for all the replies, even though a lot of them weren't directly replying to my opening post. Actually, there were 3 of us travelling. Me, my wife and our 6 year old daughter. I got a family return for €99. I thought that was a good deal. Our final destination was Cobh. I asked the same guy who gave me the ticket if I could buy the Cork - Cobh trip from him. He said "gimme that ticket back" and printed another ticket making Cobh the final destination, no extra charge.

becost

Kaiser2000 wrote: »

That assumes we were travelling at the same time, plus the risk of having a random stranger in the car for 2 hours!!

Plus I have a very wide taste in music that not everyone might enjoy - everything from 80s pop to classic rock to current-ish chart and some dance stuff.

Sounds like a right old hootrnanny. When are you going down next?

bk

Dgriff wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies, even though a lot of them weren't directly replying to my opening post. Actually, there were 3 of us travelling. Me, my wife and our 6 year old daughter. I got a family return for €99. I thought that was a good deal. Our final destination was Cobh. I asked the same guy who gave me the ticket if I could buy the Cork - Cobh trip from him. He said "gimme that ticket back" and printed another ticket making Cobh the final destination, no extra charge.

That was excellent value so. Specially as you were travelling with your family, being able to share a table was probably nice.

However I do have to question the craziness of Irish Rail, how on one hand it would cost one person €75, yet 4 people can travel for just €99!

foggy_lad

Dgriff wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies, even though a lot of them weren't directly replying to my opening post. Actually, there were 3 of us travelling. Me, my wife and our 6 year old daughter. I got a family return for €99. I thought that was a good deal. Our final destination was Cobh. I asked the same guy who gave me the ticket if I could buy the Cork - Cobh trip from him. He said "gimme that ticket back" and printed another ticket making Cobh the final destination, no extra charge.

That is good value. There is a promotion on at the moment where many family ticket prices are reduced to €99. The normal price of your family ticket would be over €140 to cobh and extra for the luas from the city centre.

Victor

BenShermin wrote: »

As a matter of interest, how did you know the GoBÉ passengers were using BÉ tickets Victor? Any GoBÉ tickets bought on the day from the BÉ ticket office in BusAras would be printed on BÉ ticket roll.

I was sitting in the second row on the coach and could overhear the conversations between the driver, passengers and BÉ inspector. Most of those presenting the wrong tickets appeared to be people who didn't have English as a first language, although one person had a wrong GoBÉ ticket

GoBÉ won't take BÉ tickets, but BÉ will refund people who have just bought a BÉ ticket, presented it to GoBé and show people how to get a GoBÉ ticket.

foggy_lad wrote: »

Would you say that those with bus Éireann tickets had missed the 4pm bus

I don't think so. These people seemed to be arriving in ones and twos after the bulk of people had boarded

foggy_lad wrote: »

do you know if that 4pm bus was full?

I don't know.

foggy_lad wrote: »

Were they allowed on the GoBé service?

Only when the inspector had swapped their tickets for GoBÉ ones

foggy_lad wrote: »

From stories of posters here the aircoach service is rarely late.

Unless it can fly over the traffic from the Red Cow to the M9 junction at Naas, I'm not sure if there are any guarantees on a Friday afternoon.

My experience has been that Aircoach have been 5-10 minutes late on each occassion.

bk wrote: »

Victor I'm surprised the GoBE arrived in so late. I've never been on either an Aircoach or GoBE that arrived in more then 20 minutes late and that includes Aircoach with their Urlingford toilet break stop and I normally take peak time services ex-Dublin.

Friday afternoon traffic with a large number of people who didn't know how to deal with queing traffic.

For example, here: http://binged.it/151t3Zi most drivers were going from the auxiliaary lane on the main carriageway to the right hand lane, whereas if they alternated beteen the two lanes, things would have gone much more smoothly. Then on the N7, lots of people were engaging in unnecessary lane changes and braking.

BenShermin

Victor wrote: »

GoBÉ won't take BÉ tickets, but BÉ will refund people who have just bought a BÉ ticket, presented it to GoBé and show people how to get a GoBÉ ticket.

The funny thing here is that the GoBÉ ticket would actually be cheaper than the BÉ ticket.

bk

Victor, on a Friday I normally get the 5 or 6 ex-Dublin, so maybe traffic is a bit quieter by then then the 4 or 4:30 and so less effected by it.

The slowest I've ever been on is 20 minutes late and the fastest is 15 minutes early. And that often included the Aircoach Urlingford stop, so I assumed GoBE who don't have this stop would be faster. It sounds like confusion over tickets and slower boarding lead to part of the delay.

Jamie2k9

Unless it can fly over the traffic from the Red Cow to the M9 junction at Naas, I'm not sure if there are any guarantees on a Friday afternoon.

My experience has been that Aircoach have been 5-10 minutes late on each occassion.

Wouldn't it be great if Irish Rail used traffic as an excuse for delays as thats what causes most of them but people who use buses seem to think its acceptable for them to be late. Should be a note on the timetable to include this....

bk

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Wouldn't it be great if Irish Rail used traffic as an excuse for delays as thats what causes most of them but people who use buses seem to think its acceptable for them to be late. Should be a note on the timetable to include this....

To be honest I find most to be on time, some are early (up to 15 minutes early), others have been late, but very rarely more then 5 to 10 minutes. On the whole I've been very impressed with how bang on they mostly are.

Having said that I've been on plenty of trains to Cork over the years that were late too. The 5pm ex-Dublin on a Friday that was scheduled for 2 hours 30 minutes never got in on time, always being about 10 minutes late, a few times it was even 20 minutes late.

One horrendous example jumps to mind when the train broke down and we had to wait for well over an hour for a back up engine to come.

So both trains and buses can suffer from delays.

Jamie2k9

bk wrote: »

To be honest I find most to be on time, some are early (up to 15 minutes early), others have been late, but very rarely more then 5 to 10 minutes. On the whole I've been very impressed with how bang on they mostly are.

Having said that I've been on plenty of trains to Cork over the years that were late too. The 5pm ex-Dublin on a Friday that was scheduled for 2 hours 30 minutes never got in on time, always being about 10 minutes late, a few times it was even 20 minutes late.

One horrendous example jumps to mind when the train broke down and we had to wait for well over an hour for a back up engine to come.

So both trains and buses can suffer from delays.

Not sure when you were last on a train from Heuston but very few delays nowdays, only services that are have common delays are Galway but everthing is always on time and if delayed most are less than 10 minutes. Best improvment is inbound in the mornings.

I will agree with you on how badly they handle train failures, most recently this morning on the 10 am to Cork but they are slowly learning how handle it better and quicker.

My main point was to one or two posters on here who go on about how unacceptable a train delay is but not a buse one.

foggy_lad

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Not sure when you were last on a train from Heuston but very few delays nowdays, only services that are have common delays are Galway but everthing is always on time and if delayed most are less than 10 minutes. Best improvment is inbound in the mornings.

I will agree with you on how badly they handle train failures, most recently this morning on the 10 am to Cork but they are slowly learning how handle it better and quicker.

My main point was to one or two posters on here who go on about how unacceptable a train delay is but not a buse one.

Delays of less than ten minutes are not considered delays even though trains don't have traffic to cope with.

Delays of 10minutes or more are a daily occurrence on the trains and are caused by several different reasons some which are outside the company's control but there are many other delays which as you say could be much shorter than this mornings 90minutes if only the company handled things better and made deciscions a bit quicker!

Jamie2k9

foggy_lad wrote: »

Delays of less than ten minutes are not considered delays even though trains don't have traffic to cope with.

Delays of 10minutes or more are a daily occurrence on the trains and are caused by several different reasons some which are outside the company's control but there are many other delays which as you say could be much shorter than this mornings 90minutes if only the company handled things better and made deciscions a bit quicker!

"traffic" dosn't just mean cars on the road and as you don't use the train very often how would you know about these daily delays and BTW that 90 minute tweet yesterday morning was incorrect the delay was shorter.

foggy_lad

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

"traffic" dosn't just mean cars on the road and as you don't use the train very often how would you know about these daily delays and BTW that 90 minute tweet yesterday morning was incorrect the delay was shorter.

Oh I am sorry, I was just going on the latest information from the company. How long was the delay in the end? Did they give out free tea and coffee to passengers? Were passengers still entitled to a refund? were all passengers informed of their entitlement to a full/partial refund?

Jamie2k9

foggy_lad wrote: »

Oh I am sorry, I was just going on the latest information from the company. How long was the delay in the end? Did they give out free tea and coffee to passengers? Were passengers still entitled to a refund? were all passengers informed of their entitlement to a full/partial refund?

Yes passengers were intitled to claim a 50% refund in the end it was around 70 minutes late a big improvment on the last few failures in the same area. Can't say about tea or coffee but I would expect they were given out.

Hilly Bill

Since the op have got their answer, should this thread be locked to stop it going any further off topic?

foggy_lad

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

Yes passengers were intitled to claim a 50% refund in the end it was around 70 minutes late a big improvment on the last few failures in the same area. Can't say about tea or coffee but I would expect they were given out.

Is it only a 50% for an hours delay? I thought it was 100% after an hour. Passengers were entitled to a refund yes but were they informed of this at the time or when they eventually reached their destinations?

bk

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Since the op have got their answer, should this thread be locked to stop it going any further off topic?

Why, it is turning into a relatively interesting discussion that is only slightly off topic of the original post, but actually on topic for the thread title and this forum.

Jamie2k9 you are correct I haven't used the train in a year, so I do hope that with the new schedule, they are actually hitting the 2h30m. The old 5pm 2h30m was a joke, in reality it never hit that time.

I agree that of course their can be delays to buses too, I myself have pointed these out of the last year here on this forum, it is true of all forms of transport and as a regular public transport user you have to take this into consideration.

I will say however that I've been impressed with generally how on time the bus has been. I have suffered less delays then I had typically suffered on the train and certainly haven't suffered any awful more then 1 hour delays that seemed to happen too frequently on the train.