Irish Rail - An unsatisfactory service

MrPoker

Hi

Im just posting this thread to voice my dissatisfaction with the quality of service from Irish rail. Up until 6 months ago I was not a rail user but after losing my company parking space I have commuted via the Maynooth line since.

Since then I have had to endure numerous delays from either signal faults or tech problems with the trains on many occasions. Just off the top of my head 3 days on the 10, 11 and 12th of June there were significant delays in the morning on the Maynooth line, two signal faults and one mechanical problem with a train which resulted in my being late for work 3 days in a row. On the way home on one of the mentioned days there was a problem with signals again in Clonsilla. Actually Clonsilla seems to have a lot of issues now that I think of it.

This morning there were more issues on the Maynooth line with signals resulting in long delays and people being told to get the bus. The dart failed at Killester I believe on the northern line and there were significant delays on the southern line with some problems around Bray. I know there were thunderstorms last night but is Irish rails infrastructure and systems so bad that all 3 lines fail?

I find all of the above unacceptable to be honest and there are many other instances which I have neglected to mention. After price hikes in the last year the quality of service on the Maynooth line and Dublin area seems to be in decline. Wifi is poor, information is slow and most of all tech and mechanical problems are commonplace and almost expected weekly.

Anybody else feel the same? Im sure there are many.

n97 mini

Maynooth line used to be called the Calcutta Express. It was much worse that it currently is, with chronic overcrowding (I often travelled in in the guard's van, climbing in and out of the ditch!) and huge gaps in the timetable (no trains between 17:45 and 21:00!).

Not as bad as it was, though it's still a third class cousin to the DART, 2nd the Northern line, with only the Kildare commuter line being worse in terms of service levels.

Have you looked at bus services? For example Celbridge has a far better and quicker Bus Eireann service (120, 123) than the train service. You don't say where on the Maynooth route you are.

foggy_lad

n97 mini wrote: »

Maynooth line used to be called the Calcutta Express. It was much worse that it currently is, with chronic overcrowding (I often travelled in in the guard's van, climbing in and out of the ditch!) and huge gaps in the timetable (no trains between 17:45 and 21:00!).

Not as bad as it was, though it's still a third class cousin to the DART, 2nd the Northern line, with only the Kildare commuter line being worse in terms of service levels.

Have you looked at bus services? For example Celbridge has a far better and quicker Bus Eireann service (120, 123) than the train service. You don't say where on the Maynooth route you are.

unfortunately there is only one 120 and one 123 which pick up in Celbridge to get people into St Stephen's green before 9am but there is always the 66x and 67x which may be of some use.

n97 mini

foggy_lad wrote: »

unfortunately there is only one 120 and one 123 which pick up in Celbridge to get people into St Stephen's green before 9am but there is always the 66x and 67x which may be of some use.

As the OP is on the Maynooth line the 120 and 123 are not options. I was only giving them as examples of how good a bus service can be.

MrPoker

n97 mini wrote: »

Maynooth line used to be called the Calcutta Express. It was much worse that it currently is, with chronic overcrowding (I often travelled in in the guard's van, climbing in and out of the ditch!) and huge gaps in the timetable (no trains between 17:45 and 21:00!).

Not as bad as it was, though it's still a third class cousin to the DART, 2nd the Northern line, with only the Kildare commuter line being worse in terms of service levels.

Have you looked at bus services? For example Celbridge has a far better and quicker Bus Eireann service (120, 123) than the train service. You don't say where on the Maynooth route you are.

Im at Leixlip Confey and Pearse would be most convenient for my workplace. Dublin bus is another option but I find the train far quicker when operating on time. Its very frustrating to be fair and many of my friends are quite annoyed with the service lately.

n97 mini

MrPoker wrote: »

Im at Leixlip Confey and Pearse would be most convenient for my workplace. Dublin bus is another option but I find the train far quicker when operating on time. Its very frustrating to be fair and many of my friends are quite annoyed with the service lately.

Ok, the only buses available are the 66A/X. Have you tried the X?

Hilly Bill

MrPoker wrote: »

Hi

Im just posting this thread to voice my dissatisfaction with the quality of service from Irish rail. Up until 6 months ago I was not a rail user but after losing my company parking space I have commuted via the Maynooth line since.

Since then I have had to endure numerous delays from either signal faults or tech problems with the trains on many occasions. Just off the top of my head 3 days on the 10, 11 and 12th of June there were significant delays in the morning on the Maynooth line, two signal faults and one mechanical problem with a train which resulted in my being late for work 3 days in a row. On the way home on one of the mentioned days there was a problem with signals again in Clonsilla. Actually Clonsilla seems to have a lot of issues now that I think of it.

This morning there were more issues on the Maynooth line with signals resulting in long delays and people being told to get the bus. The dart failed at Killester I believe on the northern line and there were significant delays on the southern line with some problems around Bray. I know there were thunderstorms last night but is Irish rails infrastructure and systems so bad that all 3 lines fail?

I find all of the above unacceptable to be honest and there are many other instances which I have neglected to mention. After price hikes in the last year the quality of service on the Maynooth line and Dublin area seems to be in decline. Wifi is poor, information is slow and most of all tech and mechanical problems are commonplace and almost expected weekly.

Anybody else feel the same? Im sure there are many.

Have you sent this to Irish Rail? Have you made your concerns known to them?

n97 mini

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Have you sent this to Irish Rail? Have you made your concerns known to them?

Probably better off sending it to his/her local representatives, speaking from personal experience.

Hilly Bill

n97 mini wrote: »

Probably better off sending it to his/her local representatives, speaking from personal experience.

Not unless they are reps for Irish Rail. Irish Rail themselves are the first port of call for any complaints, then anywhere else of your choosing .

dowlingm

Would I be right in saying the Clonsilla area signalling is not tied into the rest of the north-of-Phoenix Park system but some sort of standalone setup?

n97 mini

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Not unless they are reps for Irish Rail. Irish Rail themselves are the first port of call for any complaints, then anywhere else of your choosing .

A TD complaining is complaining on behalf of their constituency, which carries more weight. Personally, I already said I've better experience going via my local representatives after having tried both routes.

Dravokivich

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Not unless they are reps for Irish Rail. Irish Rail themselves are the first port of call for any complaints, then anywhere else of your choosing .

If they took passengers seriously, they wouldn't leave'em locked up on trains for upto an hour at a time, when they know the trains aren't able to run pass faulty points, before the passengers even got onto the trains.

The amount of times I've been stuck on'em coming into Clonsilla in both directions is unreal.

Hilly Bill

Dravokivich wrote: »

If they took passengers seriously, they wouldn't leave'em locked up on trains for upto an hour at a time, when they know the trains aren't able to run pass faulty points, before the passengers even got onto the trains.

The amount of times I've been stuck on'em coming into Clonsilla in both directions is unreal.

You must be very unlucky. I use the route a lot and have never been delayed.

Hilly Bill

n97 mini wrote: »

A TD complaining is complaining on behalf of their constituency, which carries more weight. Personally, I already said I've better experience going via my local representatives after having tried both routes.

Better experience in which way?

Dravokivich

Hilly Bill wrote: »

You must be very unlucky. I use the route a lot and have never been delayed.

happened yesterday morning and a lot in June.

TheBandicoot

dowlingm wrote: »

Would I be right in saying the Clonsilla area signalling is not tied into the rest of the north-of-Phoenix Park system but some sort of standalone setup?

No, you wouldn't. As I understand it, everywhere from a point just west of Glasnevin junction to I think Enfield is controlled from a signal room in a hut behind Clonsilla level crossing, and the points west and east of that region are CTC.

The problems with Clonsilla I think stem from the fact it is the most complex piece of trackwork on the line(which is pathetic in its own right for a built up city like Dublin). Between Glasnevin and Clonsilla, there is nothing but plain track. It's only at Clonsilla where you have two crossovers, a siding, double slip junction and a bay platform hanging off. I'm not aware of any other points between Clonsilla and Maynooth, and Maynooth just has two crossovers and a couple of sidings.

Also, as others have said, I travel on the line every weekday and frequently enough on weekends and can't remember ever having a major problem. I was only 10 minutes delayed on the day OP refers to and for me that was no problem.

thebman

Clonsilla signals were failing regularly when I first started commuting in 2006. Drive to work outside Dublin but this problem isn't new.

Irish rail obviously know about it since it stops their trains but don't care.

They either can't afford to fix it or enjoy pissing off their customers too much to fix it.

Dravokivich

TheBandicoot wrote: »

Also, as others have said, I travel on the line every weekday and frequently enough on weekends and can't remember ever having a major problem. I was only 10 minutes delayed on the day OP refers to and for me that was no problem.

The problem is, if you are on a train, they won't let you off between stations. I'm guessing you are also going with the rush hour traffic? IE into town in the mornings, out of town in the evening? They prioritise that over the other way around. That's why I get stuck before/after Clonsilla whenever there's a problem.

GLaDOS

Took two hours to get as far as Coolmine from Pearse yesterday morning, at which point I gave up and got a train home

TheBandicoot

Dravokivich wrote: »

The problem is, if you are on a train, they won't let you off between stations. I'm guessing you are also going with the rush hour traffic? IE into town in the mornings, out of town in the evening? They prioritise that over the other way around. That's why I get stuck before/after Clonsilla whenever there's a problem.

Yes, I am going in the more popular directions. I understand your frustration, it should probably be possible to manually arrange for trains to stop at stations instead of pulling all the way up to the section behind the section closed by the fault. Of course there are always edge cases when all platforms are occupied, or where a train was already mid section when the fault happened. I don't think you can realistically be expected to be allowed get off the train though in those situations. Only if the situation is persisting for more than an hour I guess, and then you have to factor in the time to get staff to the area to help disembark people. But IE don't really have proper planning in place and guidelines like that to follow, so everything is kind of done case-by-case.

Dravokivich

TheBandicoot wrote: »

Yes, I am going in the more popular directions. I understand your frustration, it should probably be possible to manually arrange for trains to stop at stations instead of pulling all the way up to the section behind the section closed by the fault. Of course there are always edge cases when all platforms are occupied, or where a train was already mid section when the fault happened. I don't think you can realistically be expected to be allowed get off the train though in those situations. Only if the situation is persisting for more than an hour I guess, and then you have to factor in the time to get staff to the area to help disembark people. But IE don't really have proper planning in place and guidelines like that to follow, so everything is kind of done case-by-case.

My point earlier, was not to carry passengers up to where they know those passengers would be left sitting for a prolonged period of time.

Hilly Bill

Dravokivich wrote: »

happened yesterday morning and a lot in June.

Didnt dispute that it happened.

Hilly Bill

thebman wrote: »

Clonsilla signals were failing regularly when I first started commuting in 2006. Drive to work outside Dublin but this problem isn't new.

Irish rail obviously know about it since it stops their trains but don't care.

They either can't afford to fix it or enjoy pissing off their customers too much to fix it.

Seriously??

Hilly Bill

Dravokivich wrote: »

My point earlier, was not to carry passengers up to where they know those passengers would be left sitting for a prolonged period of time.

That would cause more disruption for more passengers.

Dravokivich

Hilly Bill wrote: »

That would cause more disruption for more passengers.

I'd have already been disrupted. I'd rather be off finding another way to get to where I'm going, then stuck on a train for a long period of time. They often get quite hot and uncomfortable to be inside when left idle too.

Hilly Bill

Dravokivich wrote: »

I'd have already been disrupted. I'd rather be off finding another way to get to where I'm going, then stuck on a train for a long period of time. They often get quite hot and uncomfortable to be inside when left idle too.

It wouldnt be just that train that would be disrupted.

end of the road

its unfortunate being stuck on a train for a long time going no where but irish rail aren't going to detrain people unless its an emergency, and nor should they be expected to when its only a train delay

n97 mini

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Better experience in which way?

Sent complaint to IE, ignored. Sent same complaint to local TD two months later, who sent it to IE on headed paper, written answer within a week and a promise to try to resolve the issue.

TheBandicoot

What was the complaint, out of interest?

n97 mini

I was delayed for about 30 minutes last week in Broombridge; I was heading for Connolly. Being honest I would have preferred to be stuck between stations rather than being stuck in Broombridge.

Dravokivich

You are miss reading what I said. I feel I should not have been allowed on that train in the first place. Each instance Irish Rail knew well in advance before hand that the train wasn't going to go further than 1 stop, or even make the next stop.

Yesterday in particular, they made a point of stating on their twitter feed that they were warning passengers from 6:30 not to use the trains. Not everyone uses twitter. There were people getting on in Coolmine at 7:30, who were stuck next to Clonsilla right before the station for an hour afterwards.

dd972

It could be their recruitment policy at fault OP, more endogenous than Rathkeale. :pac: