Western Rail Corridor (Galway-Limerick section)

wonder88

Took a trip to Limerick 2 weeks ago using the promotional fare of 15e return. Approx 20 on the train when we departed Galway and hardly anyone got on till Ennis. There is good scenery on the route, but the train windows on the journey down were dirty and it took away from the enjoyment of the trip. However with the sun out and clean/clear windows on the return leg I can see this service being very attractive to tourists and leisure travelers.

Kumsheen

wonder88 wrote: »

Took a trip to Limerick 2 weeks ago using the promotional fare of 15e return. Approx 20 on the train when we departed Galway and hardly anyone got on till Ennis. There is good scenery on the route, but the train windows on the journey down were dirty and it took away from the enjoyment of the trip. However with the sun out and clean/clear windows on the return leg I can see this service being very attractive to tourists and leisure travelers.

I'll bet if they replaced that boring old commuter train with a steam engine, passenger numbers would skyrocket.
Maybe they should give the line over to the preservation societies to play with.

corktina

there is nothing left to preserve, all the old stock is scrapped or given to the RPSI who operate out of the North. No volunteers available, so you'd have to pay staff, costs would escalate...it'snot that simple.

Line has been open for ages, it hasn't proved popular with Tourists yet, not even them on free passes.

eastwest

wonder88 wrote: »

Took a trip to Limerick 2 weeks ago using the promotional fare of 15e return. Approx 20 on the train when we departed Galway and hardly anyone got on till Ennis. There is good scenery on the route, but the train windows on the journey down were dirty and it took away from the enjoyment of the trip. However with the sun out and clean/clear windows on the return leg I can see this service being very attractive to tourists and leisure travelers.

20 passengers equals small bus, not medium sized train. Small bus equals much faster.
Eventually, the penny will drop with the decision-makers.

corktina

bear in mind that.s 20 on the Galway to Athenry section which was already there

wonder88

Nearly all of the 20 stayed on till Limerick. I would estimate 35 got off at Galway on return trip. Speed also is not the deciding factor for those who are on holiday and I think this line is an excellent way to experience the Irish countryside. However some sections of the line has been spoiled by litter and rubbish: on way into Limerick and close to Gort. This could be a difficult problem to sort out.

corktina

Speed is the very factor that is important to all those who take the coach or use the motorway...a good few more than use the rail service I'd say (and cheaper)

sonnyblack

Stumbled across the following article on Irish Railway News website. Not relevant to disused line but might be of interest.

Not on Iarnrod Eireann latest news on their website strangely enough. Can't understand why these improvements in relation to online booking and fares weren't in place from the start of the service. It'll be hard to judge much more until the entire 2014 figures are evaluated I guess.

http://irnirishrailwaynews.yuku.com/topic/1752/Re-Galway-Limerick-Route?page=-1#.UvEWB2J_vhc


Passenger numbers up 38% on Galway- Limerick line
Online booking and discount fares leads to 38% increase in numbers travelling on Limerick to Galway line

Iarnród Éireann has reported that passenger numbers travelling on the Limerick to Galway line have received a boost since the introduction of online booking on the route at the beginning of December.

Excluding commuter business between Ennis and Limerick, and between Athenry and Galway, the numbers travelling between the two cities or to and from stations on the new section of line have increased byover 38% since the start of December, when compared to the same period 12 months previously. Adult fares of €5.99 each way for online booking on irishrail.ie (€2.99 each way for children) have proven popular with people travelling for leisure, shopping and business.

A spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said “we’re very pleased to see this customer reaction to the introduction of online fares for the Limerick-Galway route. In the run-up to Christmas, we were confident that the ease of booking online and the excellent value fare of €5.99 each way would attract people to the service. However, it’s very encouraging to see that this increase is being maintained and indeed is accelerating into the New Year.”

The spokesperson continued “it is no secret that passenger numbers on the new section of route have been weak to date, and we are building from that position. However, this is a positive response, and we will continue to promote the service throughout 2014, and raise awareness of what is a comfortable, convenient, reliable and good value way to travel between Limerick and Galway, and to new stations such as Gort, Ardrahan and Craughwell.”

The service is also being promoted through:

- Free car parking at Gort, Ardrahan and Craughwell

- Promotion of Taxsaver tickets, giving commuters full tax relief on the cost of monthly and annual season tickets purchased through employers

- Group travel promotions, including with schools



Numbers travelling on the route for the period since the beginning of December are (does not include commuter journeys Ennis/Limerick and Athenry/Galway):

Weeks 49-52, 2013: 2,833 journeys (2012:2,175)

Weeks 1-4, 2014: 2,872 journeys (2012: 1,947)

Total Wk 49 2013 to Wk 4 2014: 5,705 journeys (Wk 49 2012-Wk 4 2013: 4,122)

corktina

that's good. Does the total revenue exceed what it was before the fares were reduced though?

edit...you've posted in the wrong thread, maybe you could ask a Mod to move it?

westtip

sonnyblack wrote: »

Numbers travelling on the route for the period since the beginning of December are (does not include commuter journeys Ennis/Limerick and Athenry/Galway):

Weeks 49-52, 2013: 2,833 journeys (2012:2,175)

Weeks 1-4, 2014: 2,872 journeys (2012: 1,947)

Total Wk 49 2013 to Wk 4 2014: 5,705 journeys (Wk 49 2012-Wk 4 2013: 4,122)

7 up and down trains mon-fri =70
5 on saturday and 4 on sunday = 18
78 per week x 4 weekly periods quoted = 312 trains every 4 weeks

Weeks 49-52, 2013: 2,833 journeys (2012:2,175) = 9.08 passengers per train
Weeks 1-4, 2014: 2,872 journeys (2012: 1,947) = 9.20 passengers per train
Total Wk 49 2013 to Wk 4 2014: 5,705 journeys (Wk 49 2012-Wk 4 2013: 4,122) is an 8 week period so double the number of trains = 9.14 passengers per train

Rejoice Rejoice Fares slashed and we have one more person per train. Rejoice Rejoice - Lets spend another billion on a train line to Claremorris - it so clearly the saviour of the west Rejoice Rejoice.

look folks it is good news it is being used more but lets all get a grip on ourselves. a 38% increase on diddly squat is in fact diddly squat.......



The real story here is Despite cutting fares and introducing on line ticketing both demanded as essential to increase numbers on route, The Western Rail corridor is still carrying an average of less than ten passengers per train, up by an average of 8 passengers per train this time last year to 9 passengers per train.

I can read the press release now: Huge increase in Western Rail corridor usage, at this rate we expect to be carrying 15 passengers per train by the turn of the decade this is proof that this vital piece of national infrastructure had a latent demand which we always predicted.....Could someone put them out of their misery please????

the post on the numbers may have been in the wrong thread but is a rude wake up cal as to why so many of us are so adamantly arguing that no further wastage of tax payers money can be tolerated on the disused engineering siding and officially closed section north of Claremorris...Its one of those reality check moments.

corktina

corktina wrote: »

that's good. Does the total revenue exceed what it was before the fares were reduced though?

edit...you've posted in the wrong thread, maybe you could ask a Mod to move it?

ah my mistake, with now 9 passengers per train, it's probably posted in the right place, it's ALMOST disused.

relaxed

westtip wrote: »

7 up and down trains mon-fri =70
5 on saturday and 4 on sunday = 18
78 per week x 4 weekly periods quoted = 312 trains every 4 weeks

Weeks 49-52, 2013: 2,833 journeys (2012:2,175) = 9.08 passengers per train
Weeks 1-4, 2014: 2,872 journeys (2012: 1,947) = 9.20 passengers per train
Total Wk 49 2013 to Wk 4 2014: 5,705 journeys (Wk 49 2012-Wk 4 2013: 4,122) is an 8 week period so double the number of trains = 9.14 passengers per train

Rejoice Rejoice Fares slashed and we have one more person per train. Rejoice Rejoice - Lets spend another billion on a train line to Claremorris - it so clearly the saviour of the west Rejoice Rejoice.

look folks it is good news it is being used more but lets all get a grip on ourselves. a 38% increase on diddly squat is in fact diddly squat.......



The real story here is Despite cutting fares and introducing on line ticketing both demanded as essential to increase numbers on route, The Western Rail corridor is still carrying an average of less than ten passengers per train, up by an average of 8 passengers per train this time last year to 9 passengers per train.

I can read the press release now: Huge increase in Western Rail corridor usage, at this rate we expect to be carrying 15 passengers per train by the turn of the decade this is proof that this vital piece of national infrastructure had a latent demand which we always predicted.....Could someone put them out of their misery please????

the post on the numbers may have been in the wrong thread but is a rude wake up cal as to why so many of us are so adamantly arguing that no further wastage of tax payers money can be tolerated on the disused engineering siding and officially closed section north of Claremorris...Its one of those reality check moments.

Is it not 5 up trains and 4 down trains Monday - Saturday and 4 each way Sunday?

eastwest

relaxed wrote: »

Is it not 5 up trains and 4 down trains Monday - Saturday and 4 each way Sunday?

Diddly-squat and a bit so.

westtip

relaxed wrote: »

Is it not 5 up trains and 4 down trains Monday - Saturday and 4 each way Sunday?

Indeed slight error its 7 up and 5 down monday to friday = 12 according to IE timetable, I think I just looked, up one way and doubled the numbers, so maybe it works out at 9.5 passengers a month, either way it's not worth losing sleep over, saturday is same time table and sunday is 4 up 4 down so the total is 12x6 = 12x6 = 72 plus 8 on sunday - hopefully I have read that right = 80= 320 for every 4 week period, which is actually more than I said!!!! what the hell it's a pretty pathetic in terms of total average numbers not worth losing sleep over!

corktina

well.I suppose the extra 1 and a half passenger is actually paying his fare.

westtip

corktina wrote: »

well.I suppose the extra 1 and a half passenger is actually paying his fare.

Indeed an extra one and a half €5.99 (web based price fare - lowest fare available) or so per train running*, at this rate the route will be so profitable it will be floated off by IE as a nice little earner, talking of floating has there been any more flooding on the line this year with all the rain there has been?

REVISED THESE FIGURES AS I HAD MISREAD THE TIMETABLE! ITS 62 TRAINS A WEEK NOT 80 SORRY!

* whoops forgot with the reductions in fares on the offers, it means the 8 regulars per train are paying less, assuming they are getting the best fare possible, I guess the promotion price is leading to more losses! If the previous fare was a tenner each way - that was €80 per train - with the fare reduced to €5.99 - presuming all fares are at the promotional price, that is 9.5 passengers x €5.99 = €57 per train gross revenue! = €23 per train less than when the fare was €10. Revenue "loss" on a per week basis = 62x23= losing an extra €1426 per week which comes in at the princely sum of losing an extra €74,152 per year, to pay for the price promotion to get one and a half extra passengers per train

I know this is all back of envelope stuff and there will be a mix of fares paid by different passengers, but it shows the effect of lowering fares and not getting the desired growth in turnover that price promotions are supposed to generate. Price promotion simply has to generate increased turnover to wipe its face. Admittedly, some price promotions are about recruiting new brand loyalty, so I won't be too critical - the acid test of any price promotion is when the promotional price is lifted will the consumers stay. That is yet to be proven.

Hey ho. Sure once you are losing millions a year what does a few extra Euro mean? Well for the extra near €100,000 the WRC is now losing due to price promotions, The Sligo Mayo Greenway campaign has estimated you could provide 4 km of Greenway on the section from Claremorris to Collooney. Where would the money be better spent? Well in New Zealand it has been estimated every km of a 200 km greenway generates one full time equivalent job, and I am dam sure the 42 km Great Western Greenway has generated at least 42 jobs in the area it runs through - so here ends this mornings lesson in simple economics!!! So this price promotion is costing 4 job creating opportunities in East Sligo and East Mayo...It all depends on which way you look at things doesn't it????

relaxed

westtip wrote: »

Indeed slight error its 7 up and 5 down monday to friday = 12 according to IE timetable, I think I just looked, up one way and doubled the numbers, so maybe it works out at 9.5 passengers a month, either way it's not worth losing sleep over, saturday is same time table and sunday is 4 up 4 down so the total is 12x6 = 12x6 = 72 plus 8 on sunday - hopefully I have read that right = 80= 320 for every 4 week period, which is actually more than I said!!!! what the hell it's a pretty pathetic in terms of total average numbers not worth losing sleep over!

Its 5 up and 4 down trains a day with 4 each way on Sunday.

Also do those numbers include journeys like Ennis-Athlone, Sixmilebridge-Gort, Athenry-Cork etc.? I assume not.

I too would like to know how things are going with the flooding this year.

corktina

I would assume that they include every passenger travelling over the line irrespective of where their journey starts or finishes.

If the figures were solely for passengers booking between Athenry and Ennis , I would expect the total to be as near zero as make no difference.

westtip

relaxed wrote: »

Its 5 up and 4 down trains a day with 4 each way on Sunday.

Also do those numbers include journeys like Ennis-Athlone, Sixmilebridge-Gort, Athenry-Cork etc.? I assume not.

I too would like to know how things are going with the flooding this year.

Yep I see what you mean. When you tap in Ennis- Athenry in the irish rail timetable it gives you two additional options to the direct line on two trains that leave at 10.00 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon that involve 3 changes! from Ennis to Athenry! via Limerick Junction/Portlaoise and Port arlington - Can you believe they put this up as an option My eyes only saw the 7 departures! The three change option take 5 hrs 22 and 4 hrs 34 mins respectively! Someone needs to do some programming on the timetable query tool to get rid of these options!

Yes. so I stand corrected on the number of trains up and down the line, its 62 a week not 80 so my figures are slightly different based on the new arithmetic. I have amended my original post with the back of the envelope calculations - sorry about that folks - it means the extra loss per annum due to price promotions is only about €75,000 a year.

relaxed

westtip wrote: »

Yep I see what you mean. When you tap in Ennis- Athenry in the irish rail timetable it gives you two additional options to the direct line on two trains that leave at 10.00 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon that involve 3 changes! from Ennis to Athenry! via Limerick Junction/Portlaoise and Port arlington - Can you believe they put this up as an option My eyes only saw the 7 departures! The three change option take 5 hrs 22 and 4 hrs 34 mins respectively! Someone needs to do some programming on the timetable query tool to get rid of these options!

Yes. so I stand corrected on the number of trains up and down the line, so my figures are slightly different based on the new arithmetic. Will look at it again - but hey ho I don't think it really makes that much difference.

If you type in Ennis-Athlone the cheapest fare involves one change at Athenry, the most expensive fare involves about 4 changes going around by Portarlington and Limerick junction. Daft!

westtip

relaxed wrote: »

If you type in Ennis-Athlone the cheapest fare involves one change at Athenry, the most expensive fare involves about 4 changes going around by Portarlington and Limerick junction. Daft!

you are paying for the extra time on the train when you have your home heating oil turned off.......Apparently it is not uncommon for pensioners to go up and down to dublin on the train for the day with the flask of coffee and sarnies to avail of the free heating, fair play to them, but we live in strange times.

relaxed

westtip wrote: »

you are paying for the extra time on the train when you have your home heating oil turned off.......Apparently it is not uncommon for pensioners to go up and down to dublin on the train for the day with the flask of coffee and sarnies to avail of the free heating, fair play to them, but we live in strange times.

Would it not be cheaper to run the train for free at this stage. The savings on ticket inspector staff, security for the vending machines, maintenance of the machines etc. surely costs more than the fares being collected?

eastwest

relaxed wrote: »

Would it not be cheaper to run the train for free at this stage. The savings on ticket inspector staff, security for the vending machines, maintenance of the machines etc. surely costs more than the fares being collected?

Or to redeploy the rolling stick elsewhere and replace the train with a minibus?
A twenty-seater bus would provide a better service and would save the taxpayer a considerable amount of money annually. What's not to like?

Markcheese

eastwest wrote: »

Or to redeploy the rolling stick elsewhere and replace the train with a minibus?
A twenty-seater bus would provide a better service and would save the taxpayer a considerable amount of money annually. What's not to like?

If they had anywhere better to redeploy the stock and staff ... ??

corktina

there we have the problem with the Public Sector. If the staff are redundant in the real world, they get laid off, In Irish Rail and the like, they have jobs for life even if they have nothing much to do

westtip

corktina wrote: »

there we have the problem with the Public Sector. If the staff are redundant in the real world, they get laid off, In Irish Rail and the like, they have jobs for life even if they have nothing much to do

Agreed but we are probably straying a bit off topic here! There are plenty of bash the public sector threads....I do agree with you Corky, but coming back on line as it were, just to remind folk that want to - there is only just over a week left to make re-submissions on draft county development plan re the Velo rail idea versus the greenway idea to protect the route. Anyone with an interest knows the arguments by now so I won't teach granny to suck eggs, the email address has been posted up before and some thoughts are on the SMG Facebook page, but it is important that Mayo coco are made to sit up and think; of course we all know the outcome will be continued resistance in the council but that is to be expected.....

Victor

westtip wrote: »

you are paying for the extra time on the train when you have your home heating oil turned off.......Apparently it is not uncommon for pensioners to go up and down to dublin on the train for the day with the flask of coffee and sarnies to avail of the free heating, fair play to them, but we live in strange times.

While there may be individuals that do this, it is probably unfair to characterise all pensioners like this

Moderator

---

relaxed wrote: »

If you type in Ennis-Athlone the cheapest fare involves one change at Athenry, the most expensive fare involves about 4 changes going around by Portarlington and Limerick junction. Daft!

That is understandable, as one is entitled to get off en route on intercity trips. However, who wants a 4-5 hour trip to get to the destination 30 minutes earlier?

monument

10-20 posts moved to Western Railway Corridor (Galway-Limerick section). And yet another old WRC thread locked.

There can only be two! Two threads to rule them all!

Someday it will be only one thread when ever the greenway or railway arguments win out...

yaledo

Looking forward to trying this service for the first time since they altered the schedule. Thanks for the info about the special offer - €13.98 return sounds decent. Looking forward to giving it a try. I drive several days a week between Galway and Limerick. I'll have to leave home 1h20 earlier, and I won't get home until 1h20 minutes later than when I go by car - but at least I can sleep/read/chill out on the train instead of driving.

I went ahead & booked for tomorrow - spent a whole 20 minutes on irishrail.ie trying to find & read a timetable & book... never saw any mention of the fact that the line is closed between Ennis and Limerick due to flooding, with a bus transfer in operation.

I don't hate bus transfers - I just want to give myself a good chance of a positive experience my first time back on this train. So I phoned customer service, they promised me a full refund without too much delay.

Thanks to all who have contributed information about this line/service. Don't think I would have heard of the €13.98 return otherwise.

Jamie2k9

I went ahead & booked for tomorrow - spent a whole 20 minutes on irishrail.ie trying to find & read a timetable & book... never saw any mention of the fact that the line is closed between Ennis and Limerick due to flooding, with a bus transfer in operation.

It does under the big heading News and Service Updates