Reduced Capacity on Peak service

end of the road

considering some routes only get ICRS part of the time when they should be getting them all the time + routes suffering from capacity issues we really don't seem to have enough of them

Hilly Bill

"Took the 15.10 to Waterford 4 coaches, which was over crowded and staff took the step to announce all online reservations were no longer valid 10 minutes before departure"
Jamie
I would love to know who gave that order. Your online reservation is valid regardless how busy the service is . If you havent already then email that to Irish Rail. You might get the standard reply but it will be logged and looked into.

Jamie2k9

Hilly Bill wrote: »

"Took the 15.10 to Waterford 4 coaches, which was over crowded and staff took the step to announce all online reservations were no longer valid 10 minutes before departure"
Jamie
I would love to know who gave that order. Your online reservation is valid regardless how busy the service is . If you havent already then email that to Irish Rail. You might get the standard reply but it will be logged and looked into.

I'm sure IE will be well aware as there was plenty of staff at the barriers and on the platform looking on so they would of reported the loads.

The reasons it was done was to allow people get on the train however it didn't exactly work as expected as the there was a handful of seats not taken at that point and people kept arriving.

BH weekend capacity planning should always be based on the previous BH year, something IE don't bother doing.

Jem72

Although not strictly a capacity issue, Irish Rail appear to be trying to get out of offering any service towards Sligo at all on the afternoons of bank holiday Sundays. A couple of years back, they started cancelling the 1600 which was fair enough. But they are now running the 1600 and cancelling the 1505 and the 1705.

I was on the 1705 on Saturday and it was packed with people who had been visiting Bloom which is on until Monday and Irish Rail see fit to have two three-hour gaps in service in the afternoon.

The lack of capacity planning is just pathetic. 10 years ago, there used to be an extra down train on the Sligo line on a Friday. Now they have added service to the point where the extra train runs all week, but there is a lot more traffic now and everything is always jammed on a Friday. Yet there are trains lying idle all over the place because they are cutting costs by leaving trains to sit for a few months when major maintenance is due. The Sligo line could easily absorb an extra 4 or 6 cars on a Friday afternoon, but Irish Rail would rather drive all the customers away but charging top dollar for people to stand for 2 hours. People aren't idiots. They either stop travelling or find another way home.

Apparently cutting costs is far more important than trying to increase revenue by offering more seats at busy periods.

Emme

Yesterday the 17.35 Heuston to Waterford (normally 6 well filled cars) was 4 standard cars and one premier car. The premier car had a notice on the window that you have to pay €12.50 extra to sit in it. The train was jammed with people standing in the aisles between seats as well as in the corridors. It was only bearable once it got past Athy.

I notice that the trains are really dirty and smelly of late. The staff do their best to clean up papers, coffee cups etc. but the seats are stained from food and goodness knows what else. On a crowded train the smell of food can be nauseating and you can smell somebody opening a bag of crisps at the other end of the carriage. A certain fast food outlet at Heuston Station sells a very popular dish that smells like it has been eaten before. It is not a good idea to bring food like this onto crowded trains. All the food this outlet sells is very messy and I'd say a good lot of it ends up ingrained in the upholstery of train seats.

If Iarnrod Eireann want to continue their policy of jamming more passengers into trains than the laws of physics permit it would be a good idea if passengers were not allowed to bring food and drink onto trains. This would make the train slightly less stuffy and a little more bearable. Abolish the food cart. It either isn't able to get through the train or it hinders people getting on and off the train.

Captain Chaos

Basically bring back loco hauled stock as multiple units are not flexible to cater to demand at short notice. You either have too much or too little capacity with multiple units but coaching stock can be custom tailored up to departure, or at least that used to be the way. All for cost cutting and progress.

Takes off rose tinted glasses.

Jamie2k9

Emme wrote: »

Yesterday the 17.35 Heuston to Waterford (normally 6 well filled cars) was 4 standard cars and one premier car. The premier car had a notice on the window that you have to pay €12.50 extra to sit in it. The train was jammed with people standing in the aisles between seats as well as in the corridors. It was only bearable once it got past Athy.

I notice that the trains are really dirty of late. The staff do their best to clean up papers, coffee cups etc. but the seats are stained from food and goodness knows what else. On a crowded train the smell of food can be nauseating and you can smell somebody opening a bag of crisps at the other end of the carriage. A certain fast food outlet at Heuston Station sells a very popular dish that smells like it has been eaten before. It is not a good idea to bring food like this onto crowded trains. All the food this outlet sells is very messy and I'd say a good lot of it ends up ingrained in the upholstery of train seats.

If Iarnrod Eireann want to continue their policy of jamming more passengers into trains than the laws of physics permit it would be a good idea if passengers were not allowed to bring food and drink onto trains. This would make the train slightly less stuffy and a little more bearable. Abolish the food cart. It either isn't able to get through the train or it hinders people getting on and off the train.

It's a little strange as it only appears to be a once off, they even updated the website for this. First Class should of being available as it was not scheduled.

Emme

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

It's a little strange as it only appears to be a once off, they even updated the website for this. First Class should of being available as it was not scheduled.

First Class WAS available along with only FOUR standard class cars on a train which is normally SIX standard class cars. So the equivalent of two cars full of passengers were squeezed in between the four standard class cars and also in the aisles in between the seats.

circular flexing

Emme wrote: »

First Class WAS available along with only FOUR standard class cars on a train which is normally SIX standard class cars. So the equivalent of two cars full of passengers were squeezed in between the four standard class cars and also in the aisles in between the seats.

I think Jamie2k9's point was that the 1735 isn't scheduled to have first class and the first class carriage should have been opened. I guess the €12.50 sign was left over from a previous service.

foggy_lad

Emme wrote: »

First Class WAS available along with only FOUR standard class cars on a train which is normally SIX standard class cars. So the equivalent of two cars full of passengers were squeezed in between the four standard class cars and also in the aisles in between the seats.

Was it the 5.35pm service or the 6.35pm service from Heuston? only the 10.15am amd 6.35pm train has a first class carriage so any passsenger may enter and sit in any other first class carriage on other services.

http://www.irishrail.ie/media/04-dublinwaterford250920131.pdf?v=gc3ukca

Emme

foggy_lad wrote: »

Was it the 5.35pm service or the 6.35pm service from Heuston? only the 10.15am amd 6.35pm train has a first class carriage so any passsenger may enter and sit in any other first class carriage on other services.

http://www.irishrail.ie/media/04-dublinwaterford250920131.pdf?v=gc3ukca

It was the 17.35h (5.35pm) service. The first class carriage had a sign up that you had to pay €12.50 to sit there. I think people did sit there afterwards but even at that with 5 cars the train was overcrowded until after Athy.

LXFlyer

There is no 1st Class scheduled on that train and as such (despite the sign) anyone can sit in that coach.

The sign should have been removed.

Sounds like a last minute set swap to be honest.

foggy_lad

Emme wrote: »

It was the 17.35h (5.35pm) service. The first class carriage had a sign up that you had to pay €12.50 to sit there. I think people did sit there afterwards but even at that with 5 cars the train was overcrowded until after Athy.

If that happens again go in and sit in that carriage and tell others that they can sit there too as it is not a first class car, staff are obviously not on top of turning trains around and preparing trains in Heuston.

Hilly Bill

foggy_lad wrote: »

If that happens again go in and sit in that carriage and tell others that they can sit there too as it is not a first class car, staff are obviously not on top of turning trains around and preparing trains in Heuston.

I'd sit there until im told that im not allowed, but i wouldnt go and tell others that they can .

foggy_lad

It seems that Irish Rail have released information about their trains and the capacity of each type, this should sort out some confusion for many about standing on "inter-city" trains as there are no ICRs with standing capacity.

http://www.nationaltransport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Rail-Census-2012.pdf

Appendix Train capacity by type
Table Train Capacity
Train TypeCapacity
4 - DART(4 car DART set)700- Seats + Standing Accommodation
6 - DART(6 car DART set)1050- Seats + Standing Accommodation
8 - DART(8 car dart set)1400- Seats + Standing Accommodation
2 x 2600(2 car commuter rail car)206- Seats + Standing Accommodation
2 x 2800(2 car commuter rail car)221- Seats + Standing Accommodation
4 x 29000(4 car Commuter railcar)640- Seats + Standing Accommodation
8 x 29000(8 car Commuter railcar)1280- Seats + Standing Accommodation
1 x 3ICR(3-car InterCity railcar)190- Seats
1 x 6ICR(6-car Premier Class InterCity railcar)376- Seats
1 x 6HCR(6-car High Capacity InterCity Railcar)406- Seats
7 x MkIV(7 car Mk IV set)348- Seats
7 x DD(7 car De Dietrich set)358
- Seats

end of the road

foggy_lad wrote: »

It seems that Irish Rail have released information about their trains and the capacity of each type, this should sort out some confusion for many about standing on "inter-city" trains as there are no ICRs with standing capacity.[/TABLE]

ah come on now foggy, shur we knew this all ready didn't we. but shur tis okay, IE will operate the units to operational convenience rather then making sure they operate only on the routes they are designed for, so as you know, long distance stuff on (well you know) long distance routes and short distance stuff on (well) short distance routes.

Emme

foggy_lad wrote: »

It seems that Irish Rail have released information about their trains and the capacity of each type, this should sort out some confusion for many about standing on "inter-city" trains as there are no ICRs with standing capacity.

http://www.nationaltransport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Rail-Census-2012.pdf

Appendix Train capacity by type
Table Train Capacity
Train TypeCapacity
4 - DART(4 car DART set)700- Seats + Standing Accommodation
6 - DART(6 car DART set)1050- Seats + Standing Accommodation
8 - DART(8 car dart set)1400- Seats + Standing Accommodation
2 x 2600(2 car commuter rail car)206- Seats + Standing Accommodation
2 x 2800(2 car commuter rail car)221- Seats + Standing Accommodation
4 x 29000(4 car Commuter railcar)640- Seats + Standing Accommodation
8 x 29000(8 car Commuter railcar)1280- Seats + Standing Accommodation
1 x 3ICR(3-car InterCity railcar)190- Seats
1 x 6ICR(6-car Premier Class InterCity railcar)376- Seats
1 x 6HCR(6-car High Capacity InterCity Railcar)406- Seats
7 x MkIV(7 car Mk IV set)348- Seats
7 x DD(7 car De Dietrich set)358
- Seats

I hope all of the above have staff trained as First Responders (First Aid) and a defibrillator on board each train because they will need them if they insist on packing in as many standees as possible.

devnull

Those dart figures can vary, sinct he different classes have different capcities...

end of the road

devnull wrote: »

Those dart figures can vary, sinct he different classes have different capcities...

true, all though i think the 4/8 cars apply to the 85 8510 and 8520 classes, while the 2/6 only apply to the 8100 class

devnull

anybody know why we are seeing lots of four car darts especially on malahide serices in evening peak the past couple of weeks?

Even the odd two car going around again.

LEIN

devnull wrote: »

anybody know why we are seeing lots of four car darts especially on malahide serices in evening peak the past couple of weeks?

It has been mainly fours for a while now with the odd 6 for good measure. Haven't seen much overcrowding though.

devnull wrote: »

Even the odd two car going around again.

I was beginning to think that that idea was scrapped as I haven't seen a two car in ages.

devnull

The 5.2. and 5.53 from connolly to malahide are grossly overcrowded used to be six or eight cars

devnull

The 5.23. and 5.53 from connolly to malahide are grossly overcrowded used to be six or eight cars

Jamie2k9

I was beginning to think that that idea was scrapped as I haven't seen a two car in ages.

Middle of the day services during the summer months would be very busy and a lot of tourist traffic. November-March you will probably see 2 car sets appear during the day again

shoehorn

Noticed quite squashed conditions on a southbound DART at Grand Canal Dock yesterday. Only a 4-car train at 1735. People left behind on the platform.

Captain Chaos

shoehorn wrote: »

Noticed quite squashed conditions on a southbound DART at Grand Canal Dock yesterday. Only a 4-car train at 1735. People left behind on the platform.

Yep, they has major capacity issues yesterday with the majority of peak time DARTs all 4 car sets. All noted between 4 and 7 in both directions. They seem to be down alot of sets. No reason given for the shortage yesterday.

kc56

For the summer, Irish rail has shortened some trains. One is the 0640 Limerick-Heuston which is now a 3-car instead of it's usual 4-car. Back to normal standing room only for the last couple of stops.