Cyclist beats train from Derry to Belfast

Sheldons Brain

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/cyclist-beats-train-from-derry-to-belfast-thats-embarrassing-30381510.html

Slightly contrived in that it included the passenger walking to the station and of course the rail route is less direct than road.

But there is a serious point, speeds on Irish railways are poor and less than the age of steam in some cases.

steamengine

The cyclosexuals will be delerious at that one :-)

Hungerford

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

But there is a serious point, speeds on Irish railways are poor and less than the age of steam in some cases.

The speeds on the Derry line aren't too bad - the limit for most of the route is 70 mph with a pocket of 90 mph running and some 60 mph running at the Derry end of the line. These speeds are the typical operating speeds too - NIR don't have the same affinity for TSRs as IE do.

The issue is that the line is a pretty indirect - its effectively Derry to Belfast via Coleraine.

Banjoxed

steamengine wrote: »

The cyclosexuals will be delerious at that one :-)

Aye the lycrists will want that railway ripped up as well.

LXFlyer

They are not comparing like with like. The train is by no means a direct route having to go via Coleraine.

bikeman1

lxflyer wrote: »

They are not comparing like with like. The train is by no means a direct route having to go via Coleraine.

Yes I agree. A checkpoint at a post office in Coleraine would be more comparable.

BonkeyDonker

bikeman1 wrote: »

Yes I agree. A checkpoint at a post office in Coleraine would be more comparable.

And not showing up in Belfast sweating profusely and smelling from the same.

Who won the round trip??

steamengine

BonkeyDonker wrote: »

And not showing up in Belfast sweating profusely and smelling from the same.

Who won the round trip??

One way trip, there was no turntable available for the bicycle :-)

corktina

Sheldons Brain wrote: »

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/cyclist-beats-train-from-derry-to-belfast-thats-embarrassing-30381510.html

Slightly contrived in that it included the passenger walking to the station and of course the rail route is less direct than road.

But there is a serious point, speeds on Irish railways are poor and less than the age of steam in some cases.

I don't see how it is contrived. Real journeys start from a point other than a railway station, so a door to door journey ,(with several alternative start and finish points, to be fair, and including a car, bus or taxi where approriate) gives the best real times for a study such as this.

LXFlyer

But negative comments such as those made against Translink on the basis if this trip ignore the fact that the train has a much longer route. There's not much more that can be done to speed the train up given it's single track with passing loops.

GBOA

I can see rail travellers switching to cycling between Derry and Belfast en masse now that it's been proved the train is rubbish.

corktina

lxflyer wrote: »

But negative comments such as those made against Translink on the basis if this trip ignore the fact that the train has a much longer route. There's not much more that can be done to speed the train up given it's single track with passing loops.

what do you suggest? Tell the rail-users they are getting great value in terms of pounds per mile travelled and ask them to use the train still even though it is slower?

BonkeyDonker

lxflyer wrote: »

But negative comments such as those made against Translink on the basis if this trip ignore the fact that the train has a much longer route. There's not much more that can be done to speed the train up given it's single track with passing loops.

The train would also serve intermediate stops - and I'am sure that not everybody on the route goes full length.

LXFlyer

corktina wrote: »

what do you suggest? Tell the rail-users they are getting great value in terms of pounds per mile travelled and ask them to use the train still even though it is slower?

Well I think an element of realism is required. To suggest that the rail service is not fit for purpose as some people implied is not fair.

As someone else pointed out, and as I've noticed whenever I've taken a trip on that line, there are large numbers of intermediate journeys made on it.

The railway takes approximately 25 miles longer than the direct road route, and as it is single track trains have to cross one another at loops which does mean longer journey times the more trains operate.

Added to that the line is currently being rebuilt, with more improvements planned in terms of signalling and passing loops that may mean shorter end-to-end journey times.

The numbers using the rail service have been rising, so it's clear that people don't necessarily agree with the view suggested.

Banjoxed

lxflyer wrote: »

Well I think an element of realism is required. To suggest that the rail service is not fit for purpose as some people implied is not fair.

As someone else pointed out, and as I've noticed whenever I've taken a trip on that line, there are large numbers of intermediate journeys made on it.

The railway takes approximately 25 miles longer than the direct road route, and as it is single track trains have to cross one another at loops which does mean longer journey times the more trains operate.

Added to that the line is currently being rebuilt, with more improvements planned in terms of signalling and passing loops that may mean shorter end-to-end journey times.

The numbers using the rail service have been rising, so it's clear that people don't necessarily agree with the view suggested.

Yes. The Derry line has been hard fought for and won't be abandoned on foot of a badly thought out publicity stunt.

postitnote

Also, why didn't the train passenger avail of the free bus service from the City Centre to the train station in Derry and likewise from Central to Belfast city centre?

Might have helped take a wee bit of time off their journey.

Losty Dublin

Banjoxed wrote: »

Yes. The Derry line has been hard fought for and won't be abandoned on foot of a badly thought out publicity stunt.

Least of all one by an experienced cyclist on a £10,000 bike.

How long would it take you or me to cycle there on our Raleigh Chopper or a High Nelly, I ask you?

GBOA

The comparison here is tenuous but it gives our tiny-minded politicians a stick to beat the Minister with so all is good. When it comes to the railway, I'd suggest that Danny Kennedy appears more supportive than transport ministers in some governments.

This 'race' is fairly irrelevant for the average rail passenger given cycling is not an alternative to getting the train so there's no need for us to get hot under the collar because of it.

A more relevant example which makes more sense when comparing methods of transport, is the journey I used to make frequently between Edinburgh and London (okay, the distance is far greater, but it proves/disproves the same point).

The train journey was around 4h 45m and flying was around 1h 15m. No competition in terms of actual journey time but for me, when I added in the point to point times either end of the journey, the difference was so negligible that I was happy to spend the additional time relaxing on a comfortable train, over getting to and from an airport and all the time spent hanging around.

While that was great for me, I realise that not everyone would be so lucky when it comes to being so close the the main station but I still think it illustrates the different journey times far better than an experienced cyclist peddling flat out, non-stop, to a stopping train service.