Strange services to Manulla Junction

n97 mini

EDIT: my bad, reading timetable wrong.

purplepanda

Those trains connect with services coming to & from Westport to Dublin.

But you can't get on at Manulla :pac: although local legend says that some passengers do get off there from the Dublin services

I can't see any reason why they don't move the Manulla interchange services to the old Balla station, and allow local passengers, at least there is a small local population that would use the station for travel.

It's a very strange set up put in place by IE :pac:

end of the road

purplepanda wrote: »

Those trains connect with services coming to & from Westport to Dublin.

But you can't get on at Manulla :pac: although local legend says that some passengers do get off there from the Dublin services

I can't see any reason why they don't move the Manulla interchange services to the old Balla station, and allow local passengers, at least there is a small local population that would use the station for travel.

It's a very strange set up put in place by IE :pac:

i'd say its been like that since CIE days

Fred Swanson

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highlydebased

There has often been works on the Ballina branch and so bus transfers in place from Manulla- so there must be access somewhere!

Rawr

I was browsing on Google Streetview and I noticed this accessway on the other side of the bridge.

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.827338,-9.191078,3a,75y,139.87h,59.55t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sXJx5NYtZZ42cSvv18t2FsA!2e0

Although it does seem that to get there you would need to go under the bridge and cross the tracks.

Fred Swanson

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Losty Dublin

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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That's exactly what they do if services on the line are suspended.

n97 mini

If you could get to the platform there's no ticket machine.

Rawr

n97 mini wrote: »

If you could get to the platform there's no ticket machine.

That's probably to discourage people into thinking this it was a station and not just a transfer point.

I suppose it could be possible to print out a ticket online, and then sneak over to the platform before a train arrives?

corktina

n97 mini wrote: »

If you could get to the platform there's no ticket machine.

It makes you wonder why if there is a demand to board there.

Fred Swanson

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Fred Swanson

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flazio

purplepanda wrote: »

Those trains connect with services coming to & from Westport to Dublin.

But you can't get on at Manulla :pac: although local legend says that some passengers do get off there from the Dublin services

I can't see any reason why they don't move the Manulla interchange services to the old Balla station, and allow local passengers, at least there is a small local population that would use the station for travel.

It's a very strange set up put in place by IE :pac:

It used to be stranger, pre railcar once the passengers from Ballina joined the Westport/Dublin train the branch train they had just been travelling on would continue onto Claremorris empty to 'turn around' as it was (and still is) the closest dual track.

GerardKeating

n97 mini wrote: »

If you could get to the platform there's no ticket machine.

Was it ever a "real" station?

flyingsnail

GerardKeating wrote: »

Was it ever a "real" station?

It was, it had 2 platforms for Westport with the current bay platform being a third for Ballina you can see the remains of the second platform on the left in this picture. It was completely closed at one stage and passengers had to change at Claremorris but I can’t remember any dates.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/be216cd1/6893340293/

end of the road

flyingsnail wrote: »

It was, it had 2 platforms for Westport with the current bay platform being a third for Ballina you can see the remains of the second platform on the left in this picture. It was completely closed at one stage and passengers had to change at Claremorris but I can’t remember any dates.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/be216cd1/6893340293/

for some strange reason 1988 is coming into my head for its reopening, but i know i'm most likely wrong

Fred Swanson

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corktina

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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sure, we keep telling the locals there's no demand.....:rolleyes:

Fred Swanson

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Geog1234

I understand the situation of access at Manulla Junction is under review arising out of this:

http://new.midwestradio.ie/index.php/news/19988-ambulance-wasn-t-able-to-reach-sick-person-at-manulla-junction-recently-because-of-lack-of-road-access

flyingsnail

Geog1234 wrote: »

I understand the situation of access at Manulla Junction is under review arising out of this:

http://new.midwestradio.ie/index.php/news/19988-ambulance-wasn-t-able-to-reach-sick-person-at-manulla-junction-recently-because-of-lack-of-road-access

I have to admit I am not familiar with that incident but I would of thought the best way out would have been the PW access point on the other side of the bridge. I don’t see any public access point being established any time soon, even the article says

need for them to open some sort of emergency access route.

corktina

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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why should they have to? they've a railway line and a station, why shouldn't they have access to them?

Losty Dublin

Fred Swanson wrote: »

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The station was re-opened due to the ban on wooden bodied stock working passenger services on the mainline. At the time there wasn't sufficient stock on hand to permanently replace the Park Royal carriages used to form the branch train nor was there cash to replace same.

The cheapest and easiest solution was to temporarily reopen Manulla station and it's signal cabin (Balla, which controlled the junction, was closed on the same day.) and to have passenger changes at the new station, the passenger stock being worked to and from Claremorris empty and thus complying with the safety regulations.

The new arrangements were found to work so well that they were made permanent. 26 years later and after the replacement of both ETS and loco hauled services on the branch, Manulla is here to stay.

dowlingm

A quick look at a map or sat view would show there's not many to serve. Would substantially cut bustitution distance over Claremorris though. So tricky to make it work though given track layout, accessibility regs and the bridge adjacent.