Irish rail and overcrowding

loh_oro

I'm currently on the train to Westport and their is so many people on the train their is no room left to stand ... People are standing in the toilets its gone that bad. This happens every Friday so why is it that they don't have bigger trains to compensate for busy day's. When I buy a train ticket I don't expect to have to travel in the toilet

fryup

complain

jamesbere

Let off the biggest fart, you'll have plenty of room then.

RobertKK

It is worse than Japan...

Sir Arthur Daley

What the fcuk is carrying everyone to that shit hole of a place?

cloud493

It's not a unique rail problem, bus is the same.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

All aboard the Bangladeshi express

Macavity.

Yeah, I get that train every week. It's hell to be honest. I have dinner early on a Sunday now so I can get the early (around 1pm) train back to Dublin. The two later ones are a nightmare on a Sunday evening.

Highflyer13

Cutbacks. Last October IR raised ticket prices while simultaneously taking carraiges off the trains.

Sunnyisland

This thread is going to be a wreck

Sub_Merged

fryup wrote: »

complain

I'm on a train, I can't complain....

kneemos

Can't buy extra carriages for two days a week.

clairek6

cloud493 wrote: »

It's not a unique rail problem, bus is the same.

Bus usually never let more people on than there are seats availiable though?

cloud493

Yes they do. That's why people stand at the front and in the wheelchair area.

Jawgap

Currently on a commuter train between Boston and Providence - Irish Rail need to get some of these double decker sets!! That would help address the overcrowding issue!

Call me Al

It seems it's no different now to when I was travelling dublin to westport and westport to dublin back on the weekends in the early 90s.

Macavity.

kneemos wrote: »

Can't buy extra carriages for two days a week.

They actually put on an extra train on a Friday, and sometimes on a Sunday for that route.

clairek6

cloud493 wrote: »

Yes they do. That's why people stand at the front and in the wheelchair area.

Ah I meant the national commuter buses, galway to dublin for example

The Strawman Argument

Do you walk right up to the final carriage? I always find on busy trains that there's huge congestion issues on the 3rd and 4th last carriages, been on trains where the final one actually has spare seats and all. People seem to have some huge fear of walking up to the final one.

kerry4sam

Jawgap wrote: »

Currently on a commuter train between Boston and Providence - Irish Rail need to get some of these double decker sets!! That would help address the overcrowding issue!

Oh I love those double-decker trains. Was on numerous ones over in Switzerland leaving Zurich. So so comfy and even have couches on the top-tier to lounge back on.

Irish Rail can be pretty shocking. Sometimes in the past, even registering and choosing a seat means nothing.

Alot more needs to be done to our transport here,
kerry4sam

fryup

fryup wrote: »

complain

Sub_Merged wrote: »

I'm on a train, I can't complain....

complain to irish rail when you get a chance

michellie

I was on the train to Dublin once and it got like that, some people had to stand for a while, not as many as on your train. But a woman was shouting at the security guy about it- shouting at the bloody security guy. I had to say something, told her to cop on for herself that It had fk all to do with him, he doesn't sell the tickets. she piped down and he thanked me.

Cookie_Monster

Jawgap wrote: »

Currently on a commuter train between Boston and Providence - Irish Rail need to get some of these double decker sets!! That would help address the overcrowding issue!

Loading gauge in ireland isnt big enough to allow such carriages

Realt Dearg Sec

Sir Arthur Daley wrote: »

What the fcuk is carrying everyone to that shit hole of a place?

The train.

Jawgap

fryup wrote: »

complain to irish rail when you get a chance

Or next time tweet about it with photos- Irish Rail are pretty good at monitoring their twitter feed for mentions (good & bad).

bnt

It's no better in the UK. Try getting from London Paddington to Reading on a Friday evening. Sure, the train is faster, but ... :eek:

Richard Hillman

Sadly it will take an accident until proper safety standards on Trains and Buses are enforced.

oppenheimer1

Jawgap wrote: »

Currently on a commuter train between Boston and Providence - Irish Rail need to get some of these double decker sets!! That would help address the overcrowding issue!

They can't. The bridges are too low for them

oppenheimer1

Jawgap wrote: »

Currently on a commuter train between Boston and Providence - Irish Rail need to get some of these double decker sets!! That would help address the overcrowding issue!

They can't. The bridges are too low for them. Probably other reasons too.

hardCopy

Sir Arthur Daley wrote: »

What the fcuk is carrying everyone to that shit hole of a place?

http://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/travel/news/2012/0625/326461-westport-named-best-place-to-live/

Yeah, what a kip!

Rightwing

michellie wrote: »

I was on the train to Dublin once and it got like that, some people had to stand for a while, not as many as on your train. But a woman was shouting at the security guy about it- shouting at the bloody security guy. I had to say something, told her to cop on for herself that It had fk all to do with him, he doesn't sell the tickets. she piped down and he thanked me.

Some people are extremely dense.

Jawgap

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

They can't. The bridges are too low for them. Probably other reasons too.

Thanks for telling me........twice

I know.......

.......and it was a thinly veiled "I'm-not-in-Ireland" post........

.........but thanks for playing.

0byme75341jo28

And strangely enough the Cork-Dublin trains seem half empty most of the time. I've went up on AI semi-final days and there'd be spare seats..

hfallada

Well you can't expect an amazing train system if the money isn't invested in it. There is no political desire to spend money on railways here and it's logical. As the unions are such a mess.in Irish rail, that's hard to tell how much longer it can be sustainable to keep it going with its massive losses. Also so many of its passengers should be paying more eg OAPs.

Buses are what is commonly used for transport in continental Europe. Having lived in Germany. No one used trains as they were too expensive and the frequency wasnt the best. You can do 3 hour train rides on a bus in 2 hours and 15 mins. With proper management buses are better than trains. But Dublin needs a proper bus station

Davarus Walrus

I don't normally use the train, but found myself getting one from Galway to Dublin on a Saturday evening a number of weeks ago. A lad got on in Athenry wearing a luminous Irish Rail jacket and with a clipboard. Presumed he was there to check tickets. Then spotted he had a plastic bag in his other hand. Proceeded to sit down, put his legs up on another seat and cracked open a can of Smithwicks. Hoovered back 6 cans by the time we got to Hueston. Then he went straight into Supermacs when we arrived at the station. Thought it was extremely unprofessional.

guest2014

The Strawman Argument wrote: »

Do you walk right up to the final carriage? I always find on busy trains that there's huge congestion issues on the 3rd and 4th last carriages, been on trains where the final one actually has spare seats and all. People seem to have some huge fear of walking up to the final one.

last time I was on a train from dublin to sligo, a few weeks ago and there was people standing and sitting in the area between the carriages, i got a seat no problem, and there were other seats available, then later I hear this woman roaring at the guy who collects the tickets that it was a disgrace that she paid for a ticket and had to stand, there were 3 or 4 seats in my carriage alone if she only went looking for a seat.

wp_rathead

Sir Arthur Daley wrote: »

What the fcuk is carrying everyone to that shit hole of a place?

As in to the toilet? He answered that in the OP- no where else to stand..

rossie1977

its always been that way and won't change. when i was living in athlone (1999-2004) that friday evening train to westport was chaotic.

i was always weary of standing between the carriages because that same train derailed at knockcroghery in 97. just by complete chance the derailment happened on a saturday not a friday evening otherwise there would have been dozens of casualties

anncoates

Don't wash or wipe your arse from Monday might onwards and people should give your room in the carriage on Friday.

mikemac1

Free travel passes should not be valid for peak periods.

Nothing controversial at all, it was this way for many years

Seamus Brennan changed the rules in 2006

GLaDOS

Big thread on the issue here.

loh_oro

The Strawman Argument wrote: »

Do you walk right up to the final carriage? I always find on busy trains that there's huge congestion issues on the 3rd and 4th last carriages, been on trains where the final one actually has spare seats and all. People seem to have some huge fear of walking up to the final one.

The final carriage was actually where I was standing was just as bad their as everywhere else. Once their was no room left between carriages people started standing in the aisle between seats and once that was full the toilets. A lot of people prebook their tickets and reserve their seat's so they come late and have seats but the problem with that is a lot of people using that route have monthly commuter tickets so we don't have that luxury

Tarzana

Highflyer13 wrote: »

Cutbacks. Last October IR raised ticket prices while simultaneously taking carraiges off the trains.

Nah, that train has been like that since I moved to Dublin 12 years ago.

Muahahaha

Call me Al wrote: »

It seems it's no different now to when I was travelling dublin to westport and westport to dublin back on the weekends in the early 90s.

Sometimes I think Ireland has just stood still for 20 years when it comes to stuff like this. iirc Fianna Fail had an election promise in the 1980's to reduce class sizes to below 30 pupils to one teacher. They came out with the exact same election promise in 2007 too which kinda showed how they hadn't achieved the policy and were now back around to promising it all over again 20 years later.

Tarzana

hardCopy wrote: »

http://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/travel/news/2012/0625/326461-westport-named-best-place-to-live/

Yeah, what a kip!

I honestly think some people's default setting is just to trash anywhere that is mentioned. Some probably consider Westport overrated, which is grand, but no way could you ever call the place a shít-hole. Even just the scenic backdrop prevents that.

Tarzana

Danica Acidic Nosebleed wrote: »

And strangely enough the Cork-Dublin trains seem half empty most of the time. I've went up on AI semi-final days and there'd be spare seats..

Not strange really, there's a very cheap express bus between the two cities now, that's is almost as quick as the train. Bombs it down the motorway. As well as that, even before the express service started, there were hourly trains, whereas the Westport route only has 3 or 4 each way a day.

SkyBlueClouds

loh_oro wrote: »

I'm currently on the train to Westport and their is so many people on the train their is no room left to stand ... People are standing in the toilets its gone that bad. This happens every Friday so why is it that they don't have bigger trains to compensate for busy day's. When I buy a train ticket I don't expect to have to travel in the toilet

Try the tube every day in London City for a year at rush hour, both ways :eek:

Demonique

mikemac1 wrote: »

Free travel passes should not be valid for peak periods.

Nothing controversial at all, it was this way for many years

Seamus Brennan changed the rules in 2006

One of the reasons it was changed was because there are a lot of disabled people going to training centres in Dublin and for those people to get to the centres on time they have to travel on Dublin Bus/Luas during peak times.