Heating

Dingle_berry

It's probably been covered before but what's the story with the heating system on commuter class trains?
Is there is air conditioning in the ceiling and then electric radiator looking things at the floor-wall junction? Are they fully adjustable by the driver or just on/off?

One mild day back in December the radiator type things were on, turning the train into a sauna. They haven't been on since, despite the cold.
Just wondering if & how it would be worth asking driver to turn them on!

Losty Dublin

On commuter stock they are turned on by the driver and they are pretty much either on or off. Due to the stop start services and regular door opening patterns and the door position of the likes of the 26/27/28/29 and Darts, it's very hard to maintain a comfortable climate on board that suits all passengers, especially when people are wrapped up in coats and hats. The Luas suffers from similar issues for the same reasons. There are air conditioning systems on board but it's more about expelling stale and bringing in fresh air; windows and doors also provide some fresh air.

Many train and Luas staff will cheerily tell you about complaints from passengers saying how hot/cold it is all at the same time but the same experience probably happens worldwide

On the longer haul stock (22000, Mark 4 and Enterprise) it's easier to provide a more balanced on board climate as stops are less common and the carriage is less exposed to the elements. The A/C is a bit more sophisticated as well and, on paper at least, it's somewhat more pleasant as a whole.

end of the road

Losty Dublin wrote: »

On the longer haul stock (22000, Mark 4 and Enterprise) it's easier to provide a more balanced on board climate as stops are less common and the carriage is less exposed to the elements. The A/C is a bit more sophisticated as well and, on paper at least, it's somewhat more pleasant as a whole.

thats of course if its turned on. which its the luck of the draw as to whether it will be in my experience. still, its not like the good old days of on in the summer and off in the winter (yes, that did happen, and a lot)

n97 mini

Or in the good old days you could do what hospitals do when the heating is up too high... open the windows.

BoatMad

n97 mini wrote: »

Or in the good old days you could do what hospitals do when the heating is up too high... open the windows.

+1. People forget how comfortable rain stock used to be. I traveled last year on Italian compartment stock. Individual control of heating and lighting in each compartment , big armchair seats, windows with curtains , etc etc.

Funny how we keep " re -inventing " passanger comfort standards and then " telling " people , " sure isn't it comfortable "

Losty Dublin

n97 mini wrote: »

Or in the good old days you could do what hospitals do when the heating is up too high... open the windows.

You can open windows on the 2600, 2700, 2800, 2900 class DMU's and the 81/8300 and 8600 DART's

end of the road

n97 mini wrote: »

Or in the good old days you could do what hospitals do when the heating is up too high... open the windows.

we had the very comfortable mark 2 stock on the rosslare line when that used to happen, unfortunately with them opening a window wasn't an option unless you wanted to leave to the vestible area and risk losing your seat if those around weren't the most approachible to ask to mind it for you. good times though

end of the road

Losty Dublin wrote: »

You can open windows on the 2600, 2700, 2800, 2900 class DMU's and the 81/8300 and 8600 DART's

and out of those lot from my experience the 2700s were the only ones which had decent heating. the only good thing about them

n97 mini

You wouldn't get too hot in one of these. Closest thing to individual heating controls.



Many times I travelled on those with no heating too, with the drips of condensation frozen onto the windows.

Dingle_berry

I've noticed on the 22000 trains that there are new signs inviting passengers to email any issues with their journey (wifi, hearing, anti social behaviour) to something like on board issues @irishrail.ie Quoting the 22xxx number on the carriage. Can't find a reference to it online though

GM228

Dingle_berry wrote: »

I've noticed on the 22000 trains that there are new signs inviting passengers to email any issues with their journey (wifi, hearing, anti social behaviour) to something like on board issues @irishrail.ie Quoting the 22xxx number on the carriage. Can't find a reference to it online though

http://www.irishrail.ie/contact-us/customer-service-section

GM228

Kintarō Hattori

Thanks for asking the question OP. I travel into town each day from Balbriggan and the heating thing has always bothered me. Many many times I've been on the train when it's baltic outside....... and there's no heating on. It makes for a very unpleasant journey and to be frank at times like that it makes me think I should drive into work permanently (free parking).

Sheldons Brain

While passenger perception of heating is one thing, if I am wearing a heavy coat in January then modest heating will suffice. However temperature records should be kept by measuring devices so that Irish Rail can say that our carriages are 10C or whatever, not just waffle on.