Trains again...I have to share this.

voodoo

You may remember I started a thread with regards to the crappy train service that we are provided with here in Ireland. Well, I sent a mail to their customer services people almost 3 weeks ago and yesterday recieved a response that I would like to share with you.

Essentially, I complained about the lack of lighting and heating on the train, plus the fact that there is total inadequate parking in our station and enquired into their proposed "Parking Fees" they are going to charge people for parking in their stations....

Here's the response -


CW(157) 2/02/11/0281 23rd October 2002


Dear Mr. X,

Thank you for your e-mail regarding your journey with Iarnród Éireann on Tuesday 8th October 2002.

Please accept my sincere apologies for the upset and discomfort experienced by you and your fellow passengers on this occasion.

The carriages used for the 06.44 hours Portlaoise/Heuston service (dep. Portarlington 06.56) are our older type carriages and unfortunately are more prone to heating/lighting problems. Whilst I have no record of a total heating failure on this service, it may have been the case that an intermittent fault in the generator van resulted in the conditions experienced.

There are no alternative carriages available at present to operate this service. Investment has been made already, which has enabled us to increase our fleet with a further 80 new railcars due for service in 2003 and it is hoped that this older type rolling stock will be taken out of service at this time. This will also enable us to further increase carrying capacity.

There are no immediate plans to upgrade the car park at Portarlington Station. However, in the longer term, it is hoped to provide an additional 100/120 car parking spaces. A final decision has not yet been made regarding car-parking fees.

Once again I apologise for the upset experienced on this occasion and I hope that despite the problems encountered, you will continue to use Iarnród Éireann services in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Slowey,
Customer Services Manager,
Connolly

jd

Originally posted by voodoo
You may remember I started a thread with regards to the crappy train service that we are provided with here in Ireland. Well, I sent a mail to their customer services people almost 3 weeks ago and yesterday recieved a response that I would like to share with you.

I think new dmus (railcars) are scheduled to arrive next month, which hopefully means that the older carriages will be retired

dmeehan

I complained before about the lack of heating and lighting on a train from killarney to dublin.
the reply i got astounded me. They appologised but could do nothing about it as they older carriages were more prone to this (fair enough) but the part that really annoyed me was when they said that heat and light were not covered by the Irish Rail Customer Charter!!!

can you believe it, it damn well should be.
I cant imagine a train "service" in any other country where paying customers have to sit in the cold and dark for 5 hours

MAC_E

Its bound to be the case when you have no competition for the market in the rail network.

Take this example, when i was about to buy my single ticket from carrick on shannon down to dublin i was politley told that i could only buy a return ticket for rail journeys. In all fairness the the train service in ireland treats its customers like cattle, packed into trains that have no heat, not enough carraiges and over charge on snacks.

The strange thing is that most people have grown used to the sub standard levels of our rail service, in general we actually find the train journey a comical affair, due mainly to the total lack of professionalism from irish rail.:mad:

dmeehan

i see what you mean
it wasnt until i travelled on european railways that i relaised what a shoddy "service" we have.

<rant topic="cie">
if CIE say they cant afford to run a service and want to close it down, offer the service to the private sector so we can get a service that doesnt have to have 5 times as many staff as are required in case the unions threaten strike action
</rant>

MAC_E

Its true, in general i get a bit freaked about privatisation but my god the irish rail network is a perfect example of an organisation crying out for it.