Will Sligo Services be Stopping at Broombridge?

pillphil · 25-01-2017 02:54AM

The_Wanderer wrote: »

Add Portlaoise to that as well. I do remember sending off a "suggestion" that this be removed. Still waiting......

Sligo too. Always laugh...

n97 mini · 25-01-2017 11:55AM

MGWR wrote: »

Mere connectivity is not key to passenger numbers; reliability and time-competitiveness of service is. Start slowing down trains and interfering with their timeliness and those trains bleed passengers.

I don't go for that argument at all. Slowing the journey by 2 mins for 90% of passengers is likely to lose fcuk all. Making the journey painful for the other 10% due to lack of connections is likely to lose more.

ClovenHoof · 26-01-2017 10:22PM

MGWR wrote: »

Mere connectivity is not key to passenger numbers; reliability and time-competitiveness of service is.

Completely disagree. A rail system should be seen as something of an artery and its volume and health depends on the blood being fed into it by the veins. Broombridge creates one more vein for the health of the overall Sligo rail artery.

Frankly I am amazed how you can't see this and think that a few minute wait at Broombridge to pick up and drop off passengers will cause an emotional and psychological crisis of some sort for the current passengers.

I think you are confusing CIE Trade Union issues with public transport passenger dynamics in this regard.

L1011 · 27-01-2017 08:36AM

If the cash is put in for a requisite increase in line speeds and faster running time to compensate I don't see an issue

metrovick001 · 27-01-2017 10:54PM

L1011 wrote: »

If the cash is put in for a requisite increase in line speeds and faster running time to compensate I don't see an issue

LOL - A yes minister response.
Never gonna happen unfortunately.
Not stopping at Broombridge would be a standard CIE /GSR attitude - not our trams.

Del.Monte · 27-01-2017 10:56PM

CIE don't do connectivity.

Mycroft H · 27-01-2017 10:59PM

Some Sligo - Dub services used to stop at Drumcondra on the way in. Broombridge wouldn't be too much more to ask for, it's not going to add much more to certain services.

L1011 · 28-01-2017 12:31AM

Mycroft H wrote: »

Some Sligo - Dub services used to stop at Drumcondra on the way in. Broombridge wouldn't be too much more to ask for, it's not going to add much more to certain services.

Used? They still do. Same few.

2m may be "only 2m" but it adds to the death of a thousand cuts. When the Mullingar-Longford DC and the Castlebaldwin upgrades are done, bus speeds will collapse. It has to be cancelled with faster running

Infini · 28-01-2017 12:56AM

Its an idea of course not a bad one but broomer could use a makeover too if it were to happen. (The actual station itself)

ClovenHoof · 28-01-2017 01:36AM

Infini2 wrote: »

Its an idea of course not a bad one but broomer could use a makeover too if it were to happen. (The actual station itself)

Why? It's just a cross platform walk to a frequent tram service. The entire nature of the location is changing rapidly.

Jem72 · 28-01-2017 03:00PM

You're not talking about "death by a thousand cuts". You're talking about adding a 2 minute stop to enable you take the Luas right to O'Connell Street. For a huge percentage of passengers that takes at least 10 minutes off the journey to wherever they are going.

The bus is currently an hour longer than the train aside from a couple that don't go via the airport. Until an express route is started that avoids Longford and Mullingar towns, the new roads won't make a lot of difference.

Broombridge is actually a lot tidier than it was a few years ago. They did some sort of community involvement project a couple of years back where they got kids to paint the panels and it seems to have been left alone since. No doubt the 24 hour security from the Luas construction site also helps.

L1011 · 28-01-2017 03:17PM

I don't think you understand what death by a thousand cuts means

Infini · 28-01-2017 04:52PM

Jem72 wrote: »

Broombridge is actually a lot tidier than it was a few years ago. They did some sort of community involvement project a couple of years back where they got kids to paint the panels and it seems to have been left alone since. No doubt the 24 hour security from the Luas construction site also helps.

What I'm talking about is a proper refurbushment of the place like real seats retarmaced platforms etc, they community thing wasnt bad but theres still plenty of scars in the place from the vermin.

ClovenHoof · 28-01-2017 06:06PM

Infini2 wrote: »

What I'm talking about is a proper refurbushment of the place like real seats retarmaced platforms etc, they community thing wasnt bad but theres still plenty of scars in the place from the vermin.

Distractive non issue. Get the connections with Luas sorted first, hanging baskets can wait.

cython · 28-01-2017 06:13PM

ClovenHoof wrote: »

Why? It's just a cross platform walk to a frequent tram service. The entire nature of the location is changing rapidly.

Inbound, that may be be true, but of course for each person traveling in by this means, there's a good chance they will return by the same means as well, and that means going from a frequent tram service, albeit one that may be unpredictable in timings due to traffic interactions, to a pretty infrequent train service. If you expect people to use it both ways, then you are asking people to build in extra time to their outbound journeys to account for said varying timings, and spend time waiting at the station if all goes to plan, and Broombridge station could certainly be improved to make this more appealing to people.

ClovenHoof · 28-01-2017 09:49PM

cython wrote: »

Inbound, that may be be true, but of course for each person traveling in by this means, there's a good chance they will return by the same means as well, and that means going from a frequent tram service, albeit one that may be unpredictable in timings due to traffic interactions, to a pretty infrequent train service. If you expect people to use it both ways, then you are asking people to build in extra time to their outbound journeys to account for said varying timings, and spend time waiting at the station if all goes to plan, and Broombridge station could certainly be improved to make this more appealing to people.

This is must be the only country on earth, where people passionately argue AGAINST public transport connectivity and integration.

n97 mini · 28-01-2017 10:27PM

L1011 wrote: »

If the cash is put in for a requisite increase in line speeds and faster running time to compensate I don't see an issue

If people are determined to keep journey times down then sacrifice the least busy station if it means gaining an even greater patronage elsewhere by stopping at Broombridge.

Personally I think 2 mins over a 1hr30+ journey adds nothing for most people, and makes the service a lot more attractive for a significant minority.

Jem72 · 29-01-2017 10:20AM

Well personally, as a long-distance commuter I would have no problem with 2 minutes extra in order to enable better connectivity. I would not use it often but the option is nice to have. I take Sligo intercity services 15 times a month.

There is a big difference between adding a stop like Broombridge and a rural stop like Kilcock. Kilcock probably adds 3 or 4 minutes to the journey since it requires slowing down from 60 or 70 mph. Broombridge would take little more than the dwell time as trains never go through there at more than 20 or 30 mph.

cython · 29-01-2017 02:34PM

ClovenHoof wrote: »

This is must be the only country on earth, where people passionately argue AGAINST public transport connectivity and integration.

If you are suggesting that I am making that argument, you are sorely mistaken. However, the fact remains that while Luas BXD could make inbound journeys much more flexible and straightforward by means of them stopping at Broombridge, it is not so simple for outbound journeys, due to going from a frequent service to very infrequent connections (at best hourly, more commonly every 2 hours). Journeys involving those kind of connections simply have to have contingency time built into them, and Broombridge station could definitely be improved to make the associated waits (for when contingency time turns out to be unnecessary) there less unattractive (it might be a stretch to ever suggest they could be made fully attractive).

n97 mini · 29-01-2017 10:15PM

cython wrote: »

Broombridge station could definitely be improved to make the associated waits (for when contingency time turns out to be unnecessary) there less unattractive (it might be a stretch to ever suggest they could be made fully attractive).

Put in a bar maybe?

end of the road · 29-01-2017 11:18PM

n97 mini wrote: »

If people are determined to keep journey times down then sacrifice the least busy station if it means gaining an even greater patronage elsewhere by stopping at Broombridge.

or, bring the line up to a higher speed so that all users can benefit, rather then making some users lose out for others.

tabbey · 01-02-2017 11:15PM

Jem72 wrote: »

Broombridge is actually a lot tidier than it was a few years ago. They did some sort of community involvement project a couple of years back where they got kids to paint the panels and it seems to have been left alone since. No doubt the 24 hour security from the Luas construction site also helps.

I was in Broombridge halt this week,the panels look well and are witty, especially the the one which tells us to NEVER JUDGE A STATION BY IT'S NAME.

However the basic information needed is totally missing.
There are about twenty (ten each side) bilingual signs warning us of the gap between train and platform. A similar number of bilingual signs telling us to stay behind the yellow line. There are signs identifying platforms 1 & 2, as well as signs which indicate the direction to exit.

Far more useful would be a timetable, or list of departure times with destinations and intermediate stations served. There was not even something to inform the public which platform for the city or where else we could reach by train.
There were two Romanian? ladies on the down platform, they probably knew where and when they would go, but a casual visitor would not have a clue whether the train might serve Finglas, Foxrock or Fairview.

As for the leap card reader, I did not try it, but I would not like to depend on it.

ClovenHoof · 02-02-2017 06:17PM

tabbey wrote: »

Far more useful would be a timetable, or list of departure times with destinations and intermediate stations served. There was not even something to inform the public which platform for the city or where else we could reach by train.
There were two Romanian? ladies on the down platform, they probably knew where and when they would go, but a casual visitor would not have a clue whether the train might serve Finglas, Foxrock or Fairview.
.

The old CIE tradition whereby the actual needs of the commuters and PT user being completely irrelevant in their infrastructure. The 'ah sure, everyone knows the time da train comes...."

I actually imagine a CIE manager on half a million a year doing nothing but research into hanging baskets.

Jem72 · 02-02-2017 06:34PM

I would imagine the signage they have put up is all stuff that is a legal requirement. I know some people have an emotional attachment to paper timetables and departure times but the vast majority of people who use trains regularly find smartphone information much more useful. In reality Irish Rail's timetable is one of the great works of Irish fiction, so the real-time app is far more likely to give you an accurate indication of when a train is likely to appear.

I know - not everyone has smartphones but most people do and would prefer that Irish Rail devote resources to making timetable information more accessible that way than on distributing paper information.

That being said a "Trains to city" and "Trains to Maynooth & Sligo" sign on the appropriate platform would be somewhat helpful. They are also very bad at signposting entrances to stations. I had to try to get into Hazelhatch station for the first time ever a few months ago after walking out there from Connolly and it took me quite a while to find the entrance when coming from the canal.

Del.Monte · 02-02-2017 06:52PM

Jem72 wrote: »

I would imagine the signage they have put up is all stuff that is a legal requirement. I know some people have an emotional attachment to paper timetables and departure times but the vast majority of people who use trains regularly find smartphone information much more useful. In reality Irish Rail's timetable is one of the great works of Irish fiction, so the real-time app is far more likely to give you an accurate indication of when a train is likely to appear.

I know - not everyone has smartphones but most people do and would prefer that Irish Rail devote resources to making timetable information more accessible that way than on distributing paper information.

That being said a "Trains to city" and "Trains to Maynooth & Sligo" sign on the appropriate platform would be somewhat helpful. They are also very bad at signposting entrances to stations. I had to try to get into Hazelhatch station for the first time ever a few months ago after walking out there from Connolly and it took me quite a while to find the entrance when coming from the canal.

I thought the perceived wisdom is that all rail travellers are OAPs and many of that age bracket don't even have mobiles.

Losty Dublin · 02-02-2017 09:38PM

Del.Monte wrote: »

I thought the perceived wisdom is that all rail travellers are OAPs and many of that age bracket don't even have mobiles.

Do I get off here for my hospital appointment?

ClovenHoof · 03-02-2017 01:02PM

"Jem72 wrote: »

That being said a "Trains to city" and "Trains to Maynooth & Sligo" sign on the appropriate platform would be somewhat helpful. They are also very bad at signposting entrances to stations. I had to try to get into Hazelhatch station for the first time ever a few months ago after walking out there from Connolly and it took me quite a while to find the entrance when coming from the canal.

Creating public confidence in every aspect of cultivating a sense of reliability from services to signage is vital.

08-02-2017 09:27AM

tabbey wrote: »

However the basic information needed is totally missing.
There are about twenty (ten each side) bilingual signs warning us of the gap between train and platform. A similar number of bilingual signs telling us to stay behind the yellow line. There are signs identifying platforms 1 & 2, as well as signs which indicate the direction to exit.

Far more useful would be a timetable, or list of departure times with destinations and intermediate stations served. There was not even something to inform the public which platform for the city or where else we could reach by train.

Considering that anything that was put in the station ended up in the canal shortly afterwards, I can understand why the station is still very spartan. Hopefully it can improve due to the Luas.

loyatemu · 16-02-2017 11:18AM

It might be worth running an extra set or 2 up and down from Maynooth to Docklands during the day - would greatly improve frequency on the line, passengers for the CC could change at Broombridge.

n97 mini · 16-02-2017 11:47AM

ClovenHoof wrote: »

Creating public confidence in every aspect of cultivating a sense of reliability from services to signage is vital.

They can't get the basics right: every station on the Maynooth line has a stainless steel and glass display board for showing timetables. They had timetables in them in the beginning, but they've been empty for the last 10 years.

Will Sligo Services be Stopping at Broombridge?

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