Bikes finally allowed on DARTs

Cookie_Monster · 04-01-2011 11:48AM #1

Horray,

Well done IE for finally allowing this (or being told to allow it

) and for free too!
Now all they need to do is up the limits for intercity services, only 3 per 22k set currently isn't it?

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=987

Minister of State for Sustainable Transport, Horticulture, Planning and Heritage, Mr. Ciarán Cuffe TD was joined by Anthony Moran from Cycling Ireland at Connolly Station today to launch two new initiatives for cyclists using Iarnród Éireann’s services.

For the first time cyclists are now able to take bikes onboard DARTs and Commuter trains at off-peak periods. Bikes will be carried free of charge on DART and Commuter services (including Dublin commuter and Cork commuter services) between 10.00hrs and 15.30hrs, and after 19.00hrs, Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday (excluding times of major fixtures / concerts and similar events at Aviva / Croke Park).

In addition, cyclists taking their bikes on Intercity services can now book bicycle spaces online at www.irishrail.ie for €6 per journey. This will ensure customers can plan their travel on Intercity easily and secure their bicycle space while booking their own online ticket.

Welcoming the new initiatives, Minister Cuffe said: “The Government’s National Cycling Policy puts a significant emphasis on integrating cycling and rail travel as sustainable modes of transport. Enabling cyclists to take bikes on off-peak Darts and commuter trains is another positive step toward building a strong cycling culture in Ireland”

CEO of cycling Ireland, Geoff Liffey said: “Cycling Ireland welcomes this initiative from Irish Rail and believes it will allow Cyclists to consider cycling as an alternative means of transport over longer distances achievable by using a train service for part of their journey. This service should also appeal to Cyclists who wish to take their bikes on holidays or weekend trips. This new service will further add to the continued rise of cycling in Ireland over the past number of years.”

An Iarnród Éireann spokesperson said: “Iarnród Éireann is delighted to be providing these additional services for cyclists and we hope that it promotes even more use of our services by cyclists. It will be a great opportunity for example for families at weekends to take their bicycles on our services, and visit areas that it would not have been practical to visit previously. As well as supporting national policy on developing cycling, it is also very much a business opportunity for us, with the numbers of people cycling on the rise.”

Iarnród Éireann has also undertaken an audit of bicycle parking facilities at its 142 stations around the country. This will allow improvements in facilities to be targeted at areas under served at present, and improve the accessibility of stations for cyclists, and further encourage the development of cycling.

Run_to_da_hills · 04-01-2011 01:00PM

I wonder will they designate a section of the train for these?

Bike racks could also double up as extra grab rails during peak times.

Cool Mo D · 04-01-2011 01:20PM

Good news, long overdue.

deRanged · 04-01-2011 01:58PM

Cork Cobh/Midleton too. I hope they'll mark the bike spaces in the carriages though. It's difficult to climb over bikes dumped in the doorways

Vorsprung · 04-01-2011 03:29PM

Rolleyes at a Minister being rolled out for what is standard practice in many countries

dynamick · 04-01-2011 09:21PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbsBiYgA4rc

Judgement Day · 04-01-2011 09:30PM

Ciaran Cuffe - my hero - what a ****ing donkey!

DWCommuter · 04-01-2011 09:57PM

Its a good idea. No doubt. But its hard to get excited about an issue that should have been done years ago. Checking the press release again, I find it sad that IE makes reference to it as a "business opportunity". It has been one for many years as they systematically tried to kill it off and refused to tolerate any kind of bicycle presence on any commuter train.

Whats next? A media head carrying a parcel on the train and IE claiming its a great business opportunity?

You get my point.:rolleyes:

Its a green fop and I predict it will be abolished in no time because IE don't do sensible, easily executed business ideas. If they did then they would probably be a half decent railway operator.

Mrs OBumble · 04-01-2011 10:19PM

Full bicycle T&Cs here

I wonder at what age a person becomes an adult for the purposes of this policy.

And what will happen if a bicycle turns up without having pre-booked one of the (three per train) spaces on an inter-city service.

KevR · 05-01-2011 03:26PM

So an Athenry-Galway commuter for example will have to pay €6 to bring a bike on the train because it's technically an intercity service? The return train fare is €11 so the total cost would be €17 if you don't have a monthly/annual ticket. Only 3 spaces per train and you have to pre-book.

A lot of people say that too much of the employment in Galway is too far from the train station to walk - this is true. The likes of Liosbaun Ind Estate, Mervue Business Park, Mulvoy Business Park, NUIG (to an extent)...etc are a bit far to walk but are certainly not too far to cycle to from Ceannt Station. Parkmore and Ballybrit on a bike would probably be pushing it a bit for many people though..

I think most people will stick to driving for a while yet! The train (with or without a bike) is a lot more expensive and less convenient.

goingnowhere · 05-01-2011 04:16PM

6 euro flat fee is for booking

But the old fares apply still, be 2.50 each way Athenry Galway
http://www.railusers.ie/passenger_info/bikes.php#cost

Oliver1985 · 05-01-2011 04:46PM

Can Duncan Bring his bike too????

:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlfd4tqYwf4

superelliptic · 05-01-2011 05:02PM

Vorsprung wrote: »

Rolleyes at a Minister being rolled out for what is standard practice in many countries

Couldnt agree more - its a good thing that this has happened, but its taken its time arriving hasnt it? I mean the Dart had its 25th birthday last year!

tim_holsters · 05-01-2011 05:13PM

Forgive me if I'm being a bit slow here folks but when they talk about keeping in the vestibules on the dart with your bike, do they mean where people get on and off the train?

This could get a bit messy, so there won't actually be a section of the train allocated for bicycles?

Jehuty42 · 05-01-2011 05:20PM

An awful lot of space can be taken up in some DART sets by the redundant cabs(4 of them in a six-car set),seems a shame that space can't be used for bikes or anything else.

Judgement Day · 05-01-2011 05:27PM

Absolutely revolutionary - CIE and the Greens reinvent the wheel. :rolleyes:

Mint Sauce · 05-01-2011 05:34PM

About time. Had an absolute mare trying to travel across dublin with my bike in 2009 (had to heavy a backpack to cycle safely), and then a whole hassle trying to get it on an advertised intercity service between queuing for my bike ticket, only to be told had to find the inspecter to get permission, queue again, and then finding the bike rack stacked with luggage.

I know we cant always compare our selves to london and the UK, but this should have been about sooner. In the same year I was able to reserve my bike space once the time tables were released on intercity services for free through the operators website or on phone via office, up to three months before my journey. Bring my bike on to a long distance commuter service, with no hassle, no questions asked, again for free, only exception was could not bring it on during peak times, and had to surrender the space if a wheel chair user came on, but with two to three areas per train (four to six bike spaces) and regular service, this was never going to be an issue. Over ten years ago, I could and have brought a full size mountain bike on to surface level tube trains, again for free and no question asked, only expections were deep tunnel services, peak trains and again surrender for wheel chair users

Run_to_da_hills · 05-01-2011 06:33PM

Jehuty42 wrote: »

An awful lot of space can be taken up in some DART sets by the redundant cabs(4 of them in a six-car set),seems a shame that space can't be used for bikes or anything else.

My bicycle is in excess of €1000, the last thing I would want is some reckless idiot throwing his bike on top of mine in a Dart cab.

Also people like myself like to keep an eye on our bikes at all times unless its chained up well.

Also two carriage Darts may yet make a comeback.

Cool Mo D · 05-01-2011 06:39PM

tim_holsters wrote: »

Forgive me if I'm being a bit slow here folks but when they talk about keeping in the vestibules on the dart with your bike, do they mean where people get on and off the train?

This could get a bit messy, so there won't actually be a section of the train allocated for bicycles?

There is plenty of room there at off peak times, no need for a special space.

Oliver1985 · 05-01-2011 07:29PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

My bicycle is in excess of €1000, the last thing I would want is some reckless idiot throwing his bike on top of mine in a Dart cab.

Also people like myself like to keep an eye on our bikes at all times unless its chained up well.

Also two carriage Darts may yet make a comeback.

Why dont they run two car darts anymore?
Also my bike is 900euro (well i didnt pay all of it )

Cookie_Monster · 05-01-2011 07:34PM

Oliver1985 wrote: »

Why dont they run two car darts anymore?

while you don't even need the 4s or 6s late at night the hassle of uncoupling and recoupling for rush hours makes it pointless I imagine.

It'd be fun trying to get the bike around Tara St or a few other stations too.

Run_to_da_hills · 05-01-2011 07:56PM

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

while you don't even need the 4s or 6s late at night the hassle of uncoupling and re coupling for rush hours makes it pointless I imagine..

Complacency has set in, coupling and uncoupling a pair of 8100 Dart units was nothing compared to the hassle of switching former C and GM series locos at the end of each trip.

Two carriage Darts would make a hell of a lot of sense in these cut back times, they save on security, maintenance, energy, significantly on wear and tear compared to larger units.

2 carriage DMU sets are still very popular in the UK and they increase in size as they reach their destinations. I noticed this on the Holyhead B Ham route. .

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

It'd be fun trying to get the bike around Tara St or a few other stations too.

Anyone fit enough to cycle should be fit enough to haul a scoot up a flight of stairs, other than that they should give up the fags.

CIE · 05-01-2011 08:56PM

Cool Mo D wrote: »

tim_holsters wrote: »

Forgive me if I'm being a bit slow here folks but when they talk about keeping in the vestibules on the dart with your bike, do they mean where people get on and off the train?

This could get a bit messy, so there won't actually be a section of the train allocated for bicycles?

There is plenty of room there at off peak times, no need for a special space.

Disagree, WADR. Not likely that bicycle users would be riding at off-peak times. The DART has only two entrances per side of carriage, so if a lot of bicycle users are on a certain train, it's going to be messy boarding and alighting.

Run_to_da_hills · 05-01-2011 09:00PM

CIE wrote: »

Disagree, WADR. Not likely that bicycle users would be riding at off-peak times. The DART has only two entrances per side of carriage, so if a lot of bicycle users are on a certain train, it's going to be messy boarding and alighting.

Not if they have designated doors at the end or front of each train. It works abroad.

-Chris- · 05-01-2011 09:47PM

I wish there was some sort of directionality associated with the on/off peak times.

I have to be in town at 7pm on friday, travelling from Killiney Dart station. Ideally I'd like to head in and out on my bike so that I don't have to worry about parking the car etc. in town.

Even though I'll be heading from Killiney to Pearse St at 6:20ish (against the flow of rush hour) in relatively empty carriages, the only options if I want my bike with me are to head into town for 3:30pm and wait around, or wait until 7pm to get on the train and be 40ish minutes late for the people I'm meeting.
The third option is to cycle into town, but I don't want to be sweaty when I get to my destination.

I really appreciate the ability to come and go at the weekends, but I think the weekday times are too restrictive.

CIE · 05-01-2011 10:34PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Not if they have designated doors at the end or front of each train. It works abroad.

That's assigning space on the train. Might work better if the DARTs had three doors per side per car.

I didn't see on this thread whether or not the turnstiles can accommodate the passage of bikes. Do they pass through the ticket agent's gate instead?

Agent J · 05-01-2011 10:54PM

About frakking time.

Its only in the last 2 years or so on the Maynooth line has it been possible to use a new intercity to get a back home. Before that for about 6 years it was impossible to legally get a bike back on that line.

For years on the Maynooth line i used to aim for off peak services at unmanned stations to get my bike home. A few too many run ins with security eventually put a stop to that.

Thank feck. Now i can cycle into work & get it home by train if i need to.

Run_to_da_hills · 05-01-2011 10:58PM

CIE wrote: »

That's assigning space on the train. Might work better if the DARTs had three doors per side per car.

I didn't see on this thread whether or not the turnstiles can accommodate the passage of bikes. Do they pass through the ticket agent's gate instead?

All stations must have staff availible to operate turnstyles manually to cater for those with prams, excess luggage, wheelchairs, DA passes etc. Usually the larger gate is designated for this. They will just have to keep their hand on the button longer to let a cyclists through.

Carawaystick · 05-01-2011 11:55PM

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

All stations must have staff availible to operate turnstyles manually to cater for those with prams, excess luggage, wheelchairs, DA passes etc.

And if you believe that, c'mere til I tell ya this one, All Irish rail trains run on time.

Anyway It'll be great craic to see how the off peak scheme works on rugby weekends.

Run_to_da_hills · 06-01-2011 12:58AM

Carawaystick wrote: »

Anyway It'll be great craic to see how the off peak scheme works on rugby weekends.

Unless someone is cycling a wreck they would be foolish to take anything of value on a packed footie train, their call.

Victor · 06-01-2011 01:10AM

Stations with the new turnstiles will have a wider turnstile that people with bicycles can use.

Those with the older turnstiles will have a wide gate controlled from the ticket office.

Carawaystick wrote: »

Anyway It'll be great craic to see how the off peak scheme works on rugby weekends.

The rules are being worked on. Certain exclusions will exist for major events, especially Croke Park and Aviva, but maybe Dun Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures, Bray Air Show, St. Patrick's Day, etc..

Bikes finally allowed on DARTs

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