Losty Dublin wrote: » and far cheaper than in the privatised UK system.
Losty Dublin wrote: » Tourists tend to plan out a route of where to go so if anything they will be better prepared than asome local travelers, as LX has inferred.
lxflyer wrote: » Well it is until further notice rather than a fixed date.
foggy_lad wrote: » It is their summer sale, nothing more, they did the same last year and the year before only in a different way because their booking system was different. In fact in previous years there was better value to be had as they flooded the bookings with cheaper fares on the less crowed services so you could get very cheap fares with no 3 days advance booking. Also the web sale fares are from/to Dublin and the terminus stations only and there is no reduction for travelling to places like Carlow/Waterford and Mullingar/Sligo.
goingnowhere wrote: » Wrong as always, discounted fare is available between any two stations on all radial routes where the offer fare is less than cash fare Dublin Thurles is 14.99 for example
foggy_lad wrote: » goingnowhere wrote: » Wrong as always, discounted fare is available between any two stations on all radial routes where the offer fare is less than cash fare Dublin Thurles is 14.99 for example So those in places as far away from Dublin as Mullingar Carlow etc are not allowed any benefit from the sale, and Dublin to Ballybrophy costs €21.99 while going further to Castleconnell costs €14.99. The same old crooked system as before just tarted up in different colours!
devnull wrote: » However the advance tickets are without doubt very good value and cheaper than the advance purchase tickets in Ireland.
goingnowhere wrote: » I get 14.99 for Dublin Ballybrophy for more than 3 days advance So busted again
lxflyer wrote: » What is inconvenient about walking from the train to the front of Heuston Station?
lxflyer wrote: » It is freely available on every train and every seat is priced the same, provided people book 3 days in advance.
schemingbohemia wrote: » The person who posted was comparing Aircoach to Irish Rail and a trip to the airport - that's precisely why I asked how far in advance they booked their plane, if they booked their plane fare on the day the cost of the train would be the least of their worries.
lxflyer wrote: » So every traveller has a VERY heavy bag do they, and are elderly?
lxflyer wrote: » If you seriously think the entire booking system could have been rejigged in a week, including a full assessment of the revenue implications of the changes in a response to Aircoach starting then I think you're somewhat deluded.
bk wrote: » Whatever way you like to paint it, Aircoach to Dublin Airport is still faster, cheaper and more convenient then Irish Rail. Of course it is seeing that the train doesnt go to the Airport. I havent used Aircoach but it looks like a good addition to commuting market.
bk wrote: » Whatever way you like to paint it, Aircoach to Dublin Airport is still faster, cheaper and more convenient then Irish Rail.
bk wrote: » They had two months as the listings for the license for Aircoach and GoBus had been listed publicly two months prior to the launch of the service. Plenty of time to rejig the booking system in preparation and then wait and see if Aircoach/GoBus launch and what sort of service before pulling the trigger on introducing this new web fare. Which they did one week after Aircoach launched. The reality is neither of us know the truth and we will never know. And really who cares less about some new Commercial director dude? IR wouldn't have bothered to bring him in if they didn't face all this new competition. Are you seriously saying Irish Rail would still have offered this half price deal if they never faced the competition from the motorways and coaches? Utter bull. All I can say is Aircoach is the best thing to ever happen to public transport to Cork. We now have a cheap, fast, frequent service to Cork with a very wide schedule, including late night services, something no CIE company ever bothered to offer between our two largest cities!! And now it is even having a positive effect on Irish Rail, forcing them to reduce prices and speed up the schedule. As a commuter all I can say is fantastic.
lxflyer wrote: » I never said it wasn't. I just questioned your use of the word "inconvenient" about a 5 minute walk from the train to the 747.
lxflyer wrote: » You are still both making a mountain out of a molehill in the context of a journey from one side of the country to another.
n97 mini wrote: » lxflyer wrote: » You are still both making a mountain out of a molehill in the context of a journey from one side of the country to another. That's your opinion. A lot of people would see a potential 20 minute wait an inconvenience versus no wait at all.
lxflyer wrote: » I would say that the appointment of the Commercial Director was of course a response to the coach operators - but not on the Cork route. I would say it had everything to do with the Galway route. <snip> The decision to appoint a Commercial Director with private sector experience would have been made well before Aircoach/Gobus licences on the Cork route became public knowledge. However you may wish to belittle that decision, it is a totally new strategy for IE and is in my opinion one of the biggest game changing moves in that company in years. Finally they have appointed someone with commercial experience of working in the real world to a significant position rather than internal railway personnel.
The Galway - Dublin train will be no faster than it was in 1968 or even possibly 1948 ( well over 2 hours) while a car will do it in less than 2 hours outside the rush hour ...by 2010. The move will more likely be to EXPRESS buses at the expense of rail post 2010 . The Motorways will simply murder Iarnród Éireann I fear . A fully functioning interconnector is at least 10 years away seeing as Iarnród Éireann only propose to build part of it ( the underground bit in Dublin ) for starters .
CIE wrote: » How is it that IE and BE have yet conspired to move Ireland's public transportation back to the 60s? You aren't going to have any 200-km/h express buses, certainly not operating safely anywhere. (And why did anyone think that the Interconnector DART Underground would result in faster intercity passenger rail?)
foggy_lad wrote: » Bus eireann have moved with the times as much as they are allowed by the nta and have competed with Irish fail on every route except the flagship cort line but Irish rail have consistently failed miserably on just about every intercity route and people instead of blaming the company are saying it is a CIE conspiracy??
CIE wrote: » The West Cork lines were closed due to so-called "bus competition" after all (that was the major excuse back then).
CIE wrote: » Funny how people don't recognise the same trick that was played on them a half-century ago, and fall for it like they were born yesterday.
corktina wrote: » i have always believed the West Cork lines closed because of the major cost of renewals required.
