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Bus Eireann N3/M3 Corridor Route & Timetable Changes - Phase 3

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    #332
    tom23
    Registered Users Posts: 1,102 ✭✭✭tom23


    Thinking here on the Johnstown express at one stage 5 years ago the commuters of navan had a near perfect express where folks from all over the town made their way to the Dublin Road to get this express. It had two stops and off you went. Now we have a bus that takes close to two hours and Johnstown has a bus service that not even Dublin bus could match in frequency. Everyone else in Navan has to walk / drive / cycle to get to town centre. How did this happen? Does anyone not from ‘Johnstown’ feel short changed? I certainly do.


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    #333
    Ally Dick
    Registered Users Posts: 12,665 ✭✭✭✭Ally Dick


    I'm going back to the train. The bus is too unreliable and stressful


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    #334
    piplip87
    Registered Users Posts: 2,102 ✭✭✭piplip87


    Have noticed far more single deckers on the 109x recently too. Thankfully the airport rush is over, Expressway drivers now happily accept the tax saver so the 30X is a good send from Virginia in the mornings and there much more likely to let you on the way home now too.


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    #335
    tomjohn01
    Registered Users Posts: 45 ✭tomjohn01


    I will be looking at alternatives from January, even if it costs more,its a shambles of a service. At least once a week i run from work to get to Beresford only to be left waiting half an hour or more as no bus turns up with no explanation. People of Navan are being treated like second class citizens despite paying one of the highest ticket prices in the country.
    Shambles


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    #336
    tom23
    Registered Users Posts: 1,102 ✭✭✭tom23


    tomjohn01 wrote: »
    I will be looking at alternatives from January, even if it costs more,its a shambles of a service. At least once a week i run from work to get to Beresford only to be left waiting half an hour or more as no bus turns up with no explanation. People of Navan are being treated like second class citizens despite paying one of the highest ticket prices in the country.
    Shambles

    Vote with your feet but complain on Twitter email and include everyone of your local representatives and TFI / NTA.


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    #337
    Ally Dick
    Registered Users Posts: 12,665 ✭✭✭✭Ally Dick


    tomjohn01 wrote: »
    I will be looking at alternatives from January, even if it costs more,its a shambles of a service. At least once a week i run from work to get to Beresford only to be left waiting half an hour or more as no bus turns up with no explanation. People of Navan are being treated like second class citizens despite paying one of the highest ticket prices in the country.
    Shambles

    I agree. It has gotten more shambolic. One evening I was waiting at Wilton Terrace from 6pm to 6.40pm for a bus to turn up. Two pulled in at 6.20pm. The driver of the first one ignorantly sat there with the door closed while a queue formed outside. He opened the door at 6.35pm to let people on. The other bus driver locked the bus up and walked away. No explanations were offered for the total non-show of the 6.10pm bus. Then of course there was a humongous crowd getting on at Beresford, not to mention the usual dodgy waifs and strays who get on sometimes on the Finglas bypass opposite the motor dealers.
    The fact that the 6.10pm bus is now mostly single deckers is the final straw. And yesterday morning, the 7.20am bus was a single decker as well. It's madness when the schools and colleges are back. Not fit for purpose. I am going to go back to the train, even though it involves a 30 minute walk from Docklands to Baggot Street and back. I can't rely on the bus. It takes 2 hours to get to work, and I can't be strolling in late. I might have to go for a rental bike or a taxi to help with the journey as well. All worth it if I can get a seat on the train. That is always reliable


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    #338
    tom23
    Registered Users Posts: 1,102 ✭✭✭tom23


    Ally Dick wrote: »
    I agree. It has gotten more shambolic. One evening I was waiting at Wilton Terrace from 6pm to 6.40pm for a bus to turn up. Two pulled in at 6.20pm. The driver of the first one ignorantly sat there with the door closed while a queue formed outside. He opened the door at 6.35pm to let people on. The other bus driver locked the bus up and walked away. No explanations were offered for the total non-show of the 6.10pm bus. Then of course there was a humongous crowd getting on at Beresford, not to mention the usual dodgy waifs and strays who get on sometimes on the Finglas bypass opposite the motor dealers.
    The fact that the 6.10pm bus is now mostly single deckers is the final straw. And yesterday morning, the 7.20am bus was a single decker as well. It's madness when the schools and colleges are back. Not fit for purpose. I am going to go back to the train, even though it involves a 30 minute walk from Docklands to Baggot Street and back. I can't rely on the bus. It takes 2 hours to get to work, and I can't be strolling in late. I might have to go for a rental bike or a taxi to help with the journey as well. All worth it if I can get a seat on the train. That is always reliable

    Train by far is the best mode of transport. One wonders why a shuttle service (not bus Éireann run god forbid) has not been set up to go from navan to M3 Parkway. Will be looking for train myself in new year. Can’t do this shambolic NX service much longer or I’ll be committed. All the trumping and fanfare around this ‘NX’ service and BE cant even get capacity issues right. I hope st some stage a go ahead service can go after the 109 route and make something better of it.


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    #339
    tom23
    Registered Users Posts: 1,102 ✭✭✭tom23


    And another major gripe I have is the brainiacs that decided to relocate the bus stop back in to The Blanch SC. It’s taking 15 mins to get and out as the bus in front of was hogging the road with no option for bus or car to over take it. How do they plan this?


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    #340
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,697 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    tom23 wrote: »
    Train by far is the best mode of transport. One wonders why a shuttle service (not bus reann run god forbid) has not been set up to go from navan to M3 Parkway. Will be looking for train myself in new year. Can’t do this shambolic NX service much longer or I’ll be committed. All the trumping and fanfare around this ‘NX’ service and BE cant even get capacity issues right. I hope st some stage a go ahead service can go after the 109 route and make something better of it.


    Lack of capacity on the trains. Won't be any additional for 3 years and what's going to be ordered for that will provide very little respite. It'll be 5-8 years before there's any real increase


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    #341
    dowlingm
    Registered Users Posts: 5,309 ✭✭✭dowlingm


    L1011 wrote: »
    Lack of capacity on the trains. Won't be any additional for 3 years and what's going to be ordered for that will provide very little respite. It'll be 5-8 years before there's any real increase
    320px-Dublin_5.jpg


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    #342
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,697 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    dowlingm wrote: »
    320px-Dublin_5.jpg

    Not in a running condition. Realistically they were never in a running condition even when new!


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    #343
    Ally Dick
    Registered Users Posts: 12,665 ✭✭✭✭Ally Dick


    The only real problem with the trains is that they are very limited in the number of carriages from the Parkway to Docklands. I believe the track can't take much more of them. That to me is staggering. I have to say though, that getting on at the M3 Parkway, I will always get a seat in the morning, and I will always get a seat in the evening if at Docklands early.

    Quick question - would it be convoluted to get a train from the Parkway to Clonsilla, and then a connecting train from Clonsilla into Lansdowne Road, which would leave me within walking distance of work?


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    #344
    Ally Dick
    Registered Users Posts: 12,665 ✭✭✭✭Ally Dick


    Another thing, I am amazed that the residents of St Ultan's Terrace in Navan are not up in arms over the relocation of the bus stops from the Square and Convent Of Mercy to Abbey Road. Buses running from all hours, revving up right beside their houses, and all the noise as well. Is this a permanent arrangement, or are they building a bus depo on Kennedy Road somewhere (per rumours)?


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    #345
    donvito99
    Registered Users Posts: 5,818 ✭✭✭donvito99


    Ally Dick wrote: »
    The only real problem with the trains is that they are very limited in the number of carriages from the Parkway to Docklands. I believe the track can't take much more of them. That to me is staggering. I have to say though, that getting on at the M3 Parkway, I will always get a seat in the morning, and I will always get a seat in the evening if at Docklands early.

    Quick question - would it be convoluted to get a train from the Parkway to Clonsilla, and then a connecting train from Clonsilla into Lansdowne Road, which would leave me within walking distance of work?

    You would be changing at Clonsilla and then again onto a Dart to get to Lansdowne Rd by train I would imagine. So convoluted but not impossible.


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    #346
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,697 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    You'll lose your seat at Clonsilla, may be better to hold on until Broombridge if doing that.

    Multiple transfers are the norm in countries with transport networks. We only really started to get a network a few years ago with the Green Line extension


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    #347
    Ally Dick
    Registered Users Posts: 12,665 ✭✭✭✭Ally Dick


    L1011 wrote: »
    You'll lose your seat at Clonsilla, may be better to hold on until Broombridge if doing that.

    Multiple transfers are the norm in countries with transport networks. We only really started to get a network a few years ago with the Green Line extension

    Thanks. I've done M3 Parkway to Broombridge, and then Broombridge luas to Charlemont, and then walk 15 minutes to Baggot St. You really have to give yourself a good half hour to get from Broombridge to Charlemont on the Luas. That's the only problem. I could walk from Docklands to Baggot St in the same time


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    #348
    donvito99
    Registered Users Posts: 5,818 ✭✭✭donvito99


    Ally Dick wrote: »
    Thanks. I've done M3 Parkway to Broombridge, and then Broombridge luas to Charlemont, and then walk 15 minutes to Baggot St. You really have to give yourself a good half hour to get from Broombridge to Charlemont on the Luas. That's the only problem. I could walk from Docklands to Baggot St in the same time

    DublinBikes from Docklands to Baggot St might also be a good option. From approx the Sam Beckett Bridge, it's only Macken St and then down the Grand Canal which has its dedicated cycleway.


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    #349
    Ally Dick
    Registered Users Posts: 12,665 ✭✭✭✭Ally Dick


    donvito99 wrote: »
    DublinBikes from Docklands to Baggot St might also be a good option. From approx the Sam Beckett Bridge, it's only Macken St and then down the Grand Canal which has its dedicated cycleway.

    Thanks. I'm 53, and I am terrified of cycling through town. I am also afraid of arriving at Baggot bridge, and no gaps on the bike rack! Am I being stupid? Probably


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    #350
    tara83
    Registered Users Posts: 276 ✭✭tara83


    Ally Dick wrote: »
    Thanks. I'm 53, and I am terrified of cycling through town. I am also afraid of arriving at Baggot bridge, and no gaps on the bike rack! Am I being stupid? Probably

    It’s a fairly safe route with a cycle lane majority of the way go through grand canal square rather than Macken street. I don’t like cycling around town but don’t mind this one.
    The train has capacity issues and it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. The number getting on at Hansfield is constantly growing.


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    #351
    Ally Dick
    Registered Users Posts: 12,665 ✭✭✭✭Ally Dick


    tara83 wrote: »
    It’s a fairly safe route with a cycle lane majority of the way go through grand canal square rather than Macken street. I don’t like cycling around town but don’t mind this one.
    The train has capacity issues and it’s only going to get worse before it gets better. The number getting on at Hansfield is constantly growing.

    I agree. And the amount of building going on down near the 3Arena is bound to have a serious knock on to the number of train passengers going to and from Docklands as well


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    #352
    tara83
    Registered Users Posts: 276 ✭✭tara83


    A fair cry from when it 1st opened - part of me misses those days 😀

    https://www.herald.ie/news/only-20-passengers-a-day-use-train-station-that-cost-10m-29403814.html


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    #353
    Ally Dick
    Registered Users Posts: 12,665 ✭✭✭✭Ally Dick


    What is the story with three carriage trains, and the occasional four carriage one? Is it some nonsense to do with the track not being able to take more carriages. Why is that, if true?


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    #354
    donvito99
    Registered Users Posts: 5,818 ✭✭✭donvito99


    Ally Dick wrote: »
    What is the story with three carriage trains, and the occasional four carriage one? Is it some nonsense to do with the track not being able to take more carriages. Why is that, if true?

    There is a shortage of rolling stock across the network, nothing to do with track/stations etc.


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    #355
    Ally Dick
    Registered Users Posts: 12,665 ✭✭✭✭Ally Dick


    donvito99 wrote: »
    There is a shortage of rolling stock across the network, nothing to do with track/stations etc.

    My god. With the huge numbers now using the service, and the money that the government is raking in, you'd imagine this would be easily rectified, wouldn't you?


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    #356
    dowlingm
    Registered Users Posts: 5,309 ✭✭✭dowlingm


    Ally Dick wrote: »
    My god. With the huge numbers now using the service, and the money that the government is raking in, you'd imagine this would be easily rectified, wouldn't you?
    the 2700 refit was not proceeded with, and there isn’t compatible stock ready to go, so waiting several years for new stock is basically the only option (short of shutting down branch services to send a half dozen DMUs to Dublin)


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    #357
    tom23
    Registered Users Posts: 1,102 ✭✭✭tom23


    dowlingm wrote: »
    the 2700 refit was not proceeded with, and there isn’t compatible stock ready to go, so waiting several years for new stock is basically the only option (short of shutting down branch services to send a half dozen DMUs to Dublin)

    Howdy Dowling, can you explain that in more detail. What is that about? cheers


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    #358
    rubberdungeon
    Registered Users Posts: 606 ✭✭✭rubberdungeon


    Do those petitions on change.org have any impact, I saw one this morning about a train to Navan, it said the people of Navan demand action and government must fund a passenger rail service from Dublin to Navan.

    Not sure about posting links or if it’s allowed, I’ve no connection with the petition


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    #359
    tom23
    Registered Users Posts: 1,102 ✭✭✭tom23


    rubberdungeon wrote: »
    Do those petitions on change.org have any impact, I saw one this morning about a train to Navan, it said the people of Navan demand action and government must fund a passenger rail service from Dublin to Navan.

    Not sure about posting links or if it’s allowed, I’ve no connection with the petition

    Thanks for sharing this. I see Kentstown looking for a bus service... surprised that there was nothing serving that area. But then again most buses are serving Johnstown which is probably the most served area by bus in all of Ireland. Bus every 20 minutes either way and the local town service coupled with the fact you could cycle into Navan in little over 12 minutes or walk in 20.


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    #360
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,697 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    rubberdungeon wrote: »
    Do those petitions on change.org have any impact, I saw one this morning about a train to Navan, it said the people of Navan demand action and government must fund a passenger rail service from Dublin to Navan.

    Not sure about posting links or if it’s allowed, I’ve no connection with the petition

    Absolutely zero impact. Not sure about change.org but I've seen the more screechy (generally right wing) "citizen go" petition site be set up to black hole all the emails it sends to the agency being petitioned also.


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    #361
    dowlingm
    Registered Users Posts: 5,309 ✭✭✭dowlingm


    tom23 wrote: »
    Howdy Dowling, can you explain that in more detail. What is that about? cheers
    The NTA decided the cost/benefit wasn’t there to refurbish the 2700 class cars in storage (a figure of 1M/car is mentioned in another thread), and the timeframe from ordering new cars to delivery is measured in years if not tacked on to an existing production run. Limerick-Nenagh and Limerick Junction-Waterford and maybe Ballina-Manulla being chopped would free up 6-8 cars which isn’t much for the backlash which would ensue.


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