Irish Rail 2010 timetable now online

Yoda · 05-11-2009 10:55am

Chris_533976 wrote: »

I wonder if people going out to the Wesht on the Dublin - Galway train will be able to cope with the splitting train idea.

I'm delighted. Long as I can book my seat.

Ham'nd'egger · 05-11-2009 11:18am

T Corolla wrote: »

It is great to see the new services coming delighted to see the 5:45am from Longford to Pearse. I was under the impression that there would be a reduction in services across the board Is there a timetable for Limerick to Galway yet

Yes, this was an impression being alluded to recently here. Seemingly, one or two people here waxed lyrical here about how this timetable was to be a serious hatchet job on most routes and trains dropped left right and centre. I can't see them coming back on to say they were wrong on this anytime soon.

Cookie_Monster · 05-11-2009 11:26am

Riskymove wrote: »

thats the concern alright

it is something i have seen in France that works well (but thats France!!)

Top Gear in Japan anyone LOL

bk · 05-11-2009 12:17pm

dereko1969 wrote: »

One service in each direction will be removed (19.30 Cork to Heuston and 20.00 Heuston to Cork), with the last services remaining as the 20.30 Cork to Heuston and 21.00 Heuston to Cork, and a total of 14 services each way daily.

Service to/from Cork being dropped :eek:

T Corolla · 05-11-2009 1:25pm

What do people think of the Westport-Galway splitting in Athlone. IMO it is a good idea and it should be used on other services. do you think this could be used on Limerick-Galway splitting in Portarlinton peak and offpeak and Cork-Limerick offpeak and Cork-Tralee offpeak in a small way it would save money and deploy drivers on much needed commuter-dart services.

Unshelved · 05-11-2009 1:47pm

Just looking at the timetable right now. I'm coming from Skerries, but it's practically the same for everyone on the line north of Malahide.

In the morning the two busiest trains, the 7.49 and the 8.02 (from Skerries) have been combined as the 7.58, and there's no train between 7.33 and 7.58- more than 30 minutes at peak time without a service. It's already a very tight squeeze on either the 7.49 or the 8.02 - combining the two at 7.58 will mean that getting on board will be carnage. I'll be very surprised if anyone at all can board at Skerries or further on down the line.

On the way home they've added Rush and Luck to the 17.13 (from Pearse) but that doesn't seem to make any difference to the arrival time. However, the express from Connolly to Dundalk just before it seems to have disappeared, so that's going to mean a hell of a lot more people on that train. There's no train between 17.22 and 17.55 - like in the mornings, over half an hour at peak -time service with no transport.

When I saw in the papers that they were increasing the service so that every DART station will have a train every 15 minutes I knew we'd get hammered. Less northern commuter trains on the lines and now virtually all trains will stop at Portmarnock and Malahide both of which already have the DART service.

The northern line commuter - always the poor relation. :mad:

covert · 05-11-2009 2:06pm

Ehhh..from what I can see, the Northern line commuter service is virtually identical. Right now (well, for pre-Viaduct schedules), trains from Skerries are:

7.39, 7.49, 8.02, 8.19

In the time span under the new plan, it's:

7.33, 7.47, 7.58, 8.21.

So it's just a couple of minutes here and there. Also, the evening Dundalk express (the 16.50 I'm presuming you mean?) is still there from what I can see. So not sure what you're reading TBH?

Nostradamus · 05-11-2009 2:12pm

T Corolla wrote: »

What do people think of the Westport-Galway splitting in Athlone.

They can have a free Western Rail Corridor of sorts if the Ballina-Dublin service was split at Athlone with the front part going to Dubin and the back going to Limerick via Ennis.

Manulla on a cold winter's day with the wind blowing off Lough Conn while waiting for the Westport train which might or might not have a seat is what's really killing passengers number to and from Ballina.

So just creating a new direct Ballina-Dublin service with a rail split at Athlone will save the Ballina Branch and create a free WRC.

ClutchIt · 05-11-2009 2:21pm

GerardKeating wrote: »

Limerick-Galway in only 2 hours (or 2 hours 25 minutes for the 6am ex-Limerick)

Also offers some Dublin-Galway service via Limerick..

ONLY 2 hrs, what a mess. I can drive it in 1.5hrs. Aren't trains supposed to be FASTER than cars. Seeing as there is no traffic and they charge more than the price of the petrol? And trains are faster than driving anywhere in every other country in the world (Probably).

T Corolla · 05-11-2009 2:27pm

Nostradamus wrote: »

They can have a free Western Rail Corridor of sorts if the Ballina-Dublin service was split at Athlone with the front part going to Dubin and the back going to Limerick via Ennis.

Manulla on a cold winter's day with the wind blowing off Lough Conn while waiting for the Westport train which might or might not have a seat is what's really killing passengers number to and from Ballina.

So just creating a new direct Ballina-Dublin service with a rail split at Athlone will save the Ballina Branch and create a free WRC.

Can the train go from Athlone to Limerick via Athenry without reversing

Nostradamus · 05-11-2009 2:35pm

T Corolla wrote: »

Can the train go from Athlone to Limerick via Athenry without reversing

Just the driver getting on at Athone going to the cab at the back of the train and taking it to Limerick. Could be done in a few minutes - continental Europe is full of services like this.

T Corolla · 05-11-2009 2:39pm

Nostradamus wrote: »

Just the driver getting on at Athone going to the cab at the back of the train and taking it to Limerick. Could be done in a few minutes - continental Europe is full of services like this.

You mean Portarlington not Athlone unless there is a junction in Athenry to allow the train to get onto the Limerick line which I think does not exist.

Nostradamus · 05-11-2009 2:48pm

T Corolla wrote: »

You mean Portarlington not Athlone unless there is a junction in Athenry to allow the train to get onto the Limerick line which I think does not exist.

There will be in a couple of weeks when the WRC is operational. The curve from Athlone sweeps towards Limerick from the East.

6 unit 22000 set leaves Ballina for Athlone. Front 3 cars go to Dublin - new driver gets on and drives back of train to Athenry-Ennis-Limerick. Would allow all kinds of connections from the Midlands. Only the Sligo line would be left out (so what!). Cork would be accessed from a connection at Limerick.

Using Athlone as the centre of the IC network for Inter-City connections as an alternative to Dublin makes much more sense than Claremorris.

T Corolla · 05-11-2009 2:53pm

Nostradamus wrote: »

There will be in a couple of weeks when the WRC is operational. The curve from Athlone sweeps towards Limerick.

Athlone-Athenry-Ennis-Limerick.

Very good so it not all a waste is this to faciltate the Tuam extension or for freight trains from Athlone and Westport to Waterford keeping off the Hueston line

GerardKeating · 05-11-2009 2:54pm

T Corolla wrote: »

You mean Portarlington not Athlone unless there is a junction in Athenry to allow the train to get onto the Limerick line which I think does not exist.

There is, how else would the Limerick-Galway service work

Some "Limerick-Ennis-Athenry-Athlone" would help them optimize the the single track between Galway and Athlone.

Those on Limerick-Athlone services could transfers to Dublin-Galway services at Athenry.

Nostradamus · 05-11-2009 3:03pm

T Corolla wrote: »

Very good so it not all a waste is this to faciltate the Tuam extension or for freight trains from Athlone and Westport to Waterford keeping off the Hueston line

I am not sure what point you are making. Opening the old line from Athenry to Claremorris would cost hundreds of millions. We can get more or less the same for nothing just by CIE managers using a bit of creativity and flexibility with current track and rolling stock.

Right now I think it is much more intelligent to try and save the passenger service into Ballina than opening Athenry-Claremorris. Creating a combined Direct Ballina-Dublin with the rear of the train becoming Ballina-Limerick which spilts at Athlone would not only do this, but create a free Western Rail Corridor. Munulla is the problem with the Ballina line. If a direct service was offered to Dublin from Ballina the passenger numbers would jump significantly.

Athlone should be the lynchpin for passengers and freight outside Dublin - not Claremorris.

T Corolla · 05-11-2009 3:04pm

GerardKeating wrote: »

There is, how else would the Limerick-Galway service work

Some "Limerick-Ennis-Athenry-Athlone" would help them optimize the the single track between Galway and Athlone.

Those on Limerick-Athlone services could transfers to Dublin-Galway services at Athenry.

I was under the impression that passengers from Athlone going to Limerick would transfer at Athenry onto the railcar Limerick bound. I was not aware that the train could pass Athenry from the Athlone side onto the Limerick line. I thought the train would emerge from Limerick before Athenry train station not after. Does it mean that the driver will move to the front of the Limerick train and drive to Galway

GerardKeating · 05-11-2009 3:13pm

T Corolla wrote: »

I was under the impression that passengers from Athlone going to Limerick would transfer at Athenry onto the railcar Limerick bound. I was not aware that the train could pass Athenry from the Athlone side onto the Limerick line. I thought the train would emerge from Limerick before Athenry train station not after. Does it mean that the driver will move to the front of the Limerick train and drive to Galway

Athlone-Athenry-Limerick is a direct straight run.

It is the Limerick-Galway service that has to reverse at Athenry.

Nostradamus · 05-11-2009 3:19pm

T Corolla wrote: »

I was under the impression that passengers from Athlone going to Limerick would transfer at Athenry onto the railcar Limerick bound. I was not aware that the train could pass Athenry from the Athlone side onto the Limerick line. I thought the train would emerge from Limerick before Athenry train station not after. Does it mean that the driver will move to the front of the Limerick train and drive to Galway

Here is the track layout at Athenry

___________________________To Tuam
Galway

Athenry

Athlone
________To Ennis

T Corolla · 05-11-2009 3:45pm

Nostradamus wrote: »

Here is the track layout at Athenry

___________________________To Tuam
Galway
Athenry
Athlone
________To Ennis

Oh I assumed wrong entirley the layout my apoligies. I assumed that the Galway-limerick was a straight run not Athlone-Limerick

Nostradamus · 05-11-2009 5:02pm

T Corolla wrote: »

Oh I assumed wrong entirley the layout my apoligies. I assumed that the Galway-limerick was a straight run not Athlone-Limerick

No worries - it's a common mistake. You bought into the disinfo surrounding the entire WRC.

shaymousse · 05-11-2009 8:13pm

Carlow getting extra service in the am at 8.06! Poor Athy though wont get a look in as the train is express from Waterford and only stops once in carlow!

dowlingm · 05-11-2009 8:22pm

Overhead view of Athenry Station (2005) via OSI Viewer. (for those parts of the country Google and Bing don't have decent sat images of!)

MOH · 06-11-2009 4:28pm

There's actually 5 DARTs a day less in the new timetable (southbound anyway, so I presume northbound too). I can't see any improvment at peak time - there's the same number of trains going through the city centre between 7.30 and 9.30. While some of the gaps might have been shortened, the fact there's 5 services less means the average gap has actually increased.
And in fact the longest gap between services is now 34 minutes, with two of 25 minutes - on the current timetable there's one of 30 minutes and anything else is under 25 mins.

Any claim by IE that the DART service is improved is pure spin.

highlydebased · 07-11-2009 12:10am

Unusually, the 0635 Lmk-Heuston has been moved to 0655, and is serving Limerick Junction. This is going to be unusual, I presume it will come around the direct curve then reverse back onto platform 1?

07-11-2009 12:33am

Neon-Circles wrote: »

Unusually, the 0635 Lmk-Heuston has been moved to 0655, and is serving Limerick Junction. This is going to be unusual, I presume it will come around the direct curve then reverse back onto platform 1?

It could also stop at Limerick Junction using the normal "indirect" route and change ends. While I hate the fact that IÉ wasted money replacing stock that didn't need to be replaced (Mark 3s), it does have to be said that many of the changes in this timetable wouldn't have been possible with locomotive hauled or push/pull trains.

Ham'nd'egger · 07-11-2009 12:52am

Karsini wrote: »

It could also stop at Limerick Junction using the normal "indirect" route and change ends. While I hate the fact that IÉ wasted money replacing stock that didn't need to be replaced (Mark 3s), it does have to be said that many of the changes in this timetable wouldn't have been possible with locomotive hauled or push/pull trains.

The set up at Limerick Junction allows a train from Limerick to pull into either side of the "Limerick Bay" platform. The use of a railcar (or a push-pull) could have pulled into the Cork side with no issues though not a carriage and loco hauled set.

07-11-2009 2:20am

Hamndegger wrote: »

The set up at Limerick Junction allows a train from Limerick to pull into either side of the "Limerick Bay" platform. The use of a railcar (or a push-pull) could have pulled into the Cork side with no issues though not a carriage and loco hauled set.

I'd say that using a push-pull set would bring up issues of the set running "backwards" for part of the route - but I suppose it was done at Kilkenny for years so maybe not.

L1011 · 07-11-2009 2:29am

Nostradamus wrote: »

I am not sure what point you are making. Opening the old line from Athenry to Claremorris would cost hundreds of millions.

Opening it to freight standards wouldn't cost hundreds of millions though. Tens of, quite probably. Doesn't need to be capable of as high speeds or need any passenger facilities at all.

Of course, there'd then be demands to run passenger services over it because its in the Whest.

T Corolla · 07-11-2009 10:54am

MYOB wrote: »

Opening it to freight standards wouldn't cost hundreds of millions though. Tens of, quite probably. Doesn't need to be capable of as high speeds or need any passenger facilities at all.

Of course, there'd then be demands to run passenger services over it because its in the Whest.

I agree with MYOB. IR cannot expect to make the line from Limerick to Galway pay for itself with a handful of services per day. There is space on this line for freight to be hauled. I mentioned in an earlier thread about the freight trains from Ballina/Westport could use this railway to haul goods to Waterford instead of using the Athlone to Portarlington stretch and maybe futher on in time IR could attract more freight to the WRC if the section to Clairemorris is operational IR could gain market share for freight traffic. There will not be enough passenger to justfy opening the line any futher that what is currently going to be open so let IR do some old fashioned thinking and invite freight onto the line it is guarnteed revenue

Irish Rail 2010 timetable now online

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