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Great Railway Journeys on CIE

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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 12,363 ✭✭✭✭Del.Monte


    I had the misfortune to avail of Irish Rail's 15.06 ex.Enniscorthy/Dublin service today (Sun.13th) and it was formed by a 29000 Commuter set - my son couldn't use his laptop as there were no sockets. People, some rowdy, standing from Gorey northwards. Tables too small to work on.

    The return working was again a 29000 Commuter set. No heating, lots of engine noise - just like the Inter City radio ad about reading a book in peace and quiet.

    Mercifully short station announcements with none of the smarmy Iarnrod Eireann welcomes you onboard and thank you for travelling with Iarnrod Eireann or seats are not for feet.

    No mention of safety and evacuation notices - talk about inconsistency, and speaking of same the announcements continue to refer to the mysterious Rosslare Europort while the LED displays shows Rosslare Harbour.

    At Rathdrum the station appears to have collapsed.

    Back at Enniscorthy still no timetables and the box for best station awards is open outside the counter with forms still available - I thought the last dates for entries was the 31st October? I'm open to correction on this one.

    All 1st World problems but not the proper way to develop rail business.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 21,730 ✭✭✭✭Fred Swanson


    This post has been deleted.


  • Registered Users Posts: 28,928 ✭✭✭✭end of the road


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    I had the misfortune to avail of Irish Rail's 15.06 ex.Enniscorthy/Dublin service today (Sun.13th) and it was formed by a 29000 Commuter set - my son couldn't use his laptop as there were no sockets. People, some rowdy, standing from Gorey northwards. Tables too small to work on.

    The return working was again a 29000 Commuter set. No heating, lots of engine noise - just like the Inter City radio ad about reading a book in peace and quiet.

    Mercifully short station announcements with none of the smarmy Iarnrod Eireann welcomes you onboard and thank you for travelling with Iarnrod Eireann or seats are not for feet.

    No mention of safety and evacuation notices - talk about inconsistency, and speaking of same the announcements continue to refer to the mysterious Rosslare Europort while the LED displays shows Rosslare Harbour.

    2900 rattle traps are a very regular occurence i'm afraid. i suspect they will become even more regular now seeing as ICRS will need to be stolen to operate the phoenix park tunnel because IE won't operate 29s on them like they should, and which are suitable for suburban services unlike ICRS which struggle (from personal experience)
    Del.Monte wrote: »
    At Rathdrum the station appears to have collapsed.

    i believe the building has been demolished unfortunately. rosslare strand will probably face the same fate i reccan. turn them into lumps of concrete with nothing just like rosslare euro hole.
    Del.Monte wrote: »
    Back at Enniscorthy still no timetables and the box for best station awards is open outside the counter with forms still available - I thought the last dates for entries was the 31st October? I'm open to correction on this one.

    All 1st World problems but not the proper way to develop rail business.

    sure, they are first world problems, but still they are issues and they need hi-lighting at every opportunity. for to long we have had to put up with bottom of the barrel while other places like mayo and even sligo have gotten improvements. okay they have their issues, sligo especially but i know which line i'd rather be able to use.
    IE aren't interested in developing rail business on this line. never have been never will be, because shur tis always been the way, or gsr, or something something, god only knows.
    the DTA/NTA/TFI/whatever it is they call themselves today aren't interested or bothered either and no doubt they will let them get on with running it into the ground before rewarding them by allowing them to shut and rip it up south of greystones. we all know what's coming and it's a case of when and not if. if we boycott the service they will shut quicker and if we stay they will continue to provide the lowest quality of service. they're is nobody to stand up for us rail users.
    This post has been deleted.

    indeed. everybody knows this but it's not going to change.

    on a slightly different note i can't even remember the last time i saw a ticket checker on board either.

    shut down alcohol action ireland now! end MUP today!



  • Registered Users Posts: 12,363 ✭✭✭✭Del.Monte


    To be fair there was a checker in both directions, but when I see them all I can think of is the stupidity of removing train guards and associated revenue earning activities like Fastrack.

    As for the 29000s, the comfort offered by them represents a serious decline in service to that offered by the tatty MkII's - which still had life in them. It's hard to believe that CIE were allowed to throw away vast quantities of perfectly sound locomotives and rolling stock, but then perhaps not. :rolleyes:


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,060 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Many of the mark IIs were structurally unsound, rusting floors mostly. The Cravens were in better nick!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 12,363 ✭✭✭✭Del.Monte


    L1011 wrote: »
    Many of the mark IIs were structurally unsound, rusting floors mostly. The Cravens were in better nick!

    Yet the RPSI were able to purchase ex.CIE Mk.IIs and refurbish to approved mainline standard.

    http://www.steamtrainsireland.com/carriages/belfast_steel.html


  • Registered Users Posts: 119 ✭✭Seanmk1


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    Yet the RPSI were able to purchase ex.CIE Mk.IIs and refurbish to approved mainline standard.

    http://www.steamtrainsireland.com/carriages/belfast_steel.html

    The Mark 2s were acquired in two batches. The first batch was bought new from BREL as the good old Supertrain. The second batch was acquired from, I kid you not, Vic Berry's scrapyard in exchange for a bunch of old locos.

    RPSI got the pick of the good ones, but many of the Mark 2s were in rag order.

    The stainless steel Cravens will probably still be carrying passengers in a hundred years time.


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,060 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    Yet the RPSI were able to purchase ex.CIE Mk.IIs and refurbish to approved mainline standard.

    http://www.steamtrainsireland.com/carriages/belfast_steel.html

    One set cherry picked.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,363 ✭✭✭✭Del.Monte


    L1011 wrote: »
    One set cherry picked.

    And CIE couldn't have 'cherry picked' a set or two for the Rosslare line. I'm well aware of the problems with the carriages but there was nothing that couldn't have been dealt with, but why bother as everybody's money is nobody's money.

    Mark IIIs could have been kept......tin worm as well I suppose.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,037 ✭✭✭Vic_08


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    And CIE couldn't have 'cherry picked' a set or two for the Rosslare line. I'm well aware of the problems with the carriages but there was nothing that couldn't have been dealt with, but why bother as everybody's money is nobody's money.

    Mark IIIs could have been kept......tin worm as well I suppose.

    From that list RPSI have only 2 regular MkII coaches plus the state coach, not exactly a full set.

    They were rotten, largely due to insufficient maintenance. AFAIR even the refurbished set had only cosmetic work and was also badly corroded.

    MkIII were all in serviceable condition when withdrawn unlike the MkIIs. They were not in brilliant condition especially in comparison to earlier build UK MkIIIs which have all had at least one full strip down and corrosion treatment. There will still be a significant fleet of 10 year older UK MkIII coaches in service in the late 2020s.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 28,928 ✭✭✭✭end of the road


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    To be fair there was a checker in both directions, but when I see them all I can think of is the stupidity of removing train guards and associated revenue earning activities like Fastrack.

    i absolutely agree. staff on board long distance services is absolutely essential for good customer experience. which is why anyone who believes this should support the fight in the uk to protect on board and station staff. wasn't dick fern in charge when the guards were removed, or was it another lad from the uk? would explain a lot, seeing as we have done what the uk want to do, reduce the railway to nothing and charge over the odds for it.
    Del.Monte wrote: »
    As for the 29000s, the comfort offered by them represents a serious decline in service to that offered by the tatty MkII's - which still had life in them.

    exactly. i would have taken the mkiis in their state by the end rather then the may as well be clapped out junk we were given as a replacement.
    Del.Monte wrote: »
    It's hard to believe that CIE were allowed to throw away vast quantities of perfectly sound locomotives and rolling stock, but then perhaps not.

    i see why you might believe it to be hard to believe, but it actually isn't. the people who can stop CIE from behaving the way they do don't know anything about the railway or how it works. they don't know about rolling stock.
    Del.Monte wrote: »
    And CIE couldn't have 'cherry picked' a set or two for the Rosslare line. I'm well aware of the problems with the carriages but there was nothing that couldn't have been dealt with, but why bother as everybody's money is nobody's money.

    and why bother when it's rosslare dublin/rosslare limerick, which they don't want, and who's users don't matter because tis always been the way.
    they wanted to keep the cravens and mkiiis for their pet services, IE heuston. connolly CIE only long distance services will always be bottom of the barrel because shur tis always been the way. just as well translink have involvement in the enterprise as god knows how it would be if not.
    Del.Monte wrote: »
    Mark IIIs could have been kept......tin worm as well I suppose.

    tin worm, they were orange and black, and they weren't shiny and new. shur all the problems will go away because we had the youngist fleet in europe, don't you know. well, they haven't.

    shut down alcohol action ireland now! end MUP today!



  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,060 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    And CIE couldn't have 'cherry picked' a set or two for the Rosslare line. I'm well aware of the problems with the carriages but there was nothing that couldn't have been dealt with, but why bother as everybody's money is nobody's money.

    Mark IIIs could have been kept......tin worm as well I suppose.

    Keeping one or two totally dissimilar sets wouldn't be practical; particularly when they had fully solid Cravens and Mk IIIs.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,363 ✭✭✭✭Del.Monte


    L1011 wrote: »
    Keeping one or two totally dissimilar sets wouldn't be practical; particularly when they had fully solid Cravens and Mk IIIs.

    Yes, but the Rosslare line went from MkIIs with tin worm to the awful 29000s with nothing in between and now the ICRs seem to be a dying breed on the line. Three fully trained signal men operate the ticket office (and avoid managers) at Enniscorthy these days despite the presence of the all singing, all dancing ticket machine in the car park! What a shambles!


  • Moderators, Regional South Moderators Posts: 5,710 Mod ✭✭✭✭Quackster


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    Yes, but the Rosslare line went from MkIIs with tin worm to the awful 29000s with nothing in between and now the ICRs seem to be a dying breed on the line. Three fully trained signal men operate the ticket office (and avoid managers) at Enniscorthy these days despite the presence of the all singing, all dancing ticket machine in the car park! What a shambles!

    Of all the lines into Dublin, the Rosslare line is the most constrained in terms of capacity and what can be done to increase that capacity.

    IE clearly want to focus that limited capacity on much more lucrative DART/commuter services which is why we are where we are. That constraint doesn't exist in/out of Heuston.

    It's pointless attacking IE for acting in their economic best-interests. The focus should be on the government and their level of subvention of rail.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,363 ✭✭✭✭Del.Monte


    Quackster wrote: »
    Of all the lines into Dublin, the Rosslare line is the most constrained in terms of capacity and what can be done to increase that capacity.

    IE clearly want to focus that limited capacity on much more lucrative DART/commuter services which is why we are where we are. That constraint doesn't exist in/out of Heuston.

    It's pointless attacking IE for acting in their economic best-interests. The focus should be on the government and their level of subvention of rail.

    The subvention has zero impact on the Rosslare line which has been neglected for decades by a company devoid of joined-up-thinking rather than a lack of funds.


  • Registered Users Posts: 28,928 ✭✭✭✭end of the road


    Quackster wrote: »
    Of all the lines into Dublin, the Rosslare line is the most constrained in terms of capacity and what can be done to increase that capacity.

    but that's only relevant in terms of service frequency, not to the quality of service in general. i'm talking about the on board quality of service, which for me is the most important thing for now, along with stopping any further downgrading. yes i would like to see an increased frequency and that must be faught for, but for now improving the on board quality of the service will do. there is no excuse for the scraping of the barrel quality of service being provided on this line and others.
    Quackster wrote: »
    IE clearly want to focus that limited capacity on much more lucrative DART/commuter services which is why we are where we are.

    apparently the intercity/regional lines bring in more income then the dart as strange as that sounds. i will have to do some digging to check that for sure.
    Quackster wrote: »
    That constraint doesn't exist in/out of Heuston.

    they're is quite a constraint still out of heuston even with the 4 track. just look what happens when a train goes pop, the lot comes to a hault still.
    Quackster wrote: »
    It's pointless attacking IE for acting in their economic best-interests.

    i don't agree. IE wouldn't know economic best interests if it came up and hit them on the backside. this is the same company that got rid of it's freight which it had lots of, because it thought shur it will be grand with the passenger traffic. current management might be trying to bring it back but it will be nothing like it was. once it's gone it's gone as they say.
    i will happily attack IE for what they are responsible for, not what they aren't responsible for. i will keep doing so until such time as they start recognising they have a network to run and they bother to start improving it some little bit with what they do get. or at least improving the on board quality of service, which they can do very easily if they could be bothered as it can be done within existing resources.
    a company who cares about it's economic best interests would be doing everything necessary to grow it's traffic. it's not doing that.
    Quackster wrote: »
    The focus should be on the government and their level of subvention of rail.

    but it is . i and others have stated time and time again the subsidy needs to be increased. but no increases will change the reality that they're are certain lines IE wish to continue treating like rubbish and it's nothing to do with economics, but the fact "shur tis always been done that way" among other reasons. i get that sounds mad, and it is, but believe me CIE is a unique entity, and the unbelievable is believable where they are concerned..

    shut down alcohol action ireland now! end MUP today!



  • Registered Users Posts: 12,048 ✭✭✭✭Grandeeod


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    The subvention has zero impact on the Rosslare line which has been neglected for decades by a company devoid of joined-up-thinking rather than a lack of funds.

    Exactly. Subvention has nothing to do with it. CIE wants to close this line south of Gorey. Planning to run your railway to the best of its ability costs nothing. Planning to run your railway to the best of the operators ability costs everything.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,943 ✭✭✭tabbey


    L1011 wrote: »
    Many of the mark IIs were structurally unsound, rusting floors mostly. The Cravens were in better nick!

    This may be true of the MkII vehicles, but the Mk III trains were not unsound, they were withdrawn from mainline service for which they were designed, at half their natural life span.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,943 ✭✭✭tabbey


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    Yes, but the Rosslare line went from MkIIs with tin worm to the awful 29000s with nothing in between and now the ICRs seem to be a dying breed on the line.

    The Rosslare line has a number of physical disadvantages, Dun Laoghaire - Killiney, Bray Head, the extra five miles between Wicklow and Arklow, compared with road, the tortuous route along the river Slaney.

    These have a detrimental effect on speed, IR can do little about it unless they win the Euro Billions!

    However the line is a scenic jewel in IR's crown. With pleasant trains, a reasonable timetable and fair fares, it could be a moderately good revenue earner in it's own right, and a public relations boost for IR in general.

    Regrettably, IR have chosen to run Rosslare trains behind all-stopper DART trains, slowing further the timetable.
    Putting 2900 class trains on this route, completely destroys any prospect of exploiting the charms of the route. The 29s are unsuitable for any type of service. Only people who have no alternative,would choose to use them. They are an even drearier version of class 150 in the UK.

    Put these 2900s on Adamstown to GCD, or Dunboyne to the city, people are only on these services for a short time. Give Rosslare passengers a decent train, since the demise of MkIIIs this means ICR sets.


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,060 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    tabbey wrote: »
    This may be true of the MkII vehicles, but the Mk III trains were not unsound, they were withdrawn from mainline service for which they were designed, at half their natural life span.

    I know. I never said anything about the mkIIIs


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  • Registered Users Posts: 8,295 ✭✭✭n97 mini


    tabbey wrote: »
    However the line is a scenic jewel in IR's crown. With pleasant trains, a reasonable timetable and fair fares, it could be a moderately good revenue earner in it's own right, and a public relations boost for IR in general.

    It probably wouldn't (be a revenue earner). Those most likely to use it would be those with most time on their hands, i.e. retired, who travel for free.

    Maybe fare paying retired tourists would use it though?


  • Registered Users Posts: 28,928 ✭✭✭✭end of the road


    n97 mini wrote: »
    It probably wouldn't (be a revenue earner). Those most likely to use it would be those with most time on their hands, i.e. retired, who travel for free.

    Maybe fare paying retired tourists would use it though?

    the evening down services and the first early morning service are used by a lot of long distance commuter/worker traffic.

    shut down alcohol action ireland now! end MUP today!



  • Closed Accounts Posts: 21,730 ✭✭✭✭Fred Swanson


    This post has been deleted.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,363 ✭✭✭✭Del.Monte


    Best Station Awards

    Further to my post http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=101656843&postcount=32

    I can confirm that today the box and leaflets are still outside the counter at Enniscorthy and the closing date was the 31st October. Incidentally, you can still vote here too: http://www.irishrail.ie/travel-information/station-awards-voting

    While it could be argued that CIE have more important things to concern themselves with, it is symptomatic of their slap dash attention to detail. Still NO timetable leaflets - shure why would anybody want them.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,194 ✭✭✭man98


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    Incidentally, you can still vote here too: http://www.irishrail.ie/travel-information/station-awards-voting
    Flood the voting with votes for Cloughjordan, may as well win an award before they shut it :pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,363 ✭✭✭✭Del.Monte


    man98 wrote: »
    Flood the voting with votes for Cloughjordan, may as well win an award before they shut it :pac:

    Mine went to Wellingtonbridge - has done every year since they closed it. :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,194 ✭✭✭man98


    Del.Monte wrote: »
    Mine went to Wellingtonbridge - has done every year since they closed it. :D
    Wellingtonbridge must have been removed - I remember they blocked some of the people that voted for it in 2011 from voting again - it really is a lovely station. Busy, too. The last time I was there I saw a rabbit on the platform :D .


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,363 ✭✭✭✭Del.Monte


    man98 wrote: »
    Wellingtonbridge must have been removed - I remember they blocked some of the people that voted for it in 2011 from voting again - it really is a lovely station. Busy, too. The last time I was there I saw a rabbit on the platform :D .

    Ah yes, it's removed online, but you can use a form like I have done several times recently while waiting in Enniscorthy station. :D


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 21,730 ✭✭✭✭Fred Swanson


    This post has been deleted.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 13,702 ✭✭✭✭BoatMad


    Quackster wrote: »
    Of all the lines into Dublin, the Rosslare line is the most constrained in terms of capacity and what can be done to increase that capacity.

    IE clearly want to focus that limited capacity on much more lucrative DART/commuter services which is why we are where we are. That constraint doesn't exist in/out of Heuston.

    It's pointless attacking IE for acting in their economic best-interests. The focus should be on the government and their level of subvention of rail.

    yes the strategic rail review suggested that 8 services each way be provided and all with intercity style trains

    gorey is the next commuter town and wexford not fair behind, it would be very shortsighted to run down the wexford line ( rosslare is a no hoper )
    shortsighted , oh wait its CIE/IE/IR a company with perfectly good Mk3s and 201 rotting away


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