Why can't we have Request Stops in Ireland?

Del.Monte wrote: »

This system https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/train-stations-wales-you-ask-12625986 has been operating in Britain for decades and makes the railway more useful and cost efficient - no banks of expensive ATMs, no stopping when nobody wants to get on or off and smaller stations that would otherwise have been closed remain on the network. On my own line stations such as Rathnew, Avoca, Woodenbridge, Ferns and Wexford South would all be in use and adding to the usefulness of the railway. Come on, tell me why it can't be done!

No staff onboard to find out if anyone needs the stops is the most obvious one. All the lines in the UK with request stops have guards on board.

Also, isn't the slow speed of the Wexford line one of your many whinges on here? What do you think adding 5 more stops to the line would do to the journey times?

Opening stations is an expensive business, even an unstaffed single platform halt would be hundreds of thousands if not millions.

The disability requirements are a major obstacle in this as you cannot do a small station on the cheap without all the required extras. In order to gauge demand and build custom there should be a derogation allowed for a set period because the requirement for full accessibility is usualy met by not providing anything at all for anyone unless the cost/benefit is overwhelmingly high to fund the expensive projects now necessary.

i can think of 3 good reasons.

1. all stops would have to be fully wheelchair accessible, and IE would have to be in a position to have a staff member available to help people who require assistance onto the train. (and they already cannot meet their existing commitments in that regard). So the cost requirements would be severe. (I assume nobody's suggesting quick stops be only for able bodied people ?)

2. another effect is it would adversely affect timetabling as journeys would take longer, and mean less frequent service or more rolling stock and staff required.

3. Would IE Drivers be happy to add potentially another 1/2 dozen stops to existing routes, making the round times longer, for no remuneration? i think we all know the answer to that.

Del.Monte wrote: »

Sorry - deleted original post and here's the revised version.

So basically you're saying that it can be done in places like sparsely populated West Wales but Ireland is different? Of course, you would need guards on trains but isn't that what CIE are already planning in the guise of redeployed platform staff as train revenue officers.

One of my many 'whinges' as you so quaintly put it is the overall slow speed but the possible addition of a few useful request stops would do little to slow things significantly.

Trains are not cars, you cannot speed to a station and drop the anchors at the last minute if someone is on the platform waiting. The train hs to drop from line speed to about 15mph and be ready to stop at all request stops. Even if nobody is at any of them you are looking at around a 3 minute time penalty per stop, more if any are actually used.

Then there is the timetabling, request stops need to be timetabled to account for the possibility of the train stopping not the other way round, otherwise they would end up running late everytime they stopped. Any extra time keeping issues is a bad thing but on a long single line route with a busy commuter section to slot into that is a recipe for a domino effect of delays.

Another 15-20 minutes on a Dublin - Wexford journey time, Bus Eireann and Wexford Bus would need to be pre-warned of this so they had extra coaches on order.

For someone who purports to be a rail expert you appear wilfully ignorant of even the most basic facts of railway operations.

Vic_08 wrote: »

Trains are not cars, you cannot speed to a station and drop the anchors at the last minute if someone is on the platform waiting. The train hs to drop from line speed to about 15mph and be ready to stop at all request stops. Even if nobody is at any of them you are looking at around a 3 minute time penalty per stop, more if any are actually used.

Then there is the timetabling, request stops need to be timetabled to account for the possibility of the train stopping not the other way round, otherwise they would end up running late everytime they stopped. Any extra time keeping issues is a bad thing but on a long single line route with a busy commuter section to slot into that is a recipe for a domino effect of delays.

Another 15-20 minutes on a Dublin - Wexford journey time, Bus Eireann and Wexford Bus would need to be pre-warned of this so they had extra coaches on order.

For someone who purports to be a rail expert you appear wilfully ignorant of even the most basic facts of railway operations.

Actually, with the Rosslare line in mind, there is plenty of fat built in to the timetable to accommodate this. Assuming the money is there it could work imo.

end of the road wrote: »

no doubt they wouldn't.

Course they wouldn't, cause they're Jesus' messengers on earth and are divine. Never erred in their millenia of existence. Perfect beings.



:rolleyes:

L1011 wrote: »

Probably the most sensible suggestion - reopening a station would require a build to current spec (which would not be cheap, but could be justifiable in some cases) but the idea needs to be proven first.

Monasterevin is also skipped a fair bit as far as I remember but line speeds are probably a major issue there.

Gets an hourly service now, even two non stop from Heuston in the evenings.

Deleted User wrote: »

You honestly believe that?

3 words

Luas cooler bags

are irrelevant to this discussion. have another go

loyatemu wrote: »

Is Ferns a candidate for re-opening anyway? It's about the same size as Rathdrum. Obviously assuming IR don't close the line entirely.

Probably not. For its size Ferns probably has a wonderful bus service(BE and Wex bus) were as Rathdrum has a virtually non existent one.