UPDATE: 18.30 Saturday 24 May 2008
 

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/travel_alerts.asp?action=view&news_id=379

Something happening in Cork this morning.

8:45 to Cobh

Update: driver there but no train

UPDATE Cork & Kerry area service disruptions, Sunday 25 May 2008
 

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/travel_alerts.asp?action=view&news_id=379

As unpredictable as the weather...

Widespread disruption on Friday, dying down to leave a mainly settled picture, with some isolated disruption in the West later on Saturday. Sunday will be a mainly fine day...

Outlook Monday changeable, strong chance of scattered showers

Don't get too excited here

The drivers have always said they would go back to work, Irish Rail refused to let them on Friday

Drivers are willing to work under the LRC proposals issued March 4th. Will Irish Rail management let them work? If they don't its about time questions have to be asked as to the philosophy of a company where its staff are available to work under a LRC proposal that all sides have accepted, but won't let them

http://www.railusers.ie/resources/lrc_march_2008-1.jpg
http://www.railusers.ie/resources/lrc_march_2008-2.jpg

I see we are back to the "Great Loyalty Oath" documents. Isn't that a calm and measured response to the issue. Somewhere Brendan Ogle is giggling.

Walking through Heuston this morning, 1000 and 1100 to Cork were cancelled, the 0900 was being operated by a MkIII set.

Waterford
 

I am hearing that some Waterford services are affected too.

Why no update on the IE website? The latest information was put up at 4.45 am (it's now after 12pm).

And why the sympathy with the drivers so evident on this site? Public sector unions (and above all those of the NBRU/ILDA tendency) are a huge obstacle to the development of a high quality, dependable public transport system. Problem is no-one else knows how to drive trains, so one can't sack them. (OK the quality of management is nothing to write home about either, but at least they are not actively sabotaging things)

Derek has made a vital point above.

10,000 disrupted pax is a big figure, but spread over Cork, Kerry, Galway and Mayo it will not attract critical mass at any one location to cause massive problems to IE managment and the DoT in Dublin.

You bring out Dublin Surburban and DART for one day and it'll be war.

We understand, filtering through the mix, that it came very very close in relation to Inchicore coming out, needless to say what in actual fact happened was predictable to me in retrospect.

At the end of the day, and I can see Derek's point, what Mark said was actually the same as Barry Kenny and IE's PR department - they could not guarantee any trains running anywhere and they adivsed people to check before traveling.

Anyway......

It is very obvious that industrial relations within IE do not function. Barry Kenny is telling all and sundry that there is "an agreement". Funny, but if there's an agreement, how come so many drivers are not working? Maybe someone didnt tell them what was agreed on their behalf?

Here's the thing. Since those drivers do not belive there is an agreement, IE should at the very least find out why. They have to talk to these guys. If Isreal can talk to Syria, Paisley talk to McGuinness, IE can talk to their staff.

The number one priority has to be "What can I/we do to get trains running and serve our passengers" It is glaringly obvious that this rule wasnt applied last Thursday in Cork. Consequences were either not considered, which is appaling, or they were considered but disregarded, which is shocking and an indictment of Irish Rail Managment.

Someone decided to pull the trigger and to hell with the passengers. Will that person be reprimanded. No. Is that person or his mangager accountable to anyone? No again. Irish Rail are mandated to run a train service, running that service on a day to day basis is their one and only function. If they fail to do that one basic thing they are paid to do - manage a railway company - what sanction is there there to punish them for it?

None.

And that is what is truly wrong with the dysfunctional world of Irish Rail.

Situation in Cork this morning, all drivers showed up and where prevented from driving. Thats a factual statement. A driver elsewhere actually managed to sign on and drove a train into a platform and was just about to leave presumably with passengers when he was stopped and told he was off the payroll

We have a farcical situation of drivers standing around in Cork not allowed drive while passengers suffer. The drivers are willing to work under the LRC proposals which are significantly to the benefit of the company and to the passenger yet they are not allowed.

End of the day 95% of services in Cork could be running within hours if Irish Rail get off their high horse and accept the LRC proposal as a way forward. 95% is a hell of lot better than the 0% in Cork currently.

Irish Rail management are not some wonderful infallible outfit, they did something rather ill advised and look where we are now, Cork has been targeted despite the fact a whole heap of trains where cancelled yesterday through Connolly and again today.

Day 6 no change.

NOTE 1 Irish Rail have abandoned the Cobh line passengers, no buses are being provided. Its not like they didn't get sufficent notice

NOTE 2 Services on the Dublin Sligo, Dublin Gorey lines are at serious risk of cancellation as well so this other routes operating normally is a blatantly misleading, been cancellations Mon and Tues

Well, our company's just decided never to use Irish Rail again. We've had a huge problem all week because of a lack of trains to/from Cork and have now resorted to fly+car hire. We've also just moved from using FastTrack to DHL. It's quite unlikely that we'll be going back.

I really don't care if it's the drivers or the company. At the end of the day the organisation is incapable of getting its house in order and is really hurting passengers and destroying its own reputation.

This is costing businesses a lot of money and it's an absolutely petty dispute.

Frankly, I would think there's an argument for putting the entire Cork operation off the pay roll including the management! This situation is just utterly unacceptable.

mark, what do you make of this intepretation that the drivers have of 'of required' to only mean in emergencies

i know IE have brought this upon us in a number of ways but this kind of restrictive practices can't be supported, surely?

The specific case of the pilot driver

1) Operates all empty trains in the station area, in and out of shed etc, this is why Dublin Cork services only go to Mallow as otherwise the Dublin driver doesn't get his full break

2) Will replace another driver in the event of an accident e.g. suicide on line

3) Will drive the rescue locomotive to assist a failed train

4) Will if necessary operate a passenger service to prevent a cancellation

The roster normally includes what is known as a spare link where there is driver on duty with nothing to do but fill in, given the shortage of drivers obviously they don't have one

Its very stupid not have this all written down, but if it has been standard practice for many years and no conflicting proof can be shown it has to be accepted as both sides agreeing.

On Thursday the driver was asked to take out a training train.
Three problems arise:
1) With no pilot in Cork who shunts and tests the Mk4 set from Dublin?
2) Normally a driver is rostered specifically to handle the training
3) The driver involved was not a mentor driver, was not specifically appointed by the company to supervise as they want. Mentor drivers get paid extra but are also fully responsible for those under supervision. The whole selection/payment/responsibility issue has yet to be determined

For several months several Cork Cobh trains have been cancelled and the driver redeployed on to Dublin Cork services, this is the much talked about flexibility Irish Rail talk about, moving to a service of a greater importance. Of course if this continues there won't be any service to Cobh at all. Point to note of course not all drivers are qualified to driver all train types

There is talk Irish Rail will withdraw the letter which started phase two of the trouble if that is the case 95% of services in Cork will resume quickly

Light at the end of the tunnel
 

Reports tonight indicate a vote is to be taken on a deal tomorrow

http://www.railusers.ie/forum/showpo...16&postcount=4

Usual deal in Cork is meeting 11am, there are 40 drivers so in if it goes well we could be back up and running almost fully by evening rush. 95% of trains would be back

There will be a slight delay as there will need to be a train with no passengers Mallow - Cork, Cork - Cobh and Mallow - Tralee to verify the lines clear and safe

Fingers crossed

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0528/rail.htmlhttp://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/travel_alerts.asp?action=view&news_id=379

UPDATE: 0730 Thursday 29 May 2008