MK3 City Gold - Poor ride.
 

I was on MK3 "Classic" CityGold to cork recently and the ride was woeful. It was very giddy and most unlike normal MK3. Lots of jolts, sways, jumps.

Something unusual about those coaches? or is it just that they're in need of a bit of TLC at Inchicore? The MK3 in-seat audio was either interference from the loco or IE have strange taste in german industrial techno. There were no audio channels, just what sounded like RF interference from the loco's generator or the traction motors.

Seriously overdue overhaul at this stage which isn't helping, Mk3 ride normally remains ok even after many tens of thousands of miles, could be a failed air bag or a flat wheel

In seat audio is well strange its not just the Mk3 channel 1 on a Mk4 is classic AGWN, thats comms tech for noise, does anyone have a list for what is on each channel ??

In Seat Audio
 

There were no active channels on the MK3 set I was on. Every channel was either silence, a constant tone or engine noise!

Also, they really ought to have the door at the end of the coach working / switched on. It was drafty and we were getting wofts of smoke from the kitchen all the time!

Overall, wouldn't pay for it if I hadn't gotten the ticket free. Definitely not worth the extra price in MK3 anyway.

It used to be a lot better. Remember taking it a good few years ago and being very impressed.

Just looked tatty the other day

When I got up my seat cushion even came away from the seat frame leaving a big set of exposed springs.

There was also food on the floor, loose and mashed into the carpet under my seat.

A run over with a hoover and a bit of a general cleaning wouldn't go a miss!

IE really ought to cop on a bit or they'll loose their existing business users in the change over to MK4 if they let the MK3 CityGold services go to pot through neglect.

Especially with the CDEs themselves underperforming.

z

Total disaster on the Cork line

The technical crap behind it is well worrying when I talk of broken bolts and dodgy brakes, there is a total lack of honesty on these issues but they are not edgy and since they are technical its all too easy for IE to sidestep them

You don't need a deep fat fryer for Irish Breakfast do you? Its got 2 grills, oven, 2 microwaves, 4 hot plates, large toaster........ Its staff without question

There is a ongoing war drivers, the guards, the shunters, maintenance staff, we got a out sourcing of catering they are all or have been up in arms, certain elements of management seem to be the root of a lot of it. I can't go into more detail but I'm surprised we still got a service

After the absolutely appalling situation on Thursday 2 Mk4 sets where rendered unserviceable, in fact out of the 6 'available' 3 are currently broken or under heavy repair

The seat numbering issue is quite simple the online gizmo is using a Mk4 layout where as you get a Mk3 coach, once a Mk4 shows up its fine it just no one tells the guys in seat res they where told Mk4 from date x, you think thats bad you want to try standard where you get seats that don't exist or your seat is in first

I've never seen the yellow t shirts, and to be honest the train managers tend to hide in first a lot of the time no one has mentioned a withdrawal of hosts in Citygold

The Citygold coaches are really looking dodgy they where meant to be withdrawn and refurbished sometime in late 05 it will be at least Dec 06 if not Jan 07 before that now happens

If you don't get your food or the waiter service you are entitled to a refund, get on to http://www.platform11.org/passenger_...rvice_failures http://www.platform11.org/passenger_info/complaints.php its really a game of annoying them sufficiently, they might get the message of course if they don't respond tell us please since we can build a case. You should be looking for 20 euro refund per single trip as without the food and host citygold is not citygold its plain first and thats worth 20 euro less. Take note of names and excuses, post your experience, Irish Rail might not respond but boy they are devout readers of this site

None of this is for a lack of money its all down to management, they talk a lot but there is little to show, in fact its getting worse

z

z

Hello train_traveller, and a very warm welcome to the board!

I thought that your posts were excellent, and as I'm primarily an intercity train user as well, a lot of what you said really struck home with me.

I'd encourage you to keep posting with your experiences on the Dublin-Cork service -- the more evidence the merrier!

For me, it boils down to this:

A lot of people (me included) have advocated huge investment in the Dublin-Cork line to bring journey times down.

But, as experiences like yours show, it's not just about the capital investment, IE just can't deliver on basic customer service. And there does seem to be a massive lack of capacity at management level when it comes to designing services around the customer.

Sorry lads, but there's a stage when "decades of underinvestment" or "feckin unions" just doesn't cut it anymore.

In a just world, IE would be pushing their premium (1st Class/CityGold) Cork-Dublin and Dublin-Belfast services like mad, ensuring that customers could depend on a consistent level of service commensurate with what people are paying.

Instead it's

1. Buy fancy trains for lots of money
2. Act surprised when fancy shiny trains don't work very well
3. Finally get fancy trains sorted out after a year or two
4. Act surprised when nobody wants to use fancy trains as being a passenger feels less like being a customer and more like being a victim
5. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. Meanwhile, the NRA are busy building over-budget roads and we're heading closer and closer to gridlock and meltdown.

Consistancy
 

I find it almost depressing that Iarnrod Eireann / Irish Rail are making such a total dogs dinner out of the launch of the MK4.

I recently borded a train, having pre-booked (Can't remember what date at this stage) but the seat reservation tags were not working and the staff were making absolutely zero effort to ensure that people got to the correct seats.

I had relied on the service to ensure that I had a seat. Ended up standing the entire way to Cork.

As far as I'm concerned I will never use Irish Rail again as I am not willing to pay almost €60 to stand for 3 hours.

It's Ryanair / Aer Arran from now on I'm afraid.

As far as I'm concerned, either IE provide a decent consistant product or they really ought to let someone else operate the rail network. It's all about building and maintaining a brand!

Don't forget to get a full refund for that!