Dalkey - Greystones suspended
 

Due to a fire at Bray there will be no trains for the at least the rest of the weekend

Bus transfers Connolly - Greystones for Rosslare line services

Dublin Bus will accept tickets

From Dublin
Route 145 to Bray

From Blackrock
Route 84 to Bray & Greystones

From Dun Laoghaire
Routes 45A to Bray, 59 to Killiney, 111 Dalkey

Looks like the CTC blockhouse at the end of platform 2 Bray had an electrical fault leading to a fire

This building controls the signalling from Bray Head to north of Shankill.

Will continue till next weekend at the very least

1. 0630 and then every 30 minutes till 0830 train from Bray to Connolly/Howth
2. Between 0900 and 1630, a shuttle between Dalkey and Bray leaving Bray xx00 and Dalkey xx30. Note these trains will use the northbound platforms throughout
3. Limited evening service roughly every 45 minutes from 1700 (Dalkey) to Bray till 1941 from Dalkey
4. Full DART service between Howth/Malahide - Dalkey
5. NO service until further notice Bray Greystones. Limited shuttle bus services
6. No service south of Dalkey in the evening

Notes

• Between Bray and Dalkey all trains will use the northbound platforms throughout
• DART services will take 30 minutes to travel between Bray and Dalkey (slightly more in the Bray bound direction).
• The ATP system is out of use so trains are limited to 15kph

http://www.irishrail.ie/news/service-alert

Single line pilot man working is in place on the northbound track between Dalkey platform 1 and Bray. All the points in Bray are clamped so only a single route is possible.

Appears that several DART sets will be queued up at the Wicklow sidings at Bray so they can be fed into the route without need to move controlled points in Bray

All DART services will be limited to 15kph between Bray and Dalkey

The signalling between Bray head and Kiliney is totally dead

This morning was a disaster, every train leaving Bray was progressively more and more delayed

Is this something that could have been prevented? It seems worrying that something apparently very minor causes so much disruption.

This wasn’t minor - the signalling panel caught fire. That’s as bad as it can get.

The surprising thing about this incident is the service arrangements that have between adopted, particularly the decision to introduce single line working between Dalkey and Bray.

Had both lines been maintained in use as far as the facing crossover at the Dargle bridge a 30 minute interval service could have been provided in each direction between Dalkey and Bray with a separate hourly service between platform 3 at Bray and Greystones.

The schedule would be xx.11 and xx.41 from Dalkey arriving in Bray platform 1 at xx.41 and xx.11. Services from Bray would be at xx.22 and xx.52 taking up the xx.52 and xx.22 northbound paths at Dalkey. Arrivals in Dalkey from Howth/Malahide at xx.26 and xx.56 would return north from Dalkey at xx.37 and xx.07 respectively.

Departures from Bray to Greystones would be at xx.15 arriving in Greystones at xx.35 returning to Bray at xx.50 arriving Bray platform 3 at xx.10.

The only explanation that I can see for the current very disruptive arrangement is that it avoids the manual operation of a single set of points at Bray. There are currently staff on the ground at these points in any event and any movements would be very low risk given the reduced speed that applies in the absence of the ATP codes.

In fairness, I wouldn't describe the event as minor - a fire in a relay room is not a trivial issue. Depending on the damage this disruption could go on for weeks although the coded messages from Irish Rail seem to suggest that normal operations might resume after the weekend.

The whole relay room burnt out, cables melted so it will take a long time to sort out

Guys in white protective suits working away with air being pumped in

Now of course
1. The fire happened as a result of some failure of equipment, maintenance or installation

2. Some class of fire suppression system would have been a help, none of the 1980 relay rooms have this, but I believe the CBI rooms for the more recent do and have UPS and other toys

3. There is a diesel tank in there also


Single track working is in force, the points in Bray are clamped so a single train is all they can do. Operating under degraded conditions significantly increases the risk of an accident (see Buttevant for an incident with manually operated points going wrong)

There is very little comparison between Bray and Buttevant. At Buttevant the points were being operated independently and in conflict with the signalling system. At Buttevant trains were running at full line speed under clear signals with no mechanical or electrical point detection or interlocking.

The situation at Bray is totally different, maximum speed is 30 kph enforced by the automatic train protection system. All trains are flagged in an out of the station in any event as the relevant signals are unlit. Manually operating one set of points would allow double track working, an half hourly service in both directions north of Bray and an hourly service from platform 3 to Greystones.

The current arrangements maximise disruption and put the passenger last in the equation. It is not rocket science and I would be very disturbed if the operating entity has not got the competence to execute a simple procedure like this safely (not hugely different to single line working on the Cork line).

If the damage is as extensive as you suggest then this situation could persist for quite a long time and might merit temporary mechanical signalling and detection.

The risk of mis-operation of a single crossover at Bray is about the same as that of DART running through the level crossing with the barriers up and colliding at speed with a packed bus.

Full service to resume tomorrow morning.