[25-3-2008] Connolly service alterations
 

That 18.15 ex Pearse is a very busy service. I get the 17.50 so I'm expecting it to be ridiculously busy.

17:50 wont be much worse than normal since no one is going to know.

I don't hold out much hope that IE will take out a full page in the Metro for tomorrow to list the cancellations

Refund under passenger charter?
 

So if you turn up for the 18.15 ex Pearse, the next service stopping at Rush and Lusk, and Donabate will be the 19.15 (19.21 ex Connolly), resulting in > 1 hour of a delay. I wonder will they stop the 18.40 Connolly - Dundalk (semi-fast), at both stations? Otherwise, all passengers for those stations should be due a refund (if I'm not mistaken).
At least it's Easter week, so loads will be lighter.

Yes you should be entitled to a refund

I have been informed this morning that Irish Rail are refusing such requests

Don't worry they won't be saying that for long

I have made my colleagues, who use the line in the evening, aware of this cancellation. None of them knew, despite using the train every day.

I saw an A4 printout sellotaped onto the security screen at the ticket counter in Donabate station today.

So with less than 5 hours notice its gotten much much worse

The 1750 was not noticeably busier. If anything it was quiet. There were free seats in the last carriage as far as connolly.

I think they must have stopped the 1840 ex Connolly in Donabate as a Northbound Commuter service has just stopped.

The 1713 Pearse - Dundalk was delayed leaving pearse by approx 5 mins and made 2 unscheduled stops in Donabate and Rush & Lusk but still made it to Drogheda for 6:08 ish.

Poor communication
 

I asked the information line before I left were they going to stop that service at Rush and Lusk, and they said they had no plans to. Right hand does not know what left hand is doing!

A shambolic few days
 

So what did we learn over the last few days....absolutely nothing new just the usual sypnosis of IEs handling of these sort of problems.... a mess!

A few areas that show that:

1. Information on Website:
On the website over the weekend there were two seperate news items, one informing passengers of easter arrangements and the other informing of cancellations. Neither had reference to the other which could/would have confused passengers....

On the news item informing of cancellations. What was not in the news item was:

Alternative options available to passengers

Paasengers who had tickets for cancelled journeys, what options for them, their entitlements

We are prbably never going to see that information on the Irish Rail Website which is why i think RUI should seriously consider the following:

Three stickys on the up to date information page -

1 for fare information (with a link to where it can be found on the irish rail website, because it cant be found),
2 for what passengers who have bought a ticket are entitled to in the event of their train being cancelled and
3 for what passengers who have bought a ticket are entitled to in the event of their train being delayed

RUI should also consider creating their own news items containing alternative options available and what passengers who have paid tickets are entitled to, to ensure people don't forget this. ie's news items are beyond a joke.

2. Lack of information on the ground

What was clear over the weekend was lack of information at stations. Mark Hennessy pointed out Coolmine station on saturday night, a lot of passengers waiting for a cancelled train.

The lack of information at some Maynooth line stations is beyond a joke.

3. Lack of provisions

2 clear examples of this today was the 18:08 Connolly Maynooth and the 18:15 Pearse Drogheda

In the case of the 18:08 Connolly Maynooth, the railcars from that service should have been added to the 18:05 Connolly Longford making it an 8-coach train stopping at all stations. Instead passengers for the 18:08 were left inconvinienced, left wait for a probably crammed 18:18 Connolly Longford the no inititive.

The same with passengers on the 18:15 Pearse Drogheda leave them to wait for an hour whereas the 18:40 stopping at all stops would have helped.

Just as well some people are still on holidays, it could have been much worse :mad:

Top sticky in Up to Date Travel Info forum is the list of cancellations
http://forum.platform11.org/showthre...?t=3790&page=3

Sticky in the General Irish Rail Discussion, has the refunds issue, also directly available from the homepage of the main site
http://forum.platform11.org/showthread.php?t=1119

The overview is on the homepage which links to http://www.railusers.ie/news/news.ph...2008&no=3.html

I did three media pieces today, the RTE news one is edited, seen it but not heard the audio (twas on the plasma screen while in studio on newstalk), but in all three cases I raised the same issues. We don't want to get stuck in the current war of words inside the company, its not our place to and at this stage I have no clue who is the real problem, its a three way split now (drivers, unions and management) and the last thing we want is to trigger the feared all out strike by saying something nasty

The search for refunds goes on, its not clear if a refund form will be processed, we say they should but the grapevine says no. This is an internal matter, not a strike official or otherwise so it is within the customer charter. The charter is worded such that even is aliens land in Heuston any reservation holder gets a full refund no questions

1. Accurate up to date information, noting the fact not all trains are being listed, note Cobh and Milstreet. I did mention the fact ads in the Metro freesheet, Evening Herald and so on would be useful since commuters will see them

2. The issue of refunds, those delayed and so on. The passengers from Carlow, Athy and Portlaoise who purchased annual tickets based on the timetable now finding themselves caught out.

3. A swift and permanent solution to restore a dependable service. Raising the future issue of will Irish Rail be able to provide the Midleton, WRC, Galway commuter service, extra trains in Dublin next year as promised?