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Duncan · 11-10-2009, 20:48

I am well aware of the new timetable, Victor. I'm the guy who keeps the station noticeboard up-to-date at Cloughjordan since the adoption of the station was approved!

(And to respond to MOH, there is no excuse for early running on the DART either - but there's a divil of a difference between waiting 20' for the next train and waiting TEN HOURS. There's also a divil of a difference between missing a train at a station equipped with electronic information boards and missing a train at an unstaffed station. In the latter case, you might wait 15 or 20' before concluding that you must have missed it - then perhaps calling Roscrea or Nenagh to check.)

The summer has seen regular correspondence between me and IR mgmt about early departures from Cjn

To be fair, Mark, IR have not attempted denial. They have also assured me that the staff responsible have been reminded in no uncertain terms of the importance of timekeeping - and that early departures will not recur.

I though I would delay further postings until the outcome was clear.

Guess what? Trains are still leaving Cloughordan early, as often as not.

However, let it not be said that IR mgmt are totally impotent! There has been some improvement.

Trains do often wait a couple of minutes now, so that leave a mere 2' early instead of 4' early. To my mind, this smacks of game-playing between train crews and mgmt, with f*** all regard for passengers - the game being "What can we get away with?"

A common actual schedule now is that the 0750h to Dublin arrives Cjn at 0745 or 0746 and leaves at 0748. Why they will not wait the extra 2' is a mystery! Sheer bloody-mindedness is the most likely explanation.

This train must also be leaving Nenagh early to arrive Cjn so much ahead of time. (It must be tempting to do so because of the timetabled delay there, to allow the train to divide, to form the commuter service back to Limerick. Not that that's any excuse!)

A natural result is that it also arrives at Roscrea early. However, it doesn't usually get to leave there early because the station staff refuse to hand over the token for the Roscrea-Ballybrophy leg until the train is due to depart. I've even seen a bit of a pantomine going on between the parties - with train crews looking pointedly at their watches, while the man with the token solemnly keeps shaking his head at them. More game-playing!

Perhaps Michael O'Leary is right about CIE being more of a job creation scheme than a public transport system!

11-10-2009, 20:48	#6
Duncan New to the board Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Cloughjordan - building in the new ecovillage here. Posts: 6	I am well aware of the new timetable, Victor. I'm the guy who keeps the station noticeboard up-to-date at Cloughjordan since the adoption of the station was approved! (And to respond to MOH, there is no excuse for early running on the DART either - but there's a divil of a difference between waiting 20' for the next train and waiting TEN HOURS. There's also a divil of a difference between missing a train at a station equipped with electronic information boards and missing a train at an unstaffed station. In the latter case, you might wait 15 or 20' before concluding that you must have missed it - then perhaps calling Roscrea or Nenagh to check.) The summer has seen regular correspondence between me and IR mgmt about early departures from Cjn To be fair, Mark, IR have not attempted denial. They have also assured me that the staff responsible have been reminded in no uncertain terms of the importance of timekeeping - and that early departures will not recur. I though I would delay further postings until the outcome was clear. Guess what? Trains are still leaving Cloughordan early, as often as not. However, let it not be said that IR mgmt are totally impotent! There has been some improvement. Trains do often wait a couple of minutes now, so that leave a mere 2' early instead of 4' early. To my mind, this smacks of game-playing between train crews and mgmt, with f*** all regard for passengers - the game being "What can we get away with?" A common actual schedule now is that the 0750h to Dublin arrives Cjn at 0745 or 0746 and leaves at 0748. Why they will not wait the extra 2' is a mystery! Sheer bloody-mindedness is the most likely explanation. This train must also be leaving Nenagh early to arrive Cjn so much ahead of time. (It must be tempting to do so because of the timetabled delay there, to allow the train to divide, to form the commuter service back to Limerick. Not that that's any excuse!) A natural result is that it also arrives at Roscrea early. However, it doesn't usually get to leave there early because the station staff refuse to hand over the token for the Roscrea-Ballybrophy leg until the train is due to depart. I've even seen a bit of a pantomine going on between the parties - with train crews looking pointedly at their watches, while the man with the token solemnly keeps shaking his head at them. More game-playing! Perhaps Michael O'Leary is right about CIE being more of a job creation scheme than a public transport system! Last edited by Duncan : 11-10-2009 at 21:06.