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Unread 15-01-2010, 13:44   #7
James Howard
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Sligo Line
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Plus, in addition the government forgoes about 60% of the cost of most monthly or annual tickets in revenue between tax, levies and PRSI.

The business model behind rail travel in Ireland is very badly screwed up. I pay about €3100 p.a. for a seat from Edgeworthstown which ends up costing me about €1500 from after tax income. So if you go for an average of 60 seats per €2m intercity railcar, each seat costs about €33k. So my annual ticket will pay for the railcar seat in 22 years, excluding interest, staffing, rolling stock maintenance, track maintenance and fuel costs.

You could say that estimate is a bit flawed, but I would be very surpised to find that each seat on the Sligo line is used more than once per day each way. Before Maynooth, occupancy on the early intercity hovers around 50%.

On the later trains the vast majority of the traffic is €10 day returns and Social Welfare so that isn't paying for the line.

Given the collapse in government revenues, it is obvious that sooner or later, Irish Rail are going to have to stand on their own two feet and I dread to see what happens when that comes to pass.
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