View Single Post
Unread 13-04-2012, 09:43   #20
Inniskeen
Really Regular Poster
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 951
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson View Post
A contract has been signed for wifi on Enterprise different supplier though compared to the main contract Irish Rail had. Can't name the company at this time though until a formal statement is issued.

Passenger numbers cross border are down, Enterprise is really a glorified commuter service which just happens to cross the border.

Seat reservations are available, a ticket is never a guarantee of a seat.

If you sit down and look at the numbers the bulk of the failures and delays are on the Northern Irish side.

It is without a question the worst cross border service I have travelled on.
You say passenger numbers cross-border are down - hardly a surprise given the three month closure of the line at Malahide. Before that the largely gratuitous disruptions associated with the Tolka bridge renewal and the so called DART upgrade project severely depressed weekend business due to the tsunami of weekend line closures. Add to that the laughable management and scheduling of services between Drogheda and Dublin and I think Irish Rail might well be in the picture when it comes to accessing the performance of the Enterprise service.

As regards cross-border numbers my understanding is that there has been a modest recovery in usage unlike many other routes that are either gently or preciptively declining.

As regards being a glorified commuter service what do you imagine the Galway, Waterford, Rosslare, Limerick and Sligo services are ? Whar about the 0505 from Cork or the 1900 or 2100 services from Heuston. More glorified commuter services perhaps ?

Yes the Irish Rail mantra is that all the problems with the Enterprise are the fault of NIR - as a regular user this is not my experience. While there are issues with the coaching stock from time to time, the Enterprise sets are probably the most intensively used rolling stock in the country, one set making three return Belfast/Dublin trips each day. While the ride quality is often poor (especially south of the border) it is not generally inferior to the Mk4s on the Cork line. Ambience wise (somewhat subject on my part) the De-Dietrich coaches are way better than the Mk4s.

Irish Rail are, I understand, responsible for locomotive maintenace. Not sure of the ratio of coaching stock issues to locomotive/head end power failures, but suffice it to say that locomotive failures are orders of magnitude more common than when the service was powered by 071/111 class locomotives.

To be a bit more positive there has been a noticeable improvement in punctuality in recent months due to a number of factors including a large reduction in the number of slacks south of the border and some shift in the Irish Rail's slowest train first policy. The smaller sets now standard (seven coaches instead of eight) also improve matters in terms of performance and presumeably stress on the HEP. Downside is heavy overcrowding at times particularly on the 1520, 1650 and 1900 services from Dublin and 0650 and 1035 from Belfast on weekdays as well as the busier Sunday services.

Last edited by Inniskeen : 13-04-2012 at 10:01.
Inniskeen is offline   Reply With Quote