Later evening service beyond Maynooth

[Mark Gleeson]

Looks like there may be news on the long promise late evening service beyond Maynooth.

No confirmation on dates or timings currently

[ThomasJ]

Yeah Irish rail have said on Twitter that they are awaiting confirmation . It looks like based on news reports it will be a 20:45 Connolly Mullingar.

Is the reason why this can be done because it's usually just an empty train run nightly that's been brought into service?

Also I'm wondering will this be an all stops to Mullingar? Given that there's a 20:47 Connolly Maynooth , will it just be an extension of that ?

Edit: Irish rail have said on Twitter it will be an extension of a maynooth service so probably the 20:47 Connolly Maynooth

[Jamie2k9]

Originally Posted by ThomasJ

Yeah Irish rail have said on Twitter that they are awaiting confirmation . It looks like based on news reports it will be a 20:45 Connolly Mullingar.

Is the reason why this can be done because it's usually just an empty train run nightly that's been brought into service?

Also I'm wondering will this be an all stops to Mullingar? Given that there's a 20:47 Connolly Maynooth , will it just be an extension of that ?

Edit: Irish rail have said on Twitter it will be an extension of a maynooth service probably the 20:47 Connolly Maynooth

Wonder will they cancel the 21.40 ex Maynooth or split an 8 car.

[ThomasJ]

Originally Posted by Jamie2k9

Wonder will they cancel the 21.40 ex Maynooth or split an 8 car.

Maybe they'll make the 19:00hrs Sligo Connolly an all stops east of Maynooth That serves Maynooth at 21:25hrs

[Mark Gleeson]

20:47 looks likely but the return service from Maynooth is a problem

20:47 is a bit early, something after 9pm would be more attractive

[James Howard]

8:47 is a bit better than what is there currently but I agree that it needs to be after 9pm.

You could achieve a later service by finishing the 17:17 at Maynooth and returning it to the city rather than leaving running almost empty to Longford as is the case currently. Presumably this new service would return to Dublin empty after getting to Mullingar.

You could also achieve mostly the same result by allowing commuters use passes on the 8PM and 11PM Bus Eireann expressway services and then get some good data as to demand. But of course this is physically impossible because these are commercial services and joined up public transport is evil.

Personally I've most given up on the train service on this line after nearly 15 years commuting. I'm only travelling occasionally now, but unless I'm going to have to travel at both rush hours, it's generally far quicker to access the city centre by car and not much more expensive. Leaving at the same time as I'd catch the first train from Longford gets me into the city centre almost an hour before the train which is just nuts. The heart says train - the head says car.

[berneyarms]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

20:47 looks likely but the return service from Maynooth is a problem

20:47 is a bit early, something after 9pm would be more attractive

It’s probably dictated by the need to get the train and driver back to Dublin without requiring additional resources?

[berneyarms]

Originally Posted by James Howard

8:47 is a bit better than what is there currently but I agree that it needs to be after 9pm.

You could achieve a later service by finishing the 17:17 at Maynooth and returning it to the city rather than leaving running almost empty to Longford as is the case currently. Presumably this new service would return to Dublin empty after getting to Mullingar.

You could also achieve mostly the same result by allowing commuters use passes on the 8PM and 11PM Bus Eireann expressway services and then get some good data as to demand. But of course this is physically impossible because these are commercial services and joined up public transport is evil.

Personally I've most given up on the train service on this line after nearly 15 years commuting. I'm only travelling occasionally now, but unless I'm going to have to travel at both rush hours, it's generally far quicker to access the city centre by car and not much more expensive. Leaving at the same time as I'd catch the first train from Longford gets me into the city centre almost an hour before the train which is just nuts. The heart says train - the head says car.

Problem with that is that you need to get the Longford or Mullingar driver who drives the 17:17 back to Longford within his hours. There are always going to be some operational constraints like this within which the railway needs to operate, particularly while they are still short of drivers.

[Jamie2k9]

Confirmed starts 30 Sep (20.47) Mon-Fri.

21.40 ex Maynooth is cancelled Mon-Fri. Can see this been massively busy so not a major issue.

Other minor changed to late night DART and Commuter.

http://www.irishrail.ie/service-upda...lingar-service

[ThomasJ]

Good to see that they have pushed the 23:10hrs Pearse Maynooth back to 23:20hrs and Connolly departure time back to 23:27hrs (likewise with Saturday and Sunday services from Connolly)

[Mark Gleeson]

Thats a useful change, any extra minute late night is a win

[Jamie2k9]

20.47 to be operated by ICR which good for the service.