Line closure - flooding at carrick on Shannon

[joey]

How long is it likely this will be closed and bus transfers being used?

It was closed for flooding a few years ago does anyone remember how long it was closed for then?

[James Howard]

The last time it happened, the closure was for nearly two weeks. Given that it has been relatively dry this week and the outlook for next few days is not too bad, I would be surprised if it drags on as long.

It was handled much better the last time with advanced departures for trains on the Sligo side of the closure so there wasn't much impact on Longford commuters. This ongoing cancellation of the 16:00 isn't really on either. The 17:05 is going to be nuts tomorrow.

[joey]

Exactly what I was thinking too.
The 1705 ex Connolly is generally overcrowded as it is on a Friday and given the fact that the 1900 ex Connolly is normally a four car set I wonder would they up this to a seven car set? Should've no problem if they are taking the 1600 out if service.

[joey]

Just before carrick it must be, as I saw the water lapping up against the hardcore/ballast of track there very recently, a little surprised it wasn't closed earlier.

[James Howard]

The failure of the 1300 now means that they have 60 minute delays due to transfers from Longford to Sligo.

Can this ongoing cancellation of the 1600 Connolly to Sligo be considered as a breach of the agreed timetable? From my understanding, any timetable changes have to be agreed with the NTA. I presume there are get-out clauses for "circumstances beyond Irish Rail's control".

This situation is extremely difficult for commuters to manage - there has effectively not been a timetable on the Sligo line for the last week. Surely they can put some sort of temporary timetable in place - even if it say it will take 3.5 hours from Sligo to Dublin, at least the 80% of the traffic originating from Longford and points closer will know when to expect a train to appear.

[Mark Gleeson]

It is unacceptable and the obvious solution is to leave Sligo earlier

Cancellation of the 16:00 is a cancellation, not a formal timetable change so provided they stay within the NTA requirements they are ok. Even then they have a get out clause.

There was an interesting legal case in Austria OBB lost out under EC1371/2007, acts of god do not really exist, so the fact it rains a lot is not abnormal...

[berneyarms]

Originally Posted by James Howard

The failure of the 1300 now means that they have 60 minute delays due to transfers from Longford to Sligo.

Can this ongoing cancellation of the 1600 Connolly to Sligo be considered as a breach of the agreed timetable? From my understanding, any timetable changes have to be agreed with the NTA. I presume there are get-out clauses for "circumstances beyond Irish Rail's control".

This situation is extremely difficult for commuters to manage - there has effectively not been a timetable on the Sligo line for the last week. Surely they can put some sort of temporary timetable in place - even if it say it will take 3.5 hours from Sligo to Dublin, at least the 80% of the traffic originating from Longford and points closer will know when to expect a train to appear.

I suspect the 1600 is cancelled simply because there is not enough rolling stock available. There's not much that you can do about that.

I do think the time has come to implement an official temporary timetable to reflect what is happening on the ground, and at the very least advance the departure time of the bus for the 0545 from Sligo so that the train leaves Longford on time.