The Enterprise and the list of shame.

[Derek Wheeler]

While we have often mentioned the problems with IEs latest trains on the Cork line (still late, still crocked and still delaying the new timetable) I thought I'd present some info on IEs other branded service, albeit in conjunction with NIR/Translink.

In recent weeks IE have been running radio ads for the Enterprise service, promoting the journey time of "just over 2 hours", "the airconditioned coaches" and the "on-board catering". Overall it sounds like a decent alternative to driving, unless you actually drive, or are familiar with the train service. So, as it annoyed me listening to ads for a service that is years behind the European standard and gobbled up lots of EU money in the process, I thought about my journies on it and various threads I'd read on other forums about the problems with it. Therefore I can lay out a shameful list of failures with the Enterprise service over the last 12 months.

1. On a total of 36 days, non-Enterprise trains were used as replacements due to mechanical failure. This meant that all the benefits of the advertised train were non-existant to the user.

2. A further 8 days of service were affected due to mid-journey failures of the Enterprise trains.

3. A total of 12 days included serious delays of up to 1 hour or more.

4. 6 days of disruption were caused by security alerts, which are not the fault of the rail companies involved.

Therefore, if we leave out the security delays, a total of 44 days out of the last 12 months saw substandard replacements of this apparent premium service. A further 12 days saw serious delays. So without security alerts a total of 56 days out of the last 12 months (approx. 15% of operational days)saw disruption to the Enterprise service. My statistics in front of me show that not a single calendar month passes without a problem on this service. In fact there are examples of multiple problems within the same month. For example in March of this year, there were 6 days of problems between the 18th and 31st, all of which were due to mechanical failure of the Enterprise trains.

This service is a shambles and current advertising of it, is seriously ill-advised or perhaps an attempt by IE to try and instill confidence in it, because the drive time to Belfast is very competitive and is about to get better with the Dundalk Bypass - Newry N1/A1 link road. Add to that the forthcoming upgrade of the last single carraigeway section of the A1 and it spells disaster for the ever failing Enterprise. A service that is mediocre when it operates efficiently.