28-09-2007 18:00 Dublin-Cork

[comcor]

This was like a return to the bad old days of the Dublin-Cork rail service with extra swaying and bumps thrown in for good measure.

The problems:

• The PIS didn't seem to operate after the train left Heuston. There were some scarcely comprehensible manual announcements, but that was it.
• Passengers were forced to stand the whole way from Heuston to Mallow
• Unexplained delays boarding at Heuston (the train was on the platform from when I arrived there at 17:30). Boarding started at 17:54 on my watch and the train left 10 minutes late as a result.
• No sign of a train manager throughout the entire journey
• The ticket checker was back in the uniform of a jumper that hasn't been washed in 3 years (Probably a minor complaint, but it gives the wrong image).
• No trolley service
• No announcement that the dining car was open or whether it was just serving snacks. There was an announcement when it was closing. It closed before the train reached Kilmallock.

I know it's probably not possible to add extra services to Cork, but what's the practicality of either adding extra carriages to peak hour MK4s or putting on a 17:45 to Limerick?