[13-03-2007] 6pm - no northbound DART/Commuter services until ???

[Rashers]

When I left Lansdowne at 18.15 approx. from the southbound platform, it was showing the next 2 northbound services as these 2 suburban services, plus a Malahide service. Cannot remember if it had times, or just the word Delay.
I remember this, because at this point the next service should be the Drogheda service which 'vanished'. I was wondering if my train would magically re-appear

I wonder what time did the failed DART actually get moved at, if it failed at 17.10 approx.? Those poor passengers if they were still stuck there during all this. I wonder did they have to make their way down the tracks, or was the failed DART moved to a nearby platform....

[James Shields]

This all makes me really glad I wasn't feeling well and decided to leave work early and get the 16:43 from Pearse to Drogheda. Something was fouled up even at that early stage, as we were stuck for about ten minutes around Connolly. Fortunately once we made itout of the Connolly area the driver was able to put the foot down and make up a bit of time.

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by Redsoxfan

I went over to Connolly to get the 19.05 to Sligo (for Maynooth). Train was there well before time. Driver kept announcing that it was the 19.05 and the first stop was Maynooth. Train pulled away at around 19.11. We crawled to Ashtown and then stopped. The driver came on the intercom to tell us there was a train serving all stations to Maynooth in front of us. Crawled on to Maynooth (pulled in around 7.50). Driver apologised and blamed a fault at Connolly???

Reality was a stoning at Broombridge (1 arrest) at 18:52 and subsequently a pedestrian on the tracks.

[Redsoxfan]

Originally Posted by Victor

Reality was a stoning at Broombridge (1 arrest) at 18:52 and subsequently a pedestrian on the tracks.

Really ?

[eugene]

Yes did notice a kid throwing a stone at the train I got from Docklands round that time, probably the same kid who got arrested

[Mark Gleeson]

Just to remind folks

Anyone who was delayed by more than an hour, even if you missed a connection owing to the delay can apply for a refund


http://www.platform11.org/passenger_...hp#their_fault

Weekly/Monthly/Annual tickets get fraction of the face value back, annual ticket holders will be issued with a docket which is exchangable for cash

[MOH]

Originally Posted by ThomasJ

Does anyone know if both maynooth and longford trains departed bray this evening. Judging by rashers post the train sitting in blackrock around half six was in fact the 17.25 to maynooth can anyone confirm this

There was a commuter in Blackrock when I went down around 17:50, which I think was the Maynooth one. I went back to work, a colleague went down around 18.30 and phoned to say a commuter was just pulling out. Had the impression it was the same one.

[Colm Donoghue]

Originally Posted by ThomasJ

Does anyone know if both maynooth and longford trains departed bray this evening. Judging by rashers post the train sitting in blackrock around half six was in fact the 17.25 to maynooth can anyone confirm this

Yes.
after 7pm I heard an announcement in Tara that the next train to platform 1 was the 17:37 to Maynooth/Longford

This was when I went into the booking office to get my refund form. They had none and told me to get one in Pearse.

This is the second day in a row the 18:15 to Drogheda failed in Pearse, Mark.

[Mark Gleeson]

Seems like IE won't admit to the 18:15 failure as well

Originally Posted by Irish Independent

Commuter chaos as trains get stuck

RUSH-hour on the trains turned into bedlam last night after a DART failure stranded thousands of weary travellers on trains going nowhere.
Chaos struck at the middle of rush-hour when a north-bound DART failed at Merrion Gates at about 5.15pm.
North-bound trains travelling behind the failed train stacked up and as a result there was a shortage of south-bound darts.
Rail bosses began to terminate trains at Pearse station, return them north-bound and then feed them back to the south-side. They also got trains to switch tracks to get by the problem areas.
But huge queues built up on platforms across the city. The frustration of angry travellers was not helped by the lack of announcements in trains and on station platforms.
Commuter trains were also hit. The 5pm Maynooth train left Bray on time but ran into chaos at Blackrock. It finally pulled into Connolly station 99 minutes late.
A spokesperson for Iarnrod Eireann said that a maintenance crew was at the failed train within 40 minutes and remained at the scene until 6.20pm.
Brendan Farrelly

© Copyright Unison.ie / Irish Independent 2007

[MOH]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Just to remind folks

Anyone who was delayed by more than an hour, even if you missed a connection owing to the delay can apply for a refund


http://www.platform11.org/passenger_...hp#their_fault

Weekly/Monthly/Annual tickets get fraction of the face value back, annual ticket holders will be issued with a docket which is exchangable for cash

Any objections if I post this link on boards.ie's Consumer Issues forum?

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by MOH

Any objections if I post this link on boards.ie's Consumer Issues forum?

Go right ahead

[shweeney]

I was on the 1725 Connolly-Gorey - it left on time, and ran on time all the way to greystones - woohoo!

sorry, don't mean to gloat, I've been affected by these f**k-ups in the past, I was just amazed not to be delayed at all yesterday.

so, "a maintenance crew was at the failed train within 40 minutes" - assuming they came from Fairview or Connolly that's not that quick. Do they travel by road or rail?

[Mark Gleeson]

From Fairview by van. Normally if a DART sits down the driver does a check and can isolate or bypass the defect and continue so the repair crew probably made it out in under 30 minutes after word came through that the fault was serious

I had the misfortune to be on a DART to fail at the exact same location about 2 years ago, took a while but a DART behind us was commandeered and pushed us to Sydney Parade

If the failure had been in Sydney Parade or Booterstown the delays would have been much much less

[robdrysdale]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

What I have pieced together is as follows

Think it was the 17:02 Dun Laoghaire Howth failed at Merrion Gates. It failed in such a position that the crossovers at Merrion could not be used to route trains around it. Train behind it was a 29k which can't couple up to tow it out.

The 18:15 Pearse Drogheda suffered a technical fault of some kind in platform 1 Pearse at 18:15

Single line working was implemented Dun Laoghaire - Lansdowne and through Pearse. the system is designed to allow this, however the location of the failure at Merrion meant this solution was not very effective. The failure in Pearse completely wrecked the turn-back strategy

The 16:50 Bray Drogheda was caught at the signal at the Circus site in Booterstown, there where 3 8 coach 29k sets trapped.

I must have been the luckiest bugger yesterday. I arrived in Blackrock station at 18:05 to get the 18:10 Northbound Dart. There was a commuter train waiting on the Northbound platform (not sure if this was the Drogheda or Maynooth service). As I was walking down the road there was a platform announcement that the next Northbound Dart would arrive at the Southbound Platform. The train departed with me on it packed to the rafters and passed a Northbound Dart waiting just before Booterstown (not actually in the station). The gates were permanently down with a Garda Jeep parked across them and Gardai directing traffic. The broken down Dart was the far side of the Merrion Gates (about 400-500 metres passed the gates on the Northbound side). There was an IE guy in one of the centre driver cabs and 2 IE guys waking along the tracks from the gates. The middle 2 (or maybe 4) carriages had no power. The offending train was either a Tokyu or Alstom. Loads of browned off passengers on board.

As we got into Sydney Parade (still going Northbound on the Southbound side) the offending train pulled in on the Northbound platform. We took off so didn't see after that. We changed onto the Northbound side past Landsdowne and pulled in to the Northbound platform at Grand Canel Dock. There was a wait outside Pearse until we were passed by a South bound Dart. We crossed back to the Southbound side and pulled into the Southbound platform at Pearse. There was a commuter train sitting on the Northbound platform (marked Drogheda if I remember correctly). No idea why this was just sitting here. We left and crossed back over to the Northbound site where we remained for the rest of the trip. I got off at Harmonstown only 20 mins later than I normally one. Bit jammy I think.

Hope this confirms what you are saying.

[Mark Gleeson]

So the failed train was the 16:39 Bray Malahide, the 17:02 Dun Laoaghire Howth was stuck behind it and the 16:50 Bray Maynooth was still in Blackrock

Get the feeling the failed train was the 8 coach half Mitsui half Alstom, they might make up only 7% of the fleet but nearly all failures in recent times have been attributable to a fault on a Alstom coach