[article] Enough Empty Trains to get to the Moon

[Mark Hennessy]

Originally Posted by Donalq

Dick fearn had a letter in this mornings Metro in response. Movements are vital to allow for early starts...

And lots of angry letters back at him this morning....

[Mark Gleeson]

As was so well put on Tuesdays letter page, its simply bad management

[dowlingm]

Just listened to the Last Word excerpt. A masterclass from the John "What Senator Obama doesn't understand" McCain school of debating on behalf of the IE rep. I would fault Matt C for not devoting more time to what were two important issues - the ghost trains and the fare increase.

First, she lashed Mark about his lack of research and that a stopping train wouldn't work - but she didn't say why the train couldn't simply pick up at origin and destination. People love express trains! Then when Portlaoise came up it was "well there may be a point there" when she essentially rubbished the whole notion as an essential practice earlier on.

Hopefully this lady will see a comeuppance similar to that Matt handed out just after to the cereal woman.

[just thought of something else - she said the extra train wouldn't be guaranteed as it mightn't run everyday. This would differ from normal IE ops how?]

[Mark Gleeson]

I really enjoyed the cheap slagging exercise from Jane, she would do well to check her facts, we didn't do the research Ken in the Tribune did, what we did was review the research and validate the numbers as well as point out how things where on the ground. We don't take personal shots at people we stick to the issues, thats the professional thing to do.

Irish Rail at no point found a hole in the numbers, well they couldn't since it was from their own internal timetable.

It would have been good to have an extra five minutes. Irish Rail want it every which way. The story of the Longford taxis, the Claremorris ghost train.

What odds on the 18:50 Howth Bray running in service from Dec 08 ? I have personally suffered the pain of missing the 18:59 out of Pearse and the crazy 24 minute wait.

And there will be a late train to Portlaois in December funny that eh?

Its kicked off quite a fuss in the metro and long may it continue

Edit the 22:00 Heuston Portlaois runs Monday to Friday was far as we know, if it ran only randomly there would be another empty train somewhere to balance it out. It works back to Dublin as the 6:30 or 7:20 out of Portlaois. As far as I remember the 93 trains listed in the research are scheduled moves, running mon-fri mon-sat, sat only or sun only, all conditional trains as in those marked as 'path' where excluded to be fair

[Laois Commuter]

Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp

woah there!!

When the fleet is up and running? That date is in two months. The draft timetable for December is already being poured over. So, it is either there for next year or it isnt. The trains are there. So, whats the missing element? Why is it missing? Whose job is it to ensure it isnt missing?

Sorry Thomas - was that a response to my post? And I think you mean "pored", rather than the use of a jug you seem to suggest

The whole fleet will not be in place in December - the 6 car trains without buffets for Commuter services plus the final 3 car set are not scheduled for delivery until the New Year. None of the six car sets are yet commisioned for service, although they are out on test. There are also two sets still in Korea having been returned due to damage in transit. My money is on an extension to the current timetable to February.

In response to Mark G, the 2200 Heuston - Portlaoise empty is I believe the stock of the 1805(?) Westport - Dublin. Westport services did not change over at one step, and as we are all aware the 0630 off Portlaoise also did not operate for some time; the 0720 also ran light from Dublin for a period, as it used a Dublin based crew, until Portlaoise was brought up to strength. So, even though a path may have been in the timetable, the train may not have operated for a significant period. It is a bit rich to claim that it will run from December on the back of your radio interview - it has been known about and promised for some time now.

LC

[losexpectation]

so is there not a malahide howth junction bray train 5 five minutes after that howth bray train?

[weehamster]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Will do shortly

Should be here http://www.radioireland.ie/lastword/2992008-16.wmv about 10 minutes in


Edit

http://www.railusers.ie/podcasts/aud...hostTrains.mp3

Missed this post.

Wow, isnt she very aggressive. Typical Irish Rail attitude though. So who is this Jane. Is she new? Has poor aule Barry been let go for not being
aggressive enough.

[Mark Gleeson]

Barry on holidays to appears. There is a staff of at least 3 in the office. Thats as much as I'm going to say. The crew in Belfast use a public relations firm which is clearly cheaper.

When the 6:30 Portlaoise Heuston got back running it did so starting from the depot in Portlaois and eliminated another empty run from Heuston. About mid June the 7:20 also started from the depot in Portlaoise.

Within the current arrangements its pretty hard to get a train back to Portlaoise as a service train and then the depot. They can swap the 18:05 and also 6:15 services upon arrival beyond that its empty trains to get stock up and down.

[weehamster]

But she acted as if she was a know it all.

So she was just simply PR as well, who, at the end of the day, has no say in anyway shape or form got anything to do with the running of any rail service. Just another Irish Rail 'We are right, you are wrong' personal.

Which brings me to a point which I am starting to get p'd off with. Where are the regional managers who are the ones who are really in charge, who are the ones responsible for the "Ghost" Trains among many, many others problems. Why aren't they on radio explaining their actions instead of hiding behind Barry who give his usual Irish Rail is 'whiter than white at a price that's right' speech.

[Mark Gleeson]

It is Irish Rail policy to deny everything even when faced with there own documentation. No one is ever right and Irish Rail is never in the wrong. Numerous very newsworthy stories have never made it to press as a result.

The corporate communications office manages all communication, not strange for a big company. But normally it would be a senior operational manager who does the talking. Back in the day of the DART project the Chief Engineer was the one and only source of media comment.

Scanned in the letters page from Metro
http://www.railusers.ie/images/metro_02102008.jpg

[Thomas J Stamp]

Originally Posted by Laois Commuter

Sorry Thomas - was that a response to my post? And I think you mean "pored", rather than the use of a jug you seem to suggest

The whole fleet will not be in place in December - the 6 car trains without buffets for Commuter services plus the final 3 car set are not scheduled for delivery until the New Year. None of the six car sets are yet commisioned for service, although they are out on test. There are also two sets still in Korea having been returned due to damage in transit. My money is on an extension to the current timetable to February.

LC

'Twas indeed a reply to your post. I'll overlook your shocking bad manners re spelling as you may not know its not the done thing on internet forums. What is harder to overlook is your failure to reply to my point.

IE have been heralding the introduction of the two hourly timetable for years now, and indeed have planned for it to happen this December. You, being a rail industry chappie of some sort or other, know this as well as i do. The fact that they cant even meet their own long-term apsirations is my point. We know all about the two sets back in Korea, the failure of IE to commission the 6-car sets here only adds to their incompetance.

I never said the fleet was all here - I said the date for it is December. The fact is they will miss that date.

The commuter sets are not relevent to that date, and never were, as they were simply a bonus add on. You know thats a red herring, and a dead stinky one at that. That leaves the two sets in Korea and the final three car set. They in themselves are not enough to halt the programme, as all you need do is simplly not decommission a few extra mark three sets

The real reason is resistance, on both sides of thre union managment devide.

[sean]

About the angry Portarlington commuter in the letters page above, how long does it take to get through one of those ticket checks in Heuston?

I'd certainly agree it sounds nuts that anyone who's 20 minutes late on arrival at the platform should be delayed in any significant way making their way to the street.