[05/03/2012] Nenagh, Limerick and Commuter service improvements

[dowlingm]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

And that train would have made it back to Limerick for 8:45 am

Now you're just making me mad.

Put that same 22K out of Heuston at 0600
Limerick Junction dep 0735 (arr ex Colbert 0710, dep for Colbert 0800 arr 0829)
Charleville dep 0755
Mallow arr 0810 dep 0815 < padding rather than at Kent.
Cork arr 0840

I've a funny feeling you could manage 19 from Charleville alone if those timings were reliable, since running times should only improve as more UIC60 goes down. (Current BE schedule dep 0725 arr 0845 although Parnell Place is 5-10mins closer to the city centre)

The attractiveness of Mallow commuter might pick up a bit of extra trade if you knew you were only going to be 15 mins down not 30 should you miss the 0800.

First Limerick-Cork connection now arrives 30 minutes before the first BE bus (0915) though the predatory sister company would probably move to fix that possibly by extending the Charleville service back to Limerick.

But Alan Kelly doesn't care so the farce will go on and IE will take a hiding in the Irish Times in a couple of months.

[Destructix]

Has anybody made the NTA aware of this that this service is delaying other trains on the mainline?

[Thomas J Stamp]

Originally Posted by Inniskeen

In fact the Limerick train could have been been about 18 minutes earlier into Heuston had it preceded the Waterford train at Kildare and not been required to stop at Sallins, Hazelhatch and Adamstown.

The following 0725 from Portlaoise and 0515 from Westport arrived in Heuston one and a half and two and a half minutes late respectively.

the fall-back selling point of the service is that it calls to those stations.
Reality is that this is a typical square peg round hole solution by IE to fit in with the whim of a political master using the trains for parish pump advantage. This train was always going to call to those stations, it was to start off in portlaoise depot and head to dublin but it was pulled all the way back to limerick for this purpose.

it was 15 mins late in monesterevin this morning too. sort of defeats the purpose of getting into work before 9 am.

[Destructix]

How many people used it today I wonder?

[Kilocharlie]

Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp

This train was always going to call to those stations, it was to start off in portlaoise depot and head to dublin but it was pulled all the way back to limerick for this purpose.

.

This is an additional service. The existing trains from Portlaoise, 0725 and 0743, are still there.

Is there a suggestion that there would have been an extra Portlaoise service anyway?

[doherty jack]

on the 7th of march

5.15am was 1/2 hour late - due to enginneers not clearing the line at drumkeen , limerick cabins didnt get control until 5.45am , by that arriving late in to roscrea
6.25am , was waiting in birdhill for 30mins for the 5.15 to clear the section , while the 6.25 arrived into nenagh late , so the 7.45 nenagh/limerick was late to !

on top of that the evening trains were subsuited by buses due to fire beside line near limerick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DIASTER ..same thing is happening what to the limerck/nenagh commutters ,!!!

no one is using it becuase they know about it .... advertising campain is being done according to manger nicolas morony !! so hopefully people will use it !!

[Inniskeen]

Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp

the fall-back selling point of the service is that it calls to those stations.
Reality is that this is a typical square peg round hole solution by IE to fit in with the whim of a political master using the trains for parish pump advantage. This train was always going to call to those stations, it was to start off in portlaoise depot and head to dublin but it was pulled all the way back to limerick for this purpose.

it was 15 mins late in monesterevin this morning too. sort of defeats the purpose of getting into work before 9 am.

The calls at Sallins, Hazelhatch and Adamstown and the scheduling of the new service behind the 0600 from Waterford mean that it is less attractive than it might be. There was already ample capacity at these stations and in any event logic would dictate that a fast run up the main line would compensate somewhat for the pedestrian operation on the branch.

It is clear that Irish Rail (and others) would prefer to see the service fail.

[Mark Gleeson]

More like trying to make some money by stopping where there might be some actual business

[Inniskeen]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

More like trying to make some money by stopping where there might be some actual business

Is there a big volume of high revenue business at Adamstown then ? As I said there is more than adequate capacity on pre-existing commuter services into Heuston without having to be supplemented by the 0515 from Limerick. Stopping at Hazelhatch and Adamstown also means using the slow line as the platforms serving the fast lines at these stations appear to be mothballed.

[Kilocharlie]

I think this train is meant to travel ahead of the 0600 from Waterford:

It is scheduled to travel 6 mins after the 0505 from Cork (at Portlaoise) which stops at Portarlington and Newbridge so the 0515 should be right behind the Cork train. The Cork train passes through Kildare at around 0730 so you would expect the 0515 to pass at 0735 and the Waterford to fall in behind at 0740.

As the 0515 uses the slow line, one would expect the Waterford to overtake it thus preserving it's 0820 arrival slot.

Clearly the 0515 failing to make this slot and ends up running between the Waterford and the 0725 from Portlaoise (0748 at Kildare) and delaying the later and following Westport services.

[Destructix]

Couldn't a 2700/2800 do this service and it could meet a Portlaoise commuter service or the Cork-Dublin train on the mainline. Cost less and faster service. Alan Kelly wants a shiny new train though.

[Thomas J Stamp]

Originally Posted by Inniskeen

The calls at Sallins, Hazelhatch and Adamstown and the scheduling of the new service behind the 0600 from Waterford mean that it is less attractive than it might be. There was already ample capacity at these stations and in any event logic would dictate that a fast run up the main line would compensate somewhat for the pedestrian operation on the branch.

It is clear that Irish Rail (and others) would prefer to see the service fail.

i dont agree, for once. I think that what they had to do was try and find a way to come to terms with the directive that this train had to serve the Nenagh branch line at a reasonable hour and still get into Heuston at a reasonable hour.

Originally Posted by Inniskeen

Is there a big volume of high revenue business at Adamstown then ? As I said there is more than adequate capacity on pre-existing commuter services into Heuston without having to be supplemented by the 0515 from Limerick. Stopping at Hazelhatch and Adamstown also means using the slow line as the platforms serving the fast lines at these stations appear to be mothballed.

there seems to be, as it gets into Heuston full from having 19 or so at Ballybrophy (including a trainspotter and a CIE rep on the first day)

Originally Posted by Destructix

Couldn't a 2700/2800 do this service and it could meet a Portlaoise commuter service or the Cork-Dublin train on the mainline. Cost less and faster service. Alan Kelly wants a shiny new train though.

well, for 17 people, and we dont know how many of them are off the early trains to dublin from Templemore and Thurles, its a lot of effort. Pity that effort isnt put into having a train going the other way, into limerick, from Ballybrpohy at a reasonable hour instead. Although, that may be the next experiment after this one.

[Thomas Ralph]

Originally Posted by Thomas J Stamp

well, for 17 people, and we dont know how many of them are off the early trains to dublin from Templemore and Thurles

Nor, for that matter, how many are on free passes!

[dowlingm]

The 2700/2800 would be slower Ballybrophy to Portlaoise so you'd lose what you gained on the branch.

One option might be to swap the 0725 Portlaoise so it departed at 0716 and did the Nenagh service's stops. How late is the Nenagh service when it hits Portlaoise? If it's more than 9 minutes then you'd have to look at whether there is scope for say skipping Cloughjordan to save an additional minute if there are no pickups being made there and maybe Birdhill too with a moving pickup of the token?

EDIT: probably not doable - I'm guessing the 0615 Heuston arr 0720 Portlaoise is where that train comes from.

[Kilocharlie]

Originally Posted by dowlingm

The 2700/2800 would be slower Ballybrophy to Portlaoise so you'd lose what you gained on the branch.

One option might be to swap the 0725 Portlaoise so it departed at 0716 and did the Nenagh service's stops. How late is the Nenagh service when it hits Portlaoise? If it's more than 9 minutes then you'd have to look at whether there is scope for say skipping Cloughjordan to save an additional minute if there are no pickups being made there and maybe Birdhill too with a moving pickup of the token?

EDIT: probably not doable - I'm guessing the 0615 Heuston arr 0720 Portlaoise is where that train comes from.

Nope. It does the 0743 not the 0725.

[Destructix]

Originally Posted by dowlingm

there is scope for say skipping Cloughjordan to save an additional minute if there are no pickups being made there and maybe Birdhill too with a moving pickup of the token?

Birdhill normally has more passengers than Nenagh though. The trains use to have turned back in Birdhill most days.

[dowlingm]

Originally Posted by Destructix

Birdhill normally has more passengers than Nenagh though. The trains use to have turned back in Birdhill most days.

I'm only saying for the 0515. If pickups are being made then fine.

[Destructix]

Does anyone really get on at Castleconnel at all?

[dowlingm]

The problem with Castleconnell is that so much of its catchment lies close enough to Colbert that they get to Dublin faster that way. Drive to Castleconnell for the 0515 or to Colbert for the 0530 which gets there earlier than the Branch service or the 0620 which arrives on its heels?

[Jamie2k9]

It is scheduled to travel 6 mins after the 0505 from Cork (at Portlaoise) which stops at Portarlington and Newbridge so the 0515 should be right behind the Cork train. The Cork train passes through Kildare at around 0730 so you would expect the 0515 to pass at 0735 and the Waterford to fall in behind at 0740.

The waterford train would clear Cherryville at 07.35 so the 05.15 would need to be at Cherryville by 07.30 to clear Kildare for 07.35.

I am guessing the stops near Dublin are to have passengers on the train and not having an empty train running.