Nenagh Guardian-Passenger numbers doubled.

[Destructix]

Passenger numbers have doubled on the Limerick-Nenagh-Dublin railway line, the Nenagh Rail Partnership said in a statement this week.
In a press release, the partnership says the people of North Tipperary have responded very well to the recent fare reductions and additional services provided by Irish Rail on the line.
Four trains now operate in each direction every weekday – and webfares can cost less than €12. This is well below the fuel cost of a solo car trip, says the partnership.
As a result, most of the services on the Nenagh line have seen more passengers in recent months – and some trains have carried many more.
“Surveys by the Nenagh Rail Partnership (NRP) suggest that overall usage has roughly doubled, with a lot of young people – and many new users of all ages. This is very welcome news – and proves the value of the work the NRP has been doing with Irish Rail,” says the partnership.
Day return fares to Dublin have always been good value (€24.50 from Roscrea, for example). There is no need to prebook: customers can buy tickets at the station – or on the train if the booking office is shut when they board. (Note, however, that when the booking office is open, passengers may incur extra charges if they fail to pay before boarding.) The savings do vary with distance but day return tickets are usually the cheapest option for travel at short notice.
However, the biggest bargain is the new €9.99 'webfare'. These flat-fare tickets are available for travel from any Nenagh line station, by any train, provided that the booking is made on-line at least three days in advance. (Webfares can also be booked at shorter notice but may cost more than paying on the train or at the station.) They are one-way fares (or 'singles'), so for a return journey customers must book a single in each direction.
Webfares do carry an additional booking fee of €3 – but it is applied per booking, not per journey or per person. So a return journey would only cost €22.98 for one adult (€9.99 each way plus €3) – and just €20.98 each for a party of three (since the booking fee would be shared).
A passenger from Roscrea could thus save up to €14 with a webfare, since a single ticket to Dublin bought at the station would cost €24. For longer distances, the savings can be even greater.
Printing a ticket at home will soon be possible for internet bookings. In the meantime, passengers should print off and carry the email confirmation of the booking. This must be exchanged for a ticket, ideally at the departure station, or failing that on the train or at the destination station. The ticket for any return journey must be collected before boarding the return train. It follows that it is safer to collect the ticket on arrival, in case time is short on the way back.
Nenagh line trains call at four stations in Co Tipperary (Roscrea, Cloughjordan, Nenagh and Birdhill) and also at Castleconnell, in Co Limerick. Most eastbound passengers travel to Dublin, others to Portlaoise and other intermediate stops. Westbound, the main destination is Limerick. This is served by four trains on weekdays, two on Saturdays and one on Sundays.
“NRP survey data reveal an impressive number of new users, including many in the 18-30 age bracket. This augurs well for the future,” says the partnership.

I would like to see the user numbers the NTA/Iarnród Éireann have before i would believe this.

[dowlingm]

Cut the fare another 10 euro (i.e. free) and it will double again! Or more!

Loads are up but if yields are flat and will remain so if the special fares are withdrawn that's only so much use.

[Inniskeen]

Originally Posted by dowlingm

Cut the fare another 10 euro (i.e. free) and it will double again! Or more!

Loads are up but if yields are flat and will remain so if the special fares are withdrawn that's only so much use.

At least something is growing !

[dowlingm]

am trying not to be churlish about it but my doubts are unassuaged by asserted performance unaccompanied by hard numbers

[Jamie2k9]

As a result, most of the services on the Nenagh line have seen more passengers in recent months – and some trains have carried many more.

Would imagine this dosn't include the 05.05 service-does anyone have a recent count on numbers? and what is the plan for this service next year as it can't be sustained with service cuts can it?

[doherty jack]

Originally Posted by Jamie2k9

Would imagine this dosn't include the 05.05 service-does anyone have a recent count on numbers? and what is the plan for this service next year as it can't be sustained with service cuts can it?

5:05am numbers are up to 10-15 every morning , its working well still has a good bit to go , but its a start , online booking is proving very popular

[Mark Gleeson]

All well and good claiming numbers have doubled, no verifiable evidence of this to start and anytime we know someone aboard they report single digit counts.

Total number of seats booked for tomorrow, ZERO

The problem is the discounted fares have not paid for themselves so the financial case is worse not better. We can't disclose what we have been shown but we know other promotions have resulted in significant revenue increases as well as passengers, promotions which didn't work get shutdown quickly.

[doherty jack]

@mark - thats only one service and nearly everyone , buys their that morning in a booking office or on board also - commuters do not have seats booked ...

[Mark Gleeson]

But if you want to claim people are traveling under the discount the evidence says they are not.

If there are commuters, they would have weekly/monthly/tickets. Based on our guys on the train we have seen

1. Lots of once off travel (not unusual, makes up a significant portion of business on all routes)
2. Trainspotters out to photograph the madness of the 05:05 before it vanishes
3. Intermittent business travel, 1,2,3 days a week (the RUI guy)

Business seems to be Birdhill and Roscrea, Nenagh very much the lowest traffic generator...

[Inniskeen]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

All well and good claiming numbers have doubled, no verifiable evidence of this to start and anytime we know someone aboard they report single digit counts.

Total number of seats booked for tomorrow, ZERO

The problem is the discounted fares have not paid for themselves so the financial case is worse not better. We can't disclose what we have been shown but we know other promotions have resulted in significant revenue increases as well as passengers, promotions which didn't work get shutdown quickly.

For comparison there appear to be 9 seats booked on tomorrow's 0505 from Cork, 2 on tomorrow's 0505 from Galway, 5 on tomorrow's 0530 from Limerick.

[Thomas J Stamp]

Originally Posted by doherty jack

5:05am numbers are up to 10-15 every morning , its working well still has a good bit to go , but its a start , online booking is proving very popular

ah now jack, do you really want me to be coming back on here with the headcount every week again.

you do the good work of the NRP a disservice saying stuff like that, not that they are helping themselves much with that presser. The headline is about numbers being doubled. The article doesnt actually cite any numbers, and i know for a fact that they counted every single person on the train in a week period at the end of july. Also, if the numbers ahve doubled, and the services have doubled, but everyone is using a discount, then the losses are the same if not greater???

anyway, i hope, as i have always hoped that this service survives and is a success. that is not helped by being unrealistic in connection with potential numbers. the demographic who will use it outside of local useage is not massive, but it must be maximised.