No Air Conditioning - Its like A Sauna Out There

[Mark Gleeson]

Reports have reached us that the 13:10 Kildare Dublin has no working air-conditioning and is described as a sauna

Yes the summer has arrived

[apwhite]

The 16:25 Dublin-Waterford on Friday was thermonuclear. I had to forgo a seat so I could stand in the corridor with my head beside the window.

I mean either a/c or have carriages with windows that open, that train had neither.

[Thomas J Stamp]

I recall a glorious summer day on a train form Galway, many years ago now, Cravens coaches. Heating was on. Wonderfull.

[Mark Gleeson]

I can recall one boiling hot day, the lights went out as did the AC when the generator shut down, the temperature fell noticeably

Going home last night it was if anything too cold the AC was working full tilt

[James Shields]

There was also a famous example last year when an 8520 unit died at Lansdowne leaving a couple of hundred people stuck in the swealtering heat with no windows and no aircon for over an hour.

[Mark Gleeson]

That was July 11th 2005, train didn't have AC anyway if it did things would have been fine as the power was still on

[al2637]

8:19ish from Castleknock... crush load.. air con seemed to be very inneffective, although it did seem to be on. Train was disgustingly hot. Got off in Connolly dripping. Disgraceful.

Please put opening windows back in the trains instead of AirCon... it seems to be broke more than it works... and when it isn't working, it's unberable. At least windows do the job as the train is moving.

[Red Alert]

Sounds like the A/C was on "fan only" without cooling - cost saving measure perhaps, although no excuse!

[An Broc]

How in the name of Christ is it legal to keep people crushed
in carraiges with no opening windows and a non functioning A/C ?

Perhaps it is not legal as I suspect....

Can anyone answer this or suggest where an answer can be found ?

[Mark Gleeson]

There is no law concerning crush loads, in fact the AC problem has more to do with the large amounts of stops it just can't keep up. You won't find AC on the underground in London you wanna try 35+ fun

The coaches are designed to take 6 people per square metre but in reality are lucky to load to 3.5 per square metre on average

The problem we face is if the AC doesn't work do you cancel the train? Which is the lesser of the two evils, if you cancel everyone jams on the next one which will be even more overcrowded or do you run without AC (in one coach only typically) what do you do?

Its an impossible question

The generic the AC didn't work complaint is no good, the AC died in the 5 coach of the 17:50 Pearse Dundalk on date x that we can work with

[Thomas J Stamp]

Like so many other things in Ireland this issue i feel will be decided in the Four Courts one day.

Essential differance with LU: We are in effect bringing in an entire new fleet of trains, in three years time all that may remain of the current intercity fleet are a few Mark 3s on the Enterprise, the existing enterprise stock and the Mk4's to and from Cork, and they are brand new.

All 21st Century stock and technology. Enough stock has to be bought to future proof against rising demand (go and guess if it is, i will print a special tee-shirt for whoever can guess how many units they are projected to be DOWN, see what we know already?) and also, lets face it, how many times have we been told that Ireland will get warmer and dryer summers?

Therefore we need efficient A/C, and more of it. Unless global warming is not likely to occour along the Irish raillines.