Any upgrade to Rosslare - Dublin stock in the works?

[eain]

Hi,

I am a regular commuter to Dublin from Wexford since Dec of 2010. I think the service is good and have been happy with the punctuality and reliability so far. One thing I would love to see is the upgrade to 22k for all of the services. Could anybody shed any light on this. Is it in the works or am i living a pipe dream.

I know the wireless rollout for the Rosslare/Dublin line was discussed here some time ago and presented a lot of technical difficulties. Is this something that we will ever see on this line. I am happy enough with the coverage of 02 in the ipad and Vodafone on the work iphone. Between them I can work away for a good percentage of the journey but the areas of no or poor reception make it challenging to keep on conference calls etc.

Thanks,
Eain

[Mark Gleeson]

There is a good chance that all Dublin Wexford/Rosslare services will be operated by intercity trains in the very near future

The timetable was changed recently to allow for this, so the 17:36 Connolly Wexford is likely to switch over

WiFi will be in place on all routes by end 2012, however coverage on the Rosslare line will be extremely poor due terrain and the very isolated nature of the line in parts

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by eain

I know the wireless rollout for the Rosslare/Dublin line was discussed here some time ago and presented a lot of technical difficulties. Is this something that we will ever see on this line. I am happy enough with the coverage of 02 in the ipad and Vodafone on the work iphone. Between them I can work away for a good percentage of the journey but the areas of no or poor reception make it challenging to keep on conference calls etc.

The signal the train uses piggybacks on the mobile phone network, so while the train has certain advantages over a dongle - bigger aerial, higher up, it can't see through mountains, which is one factors that the Rosslare route suffers from more than others.

[sublimity]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

There is a good chance that all Dublin Wexford/Rosslare services will be operated by intercity trains in the very near future

The timetable was changed recently to allow for this, so the 17:36 Connolly Wexford is likely to switch over

WiFi will be in place on all routes by end 2012, however coverage on the Rosslare line will be extremely poor due terrain and the very isolated nature of the line in parts

Hopefully ALL services to Wexford/Rosslare will be 22k operated very soon. After all, it does state this on the IR website.

Ideally, one or two should be 6 coaches but we all know why that can't happen at present

[eain]

Thanks for the information, and the hope you have given me, especially in regard to the 22k, that would be a massive improvement over the current situation.

[Thomas Ralph]

Is a 3-coach 22000 better than a six-coach 28000?

[Inniskeen]

Originally Posted by Thomas Ralph

Is a 3-coach 22000 better than a six-coach 28000?

Well a six car 2800 would have 40 to 50 more seats and one more toilet - can't think of any other advantages. Personally I would probably prefer to stand on a 22k than sit on a 2800 !

[dowlingm]

Does anyone know if using 22033 was seriously discussed? Is it just the notion that people will be disappointed when the "cutback" comes or would Rotem not countenance running it in service as a 5-car consist?

[Mark Gleeson]

5 car operation is not safety case, not all the intermediate coaches are the same, two of the four have extra sanding equipment so unless someone is willing to the tests to validated braking performance without a intermediate coach with sanding gear

[shweeney]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

The timetable was changed recently to allow for this, so the 17:36 Connolly Wexford is likely to switch over

I get this everyday and the vast majority on it are commuters going to Bray and Greystones and it frequently has a lot of standing passengers. I like the 22000s but if I have to stand for 45 minutes I'd rather do it on a commuter train. It will also take a lot longer to load and unload in the busier stations as people shuffle along the corridors.

[DangerM]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

There is a good chance that all Dublin Wexford/Rosslare services will be operated by intercity trains in the very near future

The timetable was changed recently to allow for this, so the 17:36 Connolly Wexford is likely to switch over

Do you expect the 16:37 to switch over also?

[DangerM]

Originally Posted by shweeney

I get this everyday and the vast majority on it are commuters going to Bray and Greystones and it frequently has a lot of standing passengers. I like the 22000s but if I have to stand for 45 minutes I'd rather do it on a commuter train. It will also take a lot longer to load and unload in the busier stations as people shuffle along the corridors.

They should get the DART then! For those of us commuting beyond Greystones the comfort on the 22000s is far superior.

[eain]

Had a pleasant surprise this morning when a shiny 22 pulled up at 5:58am into Wexford station.

Does anybody know if this is the permanent upgrade that has been promised or an aberration :-).

Thanks,

[Mark Gleeson]

Nope its called wrong train wrong place after a Bank Holiday

We are in discussions with Irish Rail concerning allocations of trains on this route

[sublimity]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Nope its called wrong train wrong place after a Bank Holiday

We are in discussions with Irish Rail concerning allocations of trains on this route

That's good news. Keep the pressure on! 22ks for every Wexford service is the goal that must be met.

[DangerM]

Also seen 22k's on Rosslare services they aren't normally on, actually worse having them for a day to see them gone again

[eain]

Thanks for the update Mark. I appreciate the work you are doing.

[Mark Gleeson]

There has been an improvement in allocation in recent weeks

Plus seat reservation system now seems able to survive Rosslare Dublin

[JohnDough]

Well was on da 0940 Con-Rosslare last week and da wi- fi was brilliant most of da way ,well done I.E. even better than I get from Eircom anywhere.

[eain]

Hi Mark & co, Do you think we will see any upgrade on this route in the near future.

Thanks