Meet the Managers, Heuston Station, Dublin - 30 March 2010
 

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=564 http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=682

Meet the Manager's session today @ Kent Station Cork
 

Just heard it now on 96FM's lunchtime news.

There is a Meet the Manager's session today (24.03.2010) @ Kent Station Cork between 4pm - 6pm. Was there any notice of this on irishrail.ie?

Finbarr.

Of course its not on the website.

God forbid that passengers have notice of a chance to discuss. Of course no mention yet of the Cobh/Midelton shutdown over Easter either.

Has anyone gone to one of these sessions? Any details would be great.

Big questions: Is it worth going? or is it just a PR exercise and any issues raised will be just ignored?

My three points are:

• Sunday morning Midleton timetable:
  • 08:45 Midleton - Cork & 10:45 Midleton - Cork requires ~1.25 hrs wait to catch the next Dublin/Tralee train. I only realised this a few weeks ago when I had to wait at Kent Station for the 10:30 to Dublin, off the 08:45 Midleton - Cork. Are there any plans to align the early Sunday morning trains from Midleton to connect with the early Sunday morning Dublin-bound trains?
• Lack of timetables at East Cork stations (outside of Midleton & Carrigtwohill):
  • I recently ventured to Fota Wildlife Park by train. Unfortunately the East Cork timetable that I keep in my wallet was misplaced. There is no timetable @ Fota station which meant we did not know what time the next train back to Cork was.
• Car park charges:
  • I know its now across most Irish Rail stations, but an inspection of car parks at East Cork stations, especially at Midleton and Carrigtwohill must show that the charges are deterring car customers onto the trains? A good lot of cars, park outside the stations grounds. Carrigtwohill has a maximum of about 5-10 cars parked there during the day.

F.

TVM's on the Cobh line
Lack of information at stations as per article 9(5) of EC 1371/2007
No notice of the shutdown over Easter
Get the destinations right on the front of the trains

I've reports that the car park at Glounthane and Little Island emptied the day the charges appeared.

To be fair the passenger numbers in Midleton are good, and walking distance to the town centre may reduce the park and ride

Glounthaune emptied onto the roads outside the station. I don't know about Little Island.

I think there is a council car park next door where everyone has moved to.

If I can I will get over to see what is happening there. I have this vision of these people dressed in suits, flanked by bodyguards.

I've only used the Midleton service on a Saturday so far, but one of my first reactions was that it could only be a matter of time before local residents were up in arms about the parking situation.

I hate to think what it looks like on a weekday.

A paid car park surrounded by free on street car-parking. It was pretty obvious what would happen.

Does anyone know if these "meet the manager" sessions are something that they have to do for the customer charter/ public subvention, or a genuine attempt to consult with the public? Do they listen to people or just chant platitudes?

Its a UK originating thing that came from the era of UK manager who has now returned to the UK.

On a well run railway it has a place, but when the flaws are so obvious why waste the time on standing around why not actually work on solving the problems.

Why did I bother?
 

I turned up yesterday at Cork, spoke to a very nice IE woman. Said what I had to say, but all I got was, "We are aware of that." The had some lovely colour brochures about IE & Transport 21 and all the timetables laid out on the table.

Didn't really get much information, except for the closure of the "Cobh road" to "electrify all the signals" and remodel Cobh Junction at the start of April, which they will give notice of soon enough... not good enough like.

The lack of timetables @ stations on the Cork/Cobh line is an issue that IE are trying to resolve...something to do with the wrong type of weather-proof places to display the timetables at the stations (on going saga - Carrigtwohill & Midleton have poster timetables now, yet soaked from the rain, but still readable).

Had laugh at this one: When I asked about the Sunday timetable that the first 2 trains do not meet the 08:30 & 10:30 Cork - Dublin trains I got the biggest bull$hit answer I ever heard. Apparently, when the Midleton/Cobh timetable was devised, it catered only for carrying passengers from Dublin - Cork trains, so you cannot have it going both ways for those trains, i.e. catering the Cork - Dublin trains on a Sunday morning as well. Confused? I am fairly sure I looked like this :confused: yesterday...

Well I told her that made no sense, and what was the patronage like on the Sunday morning services, to which I got the impression she didn't know. The fact is, there is a long wait, whether you are arriving from Dublin or going to Dublin on a Sunday morning at Cork (and you want to use an East Cork service).

F.

Its classic Irish Rail, I got the same treatment once.

Where is the bike rack..... It doesn't have one... Yet of course it did http://www.railusers.ie/news/news.ph...2008&no=5.html

There is a very simple solution to the wet posters, you laminate them first and then place them inside the poster display, not perfect but means they will last a lot longer.

The Sunday morning story is bull, as the first train from Dublin doesn't get in for hours

Additional notice. Also at Connolly.

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=682

...yep, that's what I said, and I added that it was not a Dublin - Cork train either, it was a connection from Mallow at around 11:30 into Cork.

Honestly felt that it was a waste of time.

Connolly rescheduled
 

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=682