[Mark Gleeson]

The plot thickens indeed

NOTICE TO DUNDALK CUSTOMERS RE: 16.50 CONNOLLY TO BELFAST SERVICE by Service Planning, Northern and Eastern

11th January 2007



Information for Dundalk customers re: 1650hrs Connolly to Belfast service.

From 15th January coming, our 16.50hrs Connolly to Belfast Enterprise service will stop additionally at Dundalk, at 17.43hrs.

We have been able to introduce this enhancement for Dundalk, following discussions with Translink with whom we jointly operate Enterprise services. Whilst the service will now call at Dundalk, we have had to introduce demand management measures to overcome concerns that the service may become oversubscribed, thus disadvantaging longer distance cross-border customers.

The system we have chosen to manage demand is to issue boarding passes, on application, to regular customers.

With that in mind, in December last we posted information in Dundalk station advising customers of the plan to introduce the Dundalk stop in the service, and invited applications for boarding passes. Having received more applications than available accommodation, we have now issued the boarding passes in favour of annual ticket holders. Indeed, all annual ticket holders who applied for such passes have now been issued with them.

Once the new service comes into operation on Monday next we will be assessing the utilisation of the boarding passes and if sufficient accommodation on the train is available to enable us to issue further passes, we will be pleased to do so.

Customers who wish to apply for boarding passes can complete application forms at Dundalk or Connolly Stations.

Thank you for your understanding and co-operation with these arrangements.

Thats all well and good but represents a failure of management to deal with it professionally, as in a month later we find out while the situation now appears that you will be refused. Of course you cant book a seat on enterprise to Dundalk in either direction