Rail Users Ireland Forum - View Single Post

paddyb180285 · 06-12-2007, 14:28

Mark, making this stretch a double track would surely help increase the frequency after 2008/9 when the frequency of these services will be running at capacity on a mostly single track line. I know that doubling the track would cost many hundreds of millions but trains would be able to go faster between stations with out worrying about the timing of oncoming trains. While I am aware of the bends and cliffs on this stretch of track at places like Bray-Greystones, there are certainly long stretches that are straight where trains could speed up even more thereby reducing journey times. KeithStephen, I like what you said about tilting!

In another forum you mentioned that Irish Bus have a more frequent bus route. However, I personally think it is madness operating bus routes along corridors which have railways. I would have thought that buses were put there to cater for places relatively more out of reach from railway transportation. I would be interested to know what the costs are of operating buses and trains in this country. The reason for this is that buses seem to be a lot cheaper to use than trains. Is the main reason for the price difference tied in with the speed and comfort of the journey or do trains generally cost more to operate? If it is just a case of higher cost for speed and comfort than Irish Rail are loosing out. Irish Rail and Irish Bus are still subsidiaries of CIE.

In the last century a lot of infrastructure was either dismantled or burried which would have been put to great use today. I am aware that Letterkenny used to have a railway line. Today, it is a very popular town for students at the Letterkenny Institute of Technology. I am pretty sure that if there was a railway line there today students would opt for it instead of taking the bus. I have heard that this particular bus takes 4 hours with a break in between. However, I have heard that at a very bad time it can take as long as 6 or maybe 7 hours to complete the journey. The journey times of buses are less definite than that experienced on trains as they are exposed to the traffic jams currently crippling the road network. The mere fact that Irish Bus operate a more frequent journey to Gorey or Rosslare shows that there is a high demand for public transportation to these areas. It is just a matter of alocating these commuters to railway based transportation with feeder buses from the towns to the rural areas.

06-12-2007, 14:28	#33
paddyb180285 Regular Poster Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 115	Mark, making this stretch a double track would surely help increase the frequency after 2008/9 when the frequency of these services will be running at capacity on a mostly single track line. I know that doubling the track would cost many hundreds of millions but trains would be able to go faster between stations with out worrying about the timing of oncoming trains. While I am aware of the bends and cliffs on this stretch of track at places like Bray-Greystones, there are certainly long stretches that are straight where trains could speed up even more thereby reducing journey times. KeithStephen, I like what you said about tilting! In another forum you mentioned that Irish Bus have a more frequent bus route. However, I personally think it is madness operating bus routes along corridors which have railways. I would have thought that buses were put there to cater for places relatively more out of reach from railway transportation. I would be interested to know what the costs are of operating buses and trains in this country. The reason for this is that buses seem to be a lot cheaper to use than trains. Is the main reason for the price difference tied in with the speed and comfort of the journey or do trains generally cost more to operate? If it is just a case of higher cost for speed and comfort than Irish Rail are loosing out. Irish Rail and Irish Bus are still subsidiaries of CIE. In the last century a lot of infrastructure was either dismantled or burried which would have been put to great use today. I am aware that Letterkenny used to have a railway line. Today, it is a very popular town for students at the Letterkenny Institute of Technology. I am pretty sure that if there was a railway line there today students would opt for it instead of taking the bus. I have heard that this particular bus takes 4 hours with a break in between. However, I have heard that at a very bad time it can take as long as 6 or maybe 7 hours to complete the journey. The journey times of buses are less definite than that experienced on trains as they are exposed to the traffic jams currently crippling the road network. The mere fact that Irish Bus operate a more frequent journey to Gorey or Rosslare shows that there is a high demand for public transportation to these areas. It is just a matter of alocating these commuters to railway based transportation with feeder buses from the towns to the rural areas. Last edited by paddyb180285 : 06-12-2007 at 14:32.