[Colm Moore]

http://irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=1094

Killarney is Ireland's Best Station! by Corporate Communications

KILLARNEY has been named Overall Best Train Station in Ireland for the second year in a row at this year’s Iarnród Éireann Best Station Awards, which took place today at Iarnród Éireann’s Inchicore Engineering Works.

The awards were presented by Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Dr. Leo Varadkar T.D

The station plays a key role in the life of the Co Kerry tourist town, and victory is all the more sweet as the winner was chosen by Iarnród Éireann customers.

Killarney came out on top in the four criteria of the text and email poll which were:

- Staff helpfulness
- Staff appearance
- Station appearance
- Customer information.

Dick Fearn, Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann said “Winning the title of Best Station in Ireland is a high honour and I congratulate all the team in Killarney, our customers are the most important part of our business so it is fitting that they should choose the winner of the Best Station Awards and all the hard work in Killarney has certainly paid off.”

It was a proud Station Manager for Killarney and Tralee, Noel Meaney, who collected the award on behalf of Killarney, along with Hugh O’Callaghan, Trina Brosnan and Martin Carey.

The magnificent crystal locomotive trophy was presented to Noel and his team, which will adorn Killarney Station throughout 2011.

Speaking at the Awards, Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport, Dr. Leo Varadkar T.D said: “I would also like to congratulate Iarnród Éireann on holding the 16th annual awards. It’s a priority for the Government to persuade more people to use public transport. Tidy stations are more pleasant stations, and in these difficult economic times an effort like this can go a long way to boosting passenger numbers and generating crucial revenues.”

Regional winners Killarney also collected the title of Best Munster Station, beating off competition from Cobh and Templemore stations.

In Connacht, Dromod emerged victorious, with Station Manager, Jimmy Feeney leading the team to collect the award. Claremorris and Ballinasloe Stations were highly commended in the West.

Leinster saw Arklow taking the top title, Brian O’Keeffe was proud to pick up the award. Gorey and Tullamore Stations were highly commended by customers.

The Best DART station for 2011 was Raheny Station, beating Sandymount and Pearse. Karl Sutton, Mick Seery, David Nally and John Jackson collected the award for Raheny.

Hazelhatch was named Best Commuter Station for the second year in a row, pipping Docklands, M3 Parkway, Leixlip Louisa Bridge and Donabate to the award. Patricia Bermingham collected the award for Hazelhatch.

Dundalk is this year’s Best Major Station, seeing off the challenge of Heuston and Cork Stations. Anthony Monaghan of Dundalk accepted the award on behalf of the busy Co Louth station.


Special awards

In addition to regional winners, two special awards were presented at today’s ceremony.

Raheny collected the special crystal steam locomotive trophy for Best Customer Service. As a busy commuter station on the northside of Dublin, Raheny provides customer care of the highest standards. Customers recognised this in the text and web voting, giving top marks to Raheny for customer service. Station Manager Karl Sutton received the award for his team in Raheny.

Clara Station on the Galway Heuston line collected this year’s Community Involvement Award, for the strong partnership that exists between station staff and Clara Youth Reach Project. Clara Youth Reach is an organisation that works with young people that may have left school early or may have experienced some difficulty in their lives which resulted in antisocial behaviour. As part of an initiative known as One Book One Clara, young people created a Mosaic at the station, based on a book they had read. Eoghan Brennan, Station Manager, Clara together with Finian Robinson and Joe Deering from Clara Youth Reach Project collected the award.

A spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said “We are delighted that so many customers took the opportunity to vote in this year’s Best Station Awards. By encouraging keen competition between stations, we can raise the standards of customer care at all stations for the benefit of everyone who travels with us.”


ROLL OF HONOUR

OVERALL BEST STATION – Killarney

Best Munster Station – Killarney
Highly Commended – Cobh and Templemore

Best Connacht Station – Dromod
Highly Commended – Claremorris and Ballinasloe

Best Leinster Station – Arklow
Highly Commended – Gorey and Tullamore

Best DART Station – Raheny
Highly Commended – Pearse and Sandymount

Best Commuter Station – Hazelhatch
Highly Commended – Donabate, M3 Parkway, Docklands and Leixlip Louisa Bridge

Best Major Station - Dundalk
Highly Commended - Heuston and Cork

Best Customer Service – Raheny

Community Involvement – Clara