I am not surprised that people are turning away from the train service given the massive increase in cost and the reduction in service quality. So much for Irish Rails supposed new-found customer focus.
I am hoping that the present situation is temporarily especially bad just because there are a number of sets out of service due to being reconfigured. However, Irish Rail have dealt with this situation in a typical cack-handed way. I really think they should have held onto a few 6-car units - the Sligo line could definitely do with one for running the 0545 up train and the 1705 down train although it may be difficult to find gainful employment for the set during the day. It is obvious that there are going to be far too few 3-car sets.
The 1705 on a Friday should always be a 7-car formation but this is going to be difficult given how sparse the 3-car units are. The 1705 is busy enough on most days to warrant 6 cars. From what I understand, 8-car formations are not possible on the Sligo line, yet given that Irish Rail have so many 4-car sets, this is the only easy way to provide extra capacity on a Friday.
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