Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson
But Mk3 coaches are not suitable for the Rosslare line, few problems with platforms, locomotives, and accessibility
The new trains are ordered curiously a few weeks after we had a meeting with IE, there are staff training issues due to the ongoing shortage of staff, combined with a delay in the trains arriving means they missed the 2008 timetable. There is a huge change coming in December 2008 current Rosslare timetable is merged with Dublin suburban so you can't use Mk3 coaches
Whats killing Rosslare is the horribly slow journey and dodgy frequencies not the trains
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Although the slow nature of the journey is somewhat attributable to the bendy, hilly nature of the line, a major contributing factor is the fact that it is single track between Bray and Rosslare. While passing loops are present at 3 or 4 stations, a train still has to stall until the oncoming train arrives before continuing on. This can increase the journey length substantially. I am pretty sure that between the bends and hills the train could go much faster than it currently does. However, with a single track this cannot be acheived.
The speed of service can also have a huge effect on it's frequency. I'm not saying double the entire length of the track. However, I would suggest the following. Bray-Greystones could remain single track to cut costs. This stretch takes between 10 and 15 mintues to cover. From Greystones to Arklow/Gorey/Enniscorthy could be double tracked. From here, it would remain single track as far as Rosslare Europort. If this where the case, Gorey could
potentially have an hourly service where every second train would be going to and from Rosslare thereby giving it a two hourly frequency similar to Sligo. I'm not sure when the last train would leave. The last stop for all DART services would have to be Bray to give way to the more frequent Commuter and Intercity Trains. It's just a suggestion. What do you think?