Quote:
Originally Posted by James Howard
I don't think anyone was suggesting there should be a 905 AND and 1105. My point was that the 0905 is just too early for most people on a Sunday and 1005 would give people a bit more time to get into town even if it is still too early for a lot of bus routes.
A bigger problem with the weekend schedule is that the first up train is very late. Maybe it's fine for Sligo but we end up driving to Dublin at least once a month on either a Saturday or a Sunday when we'd much rather take the train. It's a bit of stretch to suggest that an 0545 Sligo departure is warranted on a Saturday but an 0700 from Longford would meet a legitimate need and it could also fill a rather large 1805-sized hole in the evening timetable down. A lot of people have voluntary group meetings or classes in Dublin on a Saturday morning and it is basically impossible to get there by public transport early enough.
Anyway, to return to the original topic, they put a 29K on for the 1705 last night and it's running the 0545 this morning. This is the second time in the last month they've pulled this stunt. It's particularly annoying when you see a 22K heading to Balbriggan as you're leaving Connolly. And then I get to listen to a work colleague who commutes from Ashtown complaining about not being able to get onto the 22Ks they insist on running to Docklands because people won't move down the aisle.
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I'd agree with you, there probably is a justification for an earlier train on Saturdays and Sundays from Longford to Dublin.
As for the 29k on the 17:05, I think calling it a "stunt" is a bit harsh. It was hardly intentional, as presumably the allocated 22k had a maintenance issue. There are no spare 22k sets sitting in Connolly, and presumably the sets that are on the Northern line or Docklands will be heading to Drogheda for overnight scheduled maintenance exams.
In an ideal world the 27k sets would be back out of storage in Limerick, the 28k sets back in Dublin facilitating more 22k sets to be available, but the funds to do that just aren't there.