Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson
The majority of delays are on the NIR side and have been for some time
This is due mainly as a result of speed restrictions over long sections in Northern Ireland which were not relaid during the upgrade program
There are several bad sections on both sides of Lisburn
|
The only "long section" of line subject to speed restriction in Northern Ireland is the 7 mile stretch between Moira and Lisburn which is currently restricted to 60 mph. In my experience by far the greatest source of delay to cross border services arises from poor scheduling and poor traffic management, most of it south of Drogheda. For example it is absolutely routine for out of course DART trains to wander onto the Belfast line just north of Connolly immediately ahead of an Enterprise departure. The same practice is routine southbound at Howth Junction and Malahide. This nonsense alone can result in a delay of 10 to 15 minutes.
The most disruptive speed restriction of late was the 10 mph at Laytown due to the seriously sub-standard condition of Bridge No 72 over the River Nanny. The delays associated with this restriction were the reason for the NIR advisory you quote. As I said in my previous post the line south of Drogheda is riddled with speed restrictions although there has been some improvement in recent months.