Timetable 2007 - not so good

[Mr T.]

Just got my hands on a copy of the 2007 timetable for Dublin-Kildare. As a Kildare commuter I'm quite disappointed to see that the 17:30 to Kildare which used to have a scheduled arrival of 18:05 has been replaced with a 17:25 which has a scheduled arrival of 18:09.

Just thinking out loud here, but is this change designed so that more people will actually miss the train as quite a large number of commuters board the 17:30 between 17:25 and 17:30? Is this another clever way of dealing with overcrowding?

Additionally, if we now miss the new 17:25, we'll have to wait 40 mins for the 18:05 - the 18:00 no longer stops in Kildare.

I'm not even going to mention the morning section... it just makes me mad...!

[2Funki4Wheelz]

I know because of the Kildare line project some trains are departing earlier to try to overcome the expected delays (around 7 mins - yeah right! )

[Mark Gleeson]

I did the math on the KRP delays and I got 5 to 8 minutes which matches IE. Also note Adamstown is on the list for all local Kildare services

If you look through the timetable
Cork is hourly at xx:00
Limerick is odd hours at xx:25

We are finally getting a simple clockface timetable which is very important

There is a issue where a train has always left at a certain time being changed but that is life at least now the 17:25 goes to Limerick Mon-Sat on Fridays it used to change completely and go to Tralee

The 18:00 is going to Cork, the 18:05 is the old 18:00

[Mr T.]

Those stats are great - if they're realistic. From experience (and I've been commuting for the last 15 years) 5-8 minute delays (in "railspeak") mean 15-20 minutes delays in reality.

The clockface timetable is a convenient system if the trains actually stopped in your station - the 9pm to Cork no longer stops in Kildare.

I wonder...when the timetable people are changing the timetable, do they actually take heed of the numbers getting on/off at each station. It appears to me that this may not be a factor.

That's life maybe - but it's still not a customer focussed solution to the problem.

[kilman]

I'm looking at the timetable in front of me and there is a very good selection of trains for Newbridge passengers,17:10,17:15,17:25 and 17:50
But like you I'm not happy with the time taken. I know this is the KRP but still.
I've been getting thte 17:15/17:10 to Athlone since it started in 2004.
In 2004/2005 it used to take 46 mins to get to Port
In 2006 it took 49 mins
This year it will take 60 mins.
To be honest this is a pain but if I could get a seat in the evening I wouldn't be half as bothered.(standing for the >100 mins we endured last night is soul destroying) Why don't IE extend the new 17:15 to be an 6/8 car train and remove the 17:10 from having to stop in Newbridge?

[Mark Gleeson]

Send your cheque of 4 million euro to Inchicore Works but then Clondalkin and Cherry Orchard are off the 17:15

There is one extra rush hour train out of Heuston which came about since the slower journeys make it possible.

The real problem is trains making the same station to station journey are not taking the same amount of time.

What we have is a forced timetable where minutes are hacked on to 'make it work' there is then the elegant approach where its designed to work IE haven't grasped that

[2Funki4Wheelz]

Originally Posted by kilman

I'm looking at the timetable in front of me and there is a very good selection of trains for Newbridge passengers,17:10,17:15,17:25 and 17:50

I've always wondered about the 'commuter services' since more and more companies have working hours ending at 5.15 and even 5.30. There's seems to be a bias on the earlier services for commuters - I know places have flexitime etc but most people I know from financial services backgrounds cannot leave until after 5. And it must be worse for shop staff etc.

Newbridge (as an example) will have 4 services in 40 mins, then only 3 in the following 2hrs 15 mins.

The demand arguement might be used, but I'm put off working somewhere away from the Luas red line because of how late I'll get home and would only consider the southside if it was a 5pm finish. There's no demand because people just might work where they can to ensure they get home at an ok hour?

[Mark Gleeson]

Believe it or not Irish Rail promised DART to Kildare town back in 2004 but where forced to abandon it by the Dublin Transportation Office

The upside of the new timetable is it will be way more punctual than last year, yes by cheating with slower journeys but still.

As of today the rotten slam door Mk2d coaches are on there last year and Limerick gets a serious upgrade, providing between 8 and 14 seats extra per coach on key services such as the 17:25.

Overall the 2007 timetable is positive, and it does show that if you apply pressure on IE you will get something, Newbridge, Portarlington and Templemore all got something extra.

[Mr T.]

I don't think the punctuality of the new timetable argument will last too long - in fact this morning proved that IE didn't even try to start on a good footing: the 7:16 from Kildare departed at 7:25, arriving in Heuston at 8:10 (10 minutes behind timetable schedule). Also the 7:48 ran 10 minutes late. Good start for the new timetable!

[Mark Gleeson]

IE managers admitted that the 2006 timetable was impossible you couldn't be ontime.

The exact cause of the delay is the real matter, the 5:15 out of Cork made it on time for the first time in ages

[2Funki4Wheelz]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

the 5:15 out of Cork made it on time for the first time in ages

True, although 7mins late to Portarlington, I can't speak for prior stops.
Time will tell, although there did seem to be breathing space in Heuston and there were no crowds on the Luas platform.

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Overall the 2007 timetable is positive, and it does show that if you apply pressure on IE you will get something, Newbridge, Portarlington and Templemore all got something extra.

Well done to the local user groups and P11. Portarlington went from:
Port to Dub - 14 trains to 18 trains
Dub to Port - 13 (+4 Fri Only) to 16 (+1 Fri Only)

Mostly good news into Dublin yoy, pretty much the same return overall.

And I'm only posting in the NRUG section until PRAG gets it own...c'mon...

[Mark Gleeson]

Slight rejig of the board is coming soon

Big win for us is Kildare local on a Sunday, been pluging it for ages.

[Derek Wheeler]

Originally Posted by 2Funki4Wheelz

And I'm only posting in the NRUG section until PRAG gets it own...c'mon...

You're getting one. Don't worry. It'll be there in all its glory when the decorators have finished. In the mean time funkie, spread the word.

[Mr T.]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

The upside of the new timetable is it will be way more punctual than last year, yes by cheating with slower journeys but still.

I can't see any evidence of it being more punctual yet - 17:25 to Limerick yesterday (Monday) was 5 mins late arriving in Kildare (18:14); 7:16 from Kildare to Dublin today was 14 mins late arriving in Heuston (8:14). They can't even get it right when the trains have plenty of time to crawl up the track.

The 7:16 from Kildare was again overcrowded, with people even having to stand in the 1st class carriage (probably the only country in the world where you have to stand in 1st class!)

I was prepared to give it some time to "bed in" the new timetable but this is ridiculous. What's going to happen when the trains have to stop in Adamstown? Another 5 mins added to each journey probably.

The whole thing reeks of incompetence and lack of customer focus from IE. Their new marketing catchphrase should be:
Iarnrod Eireann: the no frills railway

[2Funki4Wheelz]

Day 2 in the New Timetable House *please read in a Geordie accent* and punctuality's not looking too good.

I'd guess the 18:05 Portlaoise train was late into Kildare too last night. It didn't depart until after 18:10, I assume because of the mess with the 18:00 Cork cancellation.

And the 5:20am from Galway's been late both days so far, arriving in Portarlington +10 mins late, don't know how it fared after that - I think it held up the 5:15am Cork today which arrived in Heuston 10mins late.

[Mark Gleeson]

Last nights failure of the 17:00 screwed up a lot of services

It will take time but on paper 2007 should be better than 2006

[Mr T.]

I can't understand why it will take time.

Just thinking out loud here but should the new timetable schedules not be effective immediately? It's not like a new pair of shoes in that you have to 'run them in'.

Is it that the drivers have to 'learn' new routes?

Maybe it was 'cause it was a frosty morning. Or there was a leaf on the track. Or a driver slept it out. Or maybe the wind was slowing up progress. We'll never know anyway, 'cause they don't even apologise for being late any more. Not that it means much, but it's just common courtesy.

It appears that all this padding in the timetables ain't hiding the skeletons in the closet...