Timetable consultation for DART/commuter 2016 now online

[Padna]

The changes to the Dublin-Belfast timetable should make the Enterprise service more attractive for commuters, especially cross-border commuters. Those travelling into Dublin will be able to arrive at 0841 (current equivalent 0904) and depart at 1710 (current equivalent 1650), which will be more closely aligned with the traditional 0900 to 1700 working day. For those travelling into Belfast a 0925 arrival, although still a bit on the late side, is a lot better than the current 0945 arrival. The peak evening departure will still be at 1805, so this would suit anyone who could work from say 0945 to 1745.

[Inniskeen]

I would imagine that the 1710 to Belfast will be very overcrowded as most of the few remaining Dundalk commuters will try to get this train to avoid the miserably unattractive journey times on later services.

[MaryC]

17:13 train from Pearse now leaves from Connolly or am I mistaken. Are they nuts. That train is full leaving Pearse and the 17:07 to Balbriggan from Connolly is gone. That was another full train. So if you could make Connolly by 17:12 it's going to be crazy. For those of you who cannot make it, you have to wait till 17:23. So on top of the extra time it's going to take in the morning (trains leaving earlier and getting in later) its going to work out an hour exta a week from leaving home to getting back in the evening. It's a crazy schedule. It's time to start looking at other commuting options.

[ACustomer]

More on just how bad these proposals are:

1. The 10-minute fixed-interval DART service. This apparently applies throughout the day. Fine for peak hours but what about mid-morning or early afternoon, never mind later at night? The LUAS does not attempt anything like this: tram intervals range for 3 to 4 minutes at the morning peak to 7 or 8 minutes late morning etc. It must be hugely uneconomic in the off-peak hours to operate a peak-hour service.

2. The slower journey times. OK these are probably a consequence of the 10-minute DARTS, but there is a huge paradox in operating slower trains which reduce line capacity (because by definition they increase time spent in block sections) when the most acute problem is inadequate headway between trains.

Are they stuck with this 10-minute stuff because of some funding arrangement on service levels with the NTA? How slow will things be then the Park Tunnel trains start operating to Connolly?

[James Shields]

I think there are some good things. The northern line commuter trains seem to have better spacing, and they no longer serve Portmarnock or Clongriffin, which takes a couple of minutes off journey times.

I can see the earlier morning Enterprise being a huge hit with commuters, and overcrowding seems inevitable. Would there be a case for making the extra commuter train serving just Dundalk/Drogheda/Connolly that's been running ahead of it during the refurbishment a permanent fixture?

James

[Jamie2k9]

1. The 10-minute fixed-interval DART service. This apparently applies throughout the day. Fine for peak hours but what about mid-morning or early afternoon, never mind later at night? The LUAS does not attempt anything like this: tram intervals range for 3 to 4 minutes at the morning peak to 7 or 8 minutes late morning etc. It must be hugely uneconomic in the off-peak hours to operate a peak-hour service.

Luas ranges up to 15-20 minutes before close of service, kicks in after 21.00 ish and early morning.

I think it's safe to say it will be 2 coach DARTS off peak and all 4 coach at peak times perhaps. The 10 minute freq is not remotely sustainable after 8pm or before 7am.

It's another ego boost just like the successful 06.15 out of Cork

Anyone able to see what slots have been left for Kildare-GCD?

[shweeney]

who benefits from the extra frequency - whilst I like the idea of "turn up and go" most regular commuters get the same train every day - they will now need to get an earlier train to arrive at the same time because of the increased running time.

Irish Rail in the papers today admitting the slower Darts and saying this is a consequence of the increased frequency, but this still doesn't make sense to me - where is the time being lost, dwell times should reduce if anything (and they're already very leisurely).

[Mark Gleeson]

The frequency excuse doesn't match, 70 minutes end to end is more than enough

Every minute saved on a DART is a minute saved on a commuter/intercity trip also

Pre 7am and post 10pm there is no justification for 10 minute service, could use the money saved by running 15 minutes interval here to provide the long sought after later services on DART and on Maynooth on a Sunday

[James Shields]

Looking a little deeper, the early morning Enterprise leaves Drogheda 07:54 and arrives 08:41, taking 47 minutes.

There's also a non-stop commuter train at 08:20 arriving at 09:09 - 49 minutes.

The rest of the Enterprise services running between Connolly and Drogheda take between 36 and 39 minutes. On the current timetable most take 30 to 35 minutes, and when I first moved to Drogheda there were a few that did it in 25 minutes!

James

[Mark Gleeson]

Connolly Drogheda I think got to 27 minutes at best in the very early days, only a 22k/C3K could really do that. 30 miles from a standing start with the first mile at 20mph and 4 miles at 70, then a brief 90 before 50 through Malahide.


There is some fun and games, the 16:53 Pearse Drogheda is overtaken by the 1710 to Belfast between Skerries and Ballbriggan

[berneyarms]

Originally Posted by MaryC

17:13 train from Pearse now leaves from Connolly or am I mistaken. Are they nuts. That train is full leaving Pearse and the 17:07 to Balbriggan from Connolly is gone. That was another full train. So if you could make Connolly by 17:12 it's going to be crazy. For those of you who cannot make it, you have to wait till 17:23. So on top of the extra time it's going to take in the morning (trains leaving earlier and getting in later) its going to work out an hour exta a week from leaving home to getting back in the evening. It's a crazy schedule. It's time to start looking at other commuting options.

To answer your questions, as far as I can figure out the new timetable proposes:

Deferring the 16:14 Pearse-Drogheda to 16:23
Deferring the 16:44 Pearse-Drogheda to 16:53
Deferring the 16:50 Connolly-Belfast to 17:10
Deferring the 17:07 Connolly-Balbriggan to 17:12
Deferring the 17:13 Pearse-Dundalk to 17:28
Deferring the 17:28 Pearse-Drogheda to 17:43
Deferring the 17:55 Pearse-Dundalk to 18:03
Deferring the 18:15 Pearse-Drogheda to 18:23