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Unread 04-11-2014, 14:46   #1
comcor
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Default Rail Census 2013

http://www.nationaltransport.ie/wp-c...LongReport.pdf

I haven't had a chance to peruse it yet, so I don't have any points to make about what stands out, but I know some will find it interesting.
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Unread 04-11-2014, 17:04   #2
dowlingm
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"Profile of demand" - eh, no. That's profile of ridership lads. Not where service has been throttled so nobody bothers any more.

Lots of talk of boardings and alightings but not RPKs, ASKs (Revenue Seat-Kilometres, Available Seat-Kilometres). Someone going from Cork-Dublin is of the same value as Cork-Little Island.

I'm surprised Limerick-Ballybrophy manages as many boardings as it does (given the stories of services terminating in Birdhill). Limerick J-Waterford looks woeful but why wouldn't it given how it has been starved - messing with the timetable, low line speed, bustitutions at regular intervals, no Sunday service.

The GDA service/density map is a bit depressing since it shows how little effort there was to take account of rail when approving development lands. Not news though.

Looking over your shoulder at what happened a year ago is grand but what we all want to know is what's the plan for a year from now, how this census will inform capital works and line continuance decisions and so forth.
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Unread 04-11-2014, 17:22   #3
comcor
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It seems to me that the picture is nothing like as rosy as the census paints.

There is a general decline across the network, with two particular services (Heuston Commuter & Cork-Midleton) helping to make things look a lot better than they are.

As well as the usual threat to peripheral services, I would seriously worry about the line south of Wexford based on these figures. It's probably not a surprise that when you cut services, it reduces demand for what remains.
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Unread 04-11-2014, 17:28   #4
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On a side note, the Daily Passenger Journeys in the GDA figures don't add up for 2013 (they do for 2012, so it's not my methodology) and there's actually a decline rather than an increase, unless one of the component figures is wrong.
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Unread 10-11-2014, 00:39   #5
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I'm very impressed with the level of detail here. It must make planning services much easier.

What time of year is it done?

How do they count the number of passengers embarking and disembarking? Is it measured by electronic gates or members of staff with counters?
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Unread 10-11-2014, 11:35   #6
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It was done on a Thursday in November, which is meant to be the best way to keep one-off events out of the figures.

It does mean that increased demand for InterCity services on Friday and Sunday is missed. Also, stations that are heavily tourist dependent (Westport, Killarney, Fota) show up a bit lower than normal at that time of year. Do it in summer though and you get the opposite problem.

How dependent some stations are on one-off travel can be seen at Fota, which saw over 200% growth. The difference? In 2012/13, the wildlife park shut for the Winter, in 2013/14, it stayed open year-round.

I believe it is carried out by having people in the stations.

What I do wonder about is what information they get from this that they can't get from ticket sales data.
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Unread 07-10-2015, 12:45   #7
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https://www.nationaltransport.ie/wp-...ull_Report.pdf

2014 survey.

Note that flooding caused disruption to the Cork Commuter network on the day it was carried out. Because of the number of passengers lost here, it dragged down the figures for the entire network outside Dublin.
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Unread 07-10-2015, 13:24   #8
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I'm guessing that the main reason for doing this is because they have a poor record of a lot of journeys on open returns, commuter passes and free travel passes.

Interesting (to me) that the 17:05 to Sligo is the heaviest loading on the evening InterCity service and that the heaviest overall is a poor-relation Rosslare service although that gets a bonus by being the through train.

Last edited by James Howard : 07-10-2015 at 13:27.
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Unread 07-10-2015, 17:25   #9
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James

Not a surprise really considering the volumes to/from Maynooth. It is the only scheduled 7 coach service thats required in passenger terms at peak times. The few other 7 coach operations (all off peak) are primarily an operating requirement rather than passenger demand.

The 05.45 only carried 333 with capacity of 450, is that not very poor for a peak arrival with Maynooth served?

Its a very lazy piece produced by NTA, for the time taken I would of expected much higher detailed figure such as all individual lines and not combining Heuston routes.

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Unread 07-10-2015, 18:06   #10
James Howard
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I'm not surprised the 0545 carries only 333 since I get it most mornings and it's nice and comfy - a good way to start your day. There was a stretch over the summer when they swapped the 7 car set onto the 0700 and that made a lot of sense when the later train would be getting a lot of day trips.

For that couple of weeks, the 0545 was operating at a reasonable load but somebody complained and we went back to the normal summer ghost train setup.

Although the 0545 serves Maynooth, it's a little late for anybody heading south of Pearse really as it terminates at Connolly so it's no good for a 9 AM start.
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Unread 07-10-2015, 18:34   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamie2k9 View Post
Its a very lazy piece produced by NTA, for the time taken I would of expected much higher detailed figure such as all individual lines and not combining Heuston routes.
You're probably better off using the individual embarkment/disembarkmwnt figures for each station to get an idea. That's towards the end of the report.
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Unread 08-10-2015, 15:40   #12
dowlingm
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Nenagh branch still doing Alan Kelly proud I see.
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Unread 09-10-2015, 00:02   #13
Jamie2k9
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Quote:
You're probably better off using the individual embarkment/disembarkmwnt figures for each station to get an idea. That's towards the end of the report.
True but they did peak demand times for Sligo etc but bundled Heuston together.

This annual exercise is a complete waste of time and money as it does nothing worthwhile. To be honest it would be better to carry it out over 4 Thursdays to give a clear picture of numbers traveling.
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Unread 14-10-2015, 15:19   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dowlingm View Post
Nenagh branch still doing Alan Kelly proud I see.
there was 1 person due to get the train from brophy yesterday am but i took pity on them waiting from the down dublin train and gave them a lift.

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