Independent article on rail transport

[ThomasJ]

Did anyone read this mornings independent. It had a feature report on rail transport in ireland. Two contrasting stories. One about the torture on the drogheda and the othes on how rosy things are on the kildare line which the reporter says he picked celbridge over clonsilla because clonsilla has not got a rail service. Ironic that over it clonsilla is mentioned two or three times for improvements

[Mark Gleeson]

Kildare line is fairly crap at rush hour, Clonsilla has a fantastic service at peak in comparision its just jammers

[Thomas J Stamp]

.

[ThomasJ]

And While doing my googlewhacking I came across this archive! Written by Independent journalist Paul Melia. Sorry to drag up such an old story!!!

http://www.independent.ie/national-n...ing-60621.html

It's just a doddle for me

LUCKILY for me, I chose to move to Celbridge in Co Kildare rather than a new house in Dublin 15. So instead of sitting on an overcrowded bus for up to 90 minutes each morning, I can travel to work in Talbot Street in just under an hour.

It's roughly the same distance from Clonsilla and Celbridge to the city centre (about 11 miles), but the Co Kildare town has the advantage of having both a rail link and a bus service, unlike Dublin West commuters, who only have the latter.

The first train from Hazelhatch station - which is less than a 10-minute cycle from my house - leaves for Heuston station at 6.37am, and there are 10 services up until 10am.

After that the service isn't as frequent, but there is a pretty good Dublin Bus service, while a private company, Morton's, goes as far as Ballsbridge.

The only problem with the bus is that you join the thousands of commuters battling the daily gridlock on the M50.

I leave my house about 8.45am or so, and the 8.58am train I catch gets into Heuston at 9.25am, serving Cherry Orchard, Clondalkin and Adamstown (from next April) along the way.

As I avoid the very early morning rush hour, the train is never crowded, and seats are usually available.

Once I hit Heuston, it's just 15 minutes on the Luas to Busaras - a minute's walk from the front door of Independent Newspapers.

I have a few gripes. The Hazelhatch car park is generally full by the time I arrive, so if I'm feeling lazy or want to avoid getting soaked in the morning downpours I have to leave my car parked on the main road into the town. And there's nowhere to get coffee and a newspaper, so I have to wait until I reach Dublin for my caffeine fix.

But coming home in the evening is a doddle. I walk from the office to the Luas, cram in with the other commuters and get to Heuston, where there are four trains home between 5.15pm and 6.40pm.

After that, the service is a bit patchy but there are trains at 8pm, 8.30pm, 9.45pm and - the last - 10.45pm.

Alternatively, I can get the bus or a nitelink service which operates into the early hours.

And things are getting better. From a couple of weeks ago, there is a Sunday train service, and improvements to the Kildare line should see more services coming on stream over the coming years.

- PAUL MELIA