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Unread 01-06-2010, 09:30   #1
Colm Moore
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Default Baby on board

What are people's suggestions for when you are carrying a baby on a train?
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Unread 01-06-2010, 09:33   #2
Colm Moore
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Default 22000

Discussion on 22000 class.
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Originally Posted by My friend
I've been wondering how it works with regard to taking babies on trains - like, in cars, they need suitable seats, but how does it work for trains?!? Do you just carry them on your lap? Also, many children less than 6 months are too small for regular folding buggies, and most prams are not too collapsible in terms of stowage, so it's a bit awkward to say the least.

I suppose if you have an integrated baby travel system, you could carry an infant onboard in their carseat, and clip it onto the (collapsible) wheels when you get there (e.g. my Maxi Cosi carseat clips into my Bugaboo pram wheels), but you're not supposed to keep a baby in a carseat for more than a couple of hours, so really, I'd still need to bring the pram!

I really am curious to know how people manage to safely carry infants on trains - I'd love to take a little spin down to Kilkenny on the train some morning with baby, but I've been afraid to chance it as I can't imagine there would be room for the pram! What do Irish Rail recommend these days?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Colm Moore
On the 22000 class trains, there is a reservable wheelchair space, which is usually occupied by a pram / buggy, not a wheelchair. One such space per 3 carriages, I think. Baby travels free, although if you want to reserve the space (not sure its allowed for prams) its €3 on the internet.

Its a bit hit and miss as to whether the wheelchair space is in the carriage at the front or rear of a 3-carriage train, especially on the Waterford line as the trains may/may not reverse in Kilkenny (some trains bypass Kilkenny). Its the same carriage as has the bike racks. On 6-carriage trains I'm not so sure, but there will be a wheelchair space in first class also (first class price payable). On 2x3 carriage trains, you will have 2 such spaces.

The toilets also have changing tables. It is a little tight for space in the normal toilets, but the wheelchair accessible toilet has generous space. The only potential problem I saw was that it doesn't have a strap to keep baby in place, although at his age, does he really struggle much?

I remember my sister had a detachable pram body - you could use the pram as a baby basket. So she just put it on the table next to her.

For safety reasons (trains are much safer than cars), I'd make sure the pram is up against something solid like a seat or wall that is at the front of the carriage. The rear carriages of the train are the safest.
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Unread 01-06-2010, 09:39   #3
Mark Gleeson
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There are two wheelchair spaces, always in coach C or coach F depending on the train length, seek out the wheelchair logo

The wheelchair accessible toilet has the baby changing facilities
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Unread 01-06-2010, 09:40   #4
Colm Moore
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I'm fairly sure every toilet (an a 22000) has them.
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Unread 01-06-2010, 09:42   #5
Thomas Ralph
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Every toilet on a Mk 4 has them; might only be every second toilet on a 22K.
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Unread 02-06-2010, 18:46   #6
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We used to keep our fella in a car seat on the table when he was really small, now hes older he doesn't want to sit, he just runs around.
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Unread 02-06-2010, 18:54   #7
Colm Moore
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Originally Posted by ccos View Post
We used to keep our fella in a car seat on the table when he was really small, now hes older he doesn't want to sit, he just runs around.
I started a parallel thread on boards.ie. Some people aren't enthusiastic about keeping baby in a car seat for an extended period - newborn's aren't really designed for an upright seated position.

Some trains on the continent have play areas in one carriage. Here we call them Luas trams.
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Unread 03-06-2010, 19:04   #8
James Howard
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I should think that making arrangements in case the train actually crashes is a bit unnecessary given the how unlikely that is. (Touch wood).

But it probably isn't a great idea to put a car seat on a table due to the propensity towards sudden lurches that Irish trains have. I would think it possible that a car seat could be thrown off the table.

It would seem to me that the best solution for a child in the first stage car seat is to either use a pram/pushchair or put them in the seat on a rearwards facing seat.

For a child that is the next stage of seat where isn't really practical to bring the seat, the pushchair or just the rear facing seat (when they are a bit bigger) is probably the best.

A forward facing seat isn't a great idea as there is a strong chance the child getting their head whacked against a table.

I've travelled on a Finnish train that had a play area. Fantastic arrangement - keeps the noisy children and the people who complain about them seperate so nobody need worry. But then most of Europe appears to be considerably more civilised than Ireland or the UK towards providing family-friendly facilities. The play area didn't even take up much room as it was slotted in over the return of the stairs on a double-decker car and most of the space wasn't usable for seats anyway.
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Unread 04-06-2010, 16:24   #9
Oisin88
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Last week I carried my 6 month old daughter on my knee on a TGV train journey the length of France! She only slept for about 30 minutes, the rest was spent entertaining her, walking around, showing her the 3 dogs in the carriage, and bringing her upstairs because she was shouting (and we were booked into seats in the quiet carriage!)

One thing I noticed about people with babies on Irish Rail is the sheer unpredictability of temperatures on board. Babies optimum temperature is 16-20 degrees, but in Summer Irish Rail seem to like to leave the heat on, and heat is one thing that can make a baby really howl!

I think if I had to bring the baby on the train I would go for carrying her, and folding up the pram. The car seat thing wouldn't work for most journeys, and they are way too heavy to lug around. Considering how long my daughter would stay in a pram that wasn't being pushed, I would be wasting my time looking for the wheelchair space, but if it was free I would probably take it.

If you are going to bring a baby on a train on a regular basis, you probably want the lightest one you could get. We have some sort of McLaren sport (not sure which, pramology is the wifes specialty) which is only 7kg and easy to drag around.

Hope this is useful.

Oisín
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Unread 05-06-2010, 18:32   #10
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A car seat for infants is not really a seat, it can also sit on a pram and is more like a bed,
Our family has travelled by rail extensively (in many countries) and I am only trying to offer some advice based on my experiences given the lack of child rooms on Irish trains.

Quote:
Some people aren't enthusiastic about keeping baby in a car seat for an extended period - newborn's aren't really designed for an upright seated position.


Everybody´s an expert about what babys want and need, unfortunatly most dont come with instructions. I´ll just say that when a baby is unhappy they will let you know.
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