Queuing in Heuston

[Oisin88]

Is there any reason why queues for trains on a friday evening cannot be organised with ropes etc. (like the way to security in the airport)

When you arive on a train on a Friday evening you find queues that wind their way around the concourse. Obviously nobody wants to give an inch and passengers trying to get out of the station have to fight through queues.

The big space between the glass doors and platforms 2,3,4,5 is all wasted.

[Garrett]

Of course another option would be to change how tickets are issued and controlled, thereby eliminating queues altogether. This would actually require IE to think about what is best for their customers, which is a lot to ask.

Here's how things are done at train terminals in France (and I believe many other countries).

• Once a train is ready for boarding, its platform number is displayed on the station displays. The train is usually ready 20-30 minutes before departure.
• The platforms are open, i.e. no gates or ticket inspectors. On exceptional occasions (e.g. bank holiday weekends) there will be ticket inspections before boarding.
• Tickets are checked onboard. Obviously this only works for intercity journeys to give the inspectors time. On my regular 1 hour trip from Paris to Orléans I find that I have about a 1 in 4 chance of having my ticket checked, enough to keep me honest.
• Most suburban trains are accessed only through ticket barriers.
• TGV's are somewhat different because they're 100 % reservation only.

I've never seen a queue for a train in France, even on a busy Friday evening, although I realise I'm not exactly comparing like with like.

Of course, there may be a logical reason for having queues at Heuston, but logic is always full of paradoxes and there's almost always another, more common sense, solution.

[MrX]

I think they need to let reserved passengers on via another entrance.

If they continue to force reserved passengers to queue, it defeats part of the purpose of a reservation and also makes it more likely that reserved seats will be occupied.

There's absolutely no reason why this wouldn't work in Heuston or Kent Station Cork or at other busy terminus stations.

If you didn't have to queue with a reservation, I think it would make their online reservations service far more popular too. I know 3 people who missed a train to cork, despite having reserved, as when they arrived 20 mins ahead of the train's departure there was a queue out to the luas tracks!

I also think CIE is generally obcessed with ticket checking. There's really no particular reason why they need to check tickets as you board and then recheck them on board. Tickets are checked pretty much 100% of the time, twice!
It's the same mentality that leads to queues at bus doors and slows down journey times due to everyone paying at the door or inserting cards under STRICT driver supervision.
I sometimes wonder if they feel it's necessary to torture their customers by making them stand in long queues for absolutely no reason.

They were German business people and they left with the impression that Ireland was some kind of crazy chaotic place.
Dublin airport had added to the effect, with its nice 1970s falling apart vibe.

[2Funki4Wheelz]

Back to Oisin88's suggestion - a very quick easy cheap interim fix is movable barriers - ropes or the metal ones.

Platforms 6/7/8 are the worst, because people ignore the queue and sit on the seats near the top then just barge in when the doors open. Barriers would sort this out and I have seen them used once or twice.

Platform umbers coluld be stuck on the barriers so people know what they're queuing for as people often have to walk to the top of the queue to see what it's for or ask others.

[Thomas J Stamp]

Regarding the very first point Oisin makes: the 1705 to Limerick/Ennis will usually be sitting at p2 from around about 16.00 (sometimes earlier). Depending on who is at the ticket desk they will allow boarding from around 16.10 or not untill 16.45. The letter produces a beautifull queue.

Go figure. Oh, it has nothing to do with the Nrebridge train leaving p1.

[CSL]

presumably this is just typical IE - the guy who checks tickets - checks tickets. That's his job[sworth ] . Customer service has no input , nor is it required.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the trains have a guard also who has to check tickets

[Mark Gleeson]

Guy who checks tickets at Heuston is actually the ticket checker onboard that train. Guard doesn't check tickets. Not all trains carry guards now