Rail Users Ireland
@RailUsersIe
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Rail Users Ireland is Ireland's National Rail Users Organisation. Established in 2003 to campaign for improved services and conditions for rail passengers
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Pinned Tweet
Did you buy your ticket online?
Did you find the assigned seat didn’t exist, you couldn’t access it or it was occupied by someone who refused to move?
If you were left standing for even part of the journey you are entitled to a compensation of the single ticket price paid
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@henrymartin1
@forksinthebag
If the display had a name/number it is reserved. Not dissimilar to US practice where seats are assigned & marked with a card
There are announcements stating not to occupy pre booked seats
The female passengers later behaviour is unacceptable but they appear to be in the right
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It’s taken many years but finally a unified transport map for Rail and Tram for Dublin.
We provided several rounds of feedback, it’s not perfect but a major step forward.
Rolling out at rail stations across Dublin.
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Disgraceful condition of Tara Street station in Dublin
Decay everywhere, doubtful construction meets fire safety standards, no timetable to be found
The stench is overwhelming
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Dreadful day across Dublin rail network, so what went wrong?
1. The planning/licensing of the Bray Air Show on the same day as an All Ireland Final at Croke Park. Transport infrastructure/resources are finite and struggle with a single large event. That set up the failure
1/5
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Yesterday we posted a few photos of Tara Street station and it’s shocking condition, biggest reaction to a single tweet we have ever seen
Multiple complaints to Irish Rail have been ignored
You can be sure a major cleanup will follow, nothing beats a bit of public embarrassment
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5
105
@mark_dowling
@minnyshell
@ciandevane
We are aware of this incident on April 1st, there is are 2 security staff assigned to duty at Howth junction. They where in the course of removing a large group from a train
We need a transport police, we need to start arresting people and apply the fullest penalty at court
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100
The obsession with quick fixes will always end up costing us more in the long run.
The ONLY long term solution for Bray Greystones is a new inland route and tunnel, shorter, faster, safer and ultimately it is the cheaper option.
7
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Little history today, DART’s 39th birthday
Dublin was on the way to a proper frequent European suburban rail system. Even plans to build future DART carriages in Dublin
Politicians failed us & in 1987 abandoned phases 2, 3 & 4
Looking like 45 years to deliver the next line🤞
4
12
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All this talk of public transport investment doesn’t add up
Ave age of DART fleet 30 years
Commuter fleet Cork 30 years
Commuter fleet Dublin 20 years
0 new carriages entered service over last 10 years
Delays, breakdowns, cancellations and short trains are now the daily norm
8
13
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All it then took was a short delay at Bray to trigger a reaction from already heavily delayed passengers travelling in close to crush load conditions in 25C with ineffective air conditioning
Multiple actions could have prevented this, but no one intervened
(5/5)
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5
82
Out of nowhere 90 DART carriages have been ordered, just enough to replace the original fleet which are 39 years old this year and unlikely to keep going much longer
Nothing to do with the story we helped expose?
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4
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Credit to Irish Rail last night for keeping going, similarly for Bus Eireann who quickly moved termini
Total city wide shutdown of Luas (and Bus) left many stranded in stressful conditions, that decision requires review.
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@IrishRail
@CWeston_Indo
Breach of customer charter here, no excuses train spent the night at Drogheda depot
No apology either
5
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So apparently the Dublin Navan railway line is to be reopened (again).
Great news except the price has risen from €468m to somewhere between €777m to €1,122m
Why? Politicians unwilling to commit, costs us all a fortune in the long term.
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2
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Every day this gets more and more crazy, ideas with zero hope to get funded.
How about ensuring all passengers get a seat?
How about a train from Dublin to Belfast that is faster than a steam train was in 1947?
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A year since the Phoenix Park tunnel reopened for passenger services. Irish Rail said it couldn't be done, that no one would use it. Today its standing room only at peak times. Rail Users Ireland was founded with the initial goal to get service through the Phoenix Park Tunnel
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12
76
Well the All Ireland Rail Review was a nice idea for the 24 hours it lasted
We have decades of plans, but little implementation as our politicians don’t see the bigger picture and long term value
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@TomDouglas95
It was looked at in depth, costed, routing etc. Its one of the reasons Clongriffin station has 3/4 platforms.
Killed by the obsession that only a metro will do, if you take all the money spent on reports, surveys and abandoned works on metro it would have paid for this
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While there are Luas services today Ireland is unique in Europe as having no rail services on 26th December
You can ignore the electronic displays at the stations which claim there are trains today
10
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After a long wait the new on train Dublin rail map has dropped
Many many changes vs the draft we commented on. It’s not perfect but it’s progress.
15
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Finally after 12 years of leap card the NTA has finally moved to implement a proper fair and consistent fare structure for Dublin. Significant fare drops
The distinction between Rail/Bus/Luas is gone, one capping rate, one monthly ticket, one annual ticket price.
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3
72
A survey today found 24 DART carriages parked at Fairview Depot. We suspect there are more hidden in the shed and in Drogheda & Inchicore
Fleet is 144 so 24 is a big number to be unavailable for service
3 4 coach DART’s seen so far this rush hour
Passengers deserve better
5
5
70
We once thought the National Transport Authority was going to drive improvements in public transport but they are now enemy number 1
NTA considering proposals to end direct rail services between Wexford and Dublin
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Youths smoking cannabis between carriages 1&2
1710 Malahide Bray
First decent day of sun and the usual chaos onboard
Not good enough
@IrishRail
haven’t seen any security so far
8
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Yesterday Sunday a 142,000 ton cruise ship visited Dún Laoghaire, nothing new there ave of 5 a week visit
3,500+ passengers, first reached the train station at 8am, first train on a Sunday is 0918 🤷🏻♂️
It was 0900 15 years ago, getting worse not better
7
5
60
Irish Rail holds 75 railway restaurant car licences to serve alcohol, these cost €500 each and were renewed in 2022 despite no catering service...
Only 7 licenses are needed for Dublin Belfast
€34,000 wasted on 68 licences which remain unused today
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60
As it will come up, a Citadis 502 tram like the one burned out last night
Cost new +4 million
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Irish Rail board finally has taken aim at the NTA and DoT for holding up approvals on projects. Frank Allen (former head of the RPA) gets the knife in
DART+ fleet was 6 months delayed & we similar patterns of from 3 months to over a year lost in bureaucracy & photo op scheduling
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Irish Rail doesn't advertise this when things go wrong, but Taxsaver customers delayed by more than 1 hour are entitled to compensation payable in cash, just like all other ticket holders. It has taken us 9 years to get this in place
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Europeans are looking at us, confused as to why we are going heavy on battery trains around our capital
And of course 6 months late and counting...
'The envy of Europe'?: Step inside Irish Rail's new battery-electric Dart trains (via
@thejournal_ie
)
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So how did we get into this mess where trains are sold out and standing on long distance services is the norm?
Well it starts with the NTA not really having a clue
1/N
1
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55
Irish Rail has finally loaded the timetable for December and beyond
Bookings still not possible but will be enabled shortly
And finally after over a decade of waiting the 0600 Dublin Cork service is there
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54
Print at home finally arrived and is live today. Availability is limited as this still in trial.
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Reports of at least 2 people collapsing on overcrowded trains this morning. One Docklands service, one northbound DART service
Total number of long term out of service carriages stands at 42 today up from 38 last year.
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The report in the madness on the trains before the Bray Air show has been delayed till September.
Great stuff, let's repeat the mistakes again next week. Only 9 extra trains over 4 hours planned. Add in Dublin playing in the All Ireland at the same time.
What could go wrong...
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5
53
Some genius wants to run the Bray Air Show the same day as the 2023 All-Ireland football final, 30 July
It worked so well in 2022 didn't it? The rail network has barely the capacity to cope with 1 large event.
Subject to licence? We object in interest of passenger safety
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Full Luas services are now restored after repairs on O'Connell Street
0
6
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Finally after a long series of delays the extra intercity coaches are about to enter service
First extended train is available pencilled in for December
It will take until the end of 2024 to complete
In simple terms 2 out of 3 intercity services will have 1 extra coach
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It’s taken years but finally the 0600 Dublin Cork is coming
5
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Good news, but we were promised less than 2 hours end to end back in 1995. We were promised hourly service in 2019 with existing infrastructure and fleets
Dublin-Belfast train to take less than two hours and run hourly after multimillion investment
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Finally the report into the Bray Airshow DART fiasco has been released, 6 months late but its here and it doesn't hold back. Irish Rail's claim the air conditioning was working are completely disproven
'The air conditioning was off on Train E268'
1/N
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#DARTplus
3 key issues we raised are included in the design
Dedicated bike space with proper restraints and tip up seats
Pop out ramp to close the gap which will facilitate independent travel for many but not all who need assistance today
And cantilevered seats
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It's insane that Irish Rail has to obtain permission at cabinet level to even submit a planning application
This is whats wrong with public transport investment, its staged for PR soundbites
Irish Rail doesn't even need planning permission to electrify?
Minister for Transport
@EamonRyan
has announced approval by Cabinet for
@IrishRail
DART+ South West to enter the planning system.
DART+ South West will see:
🚃20km of newly electrified rail network
🚃Dublin to Celbridge connected
🚃Approx doubling of train services
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Over the last few days we have witnessed a collapse in the Enterprise service
Repeated substitution with other trains leaves between 2 and 4 coaches less
Out of the 4 enterprise trains, 3 are needed to run the service, only 1 is in service this morning
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51
Finally It only took 8 years, yes 8 years to deliver extra carriages into service this morning
Irish Rail wanted to place this order in 2017 but was delayed by the NTA & DoT
Money was cut from the DART+ budget to pay for this
1/2
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Lots of talk about reducing car dependence
Not matched by the infrastructure needed to make the rail network capable, be 2029 before we see any progress
Metrolink is still a dream, DART underground isn’t even on the agenda
Putting our faith in bus lanes won’t save us
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Classic example of the inefficiency in Irish Rail
It’s been sitting there exposed to the rain for weeks if not months at this stage…
No urgency to get it fixed, DART next to it hasn’t been in service since August either
Lots of trains available just not being repaired
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@EamonRyan
Three lines reopened in last 15 years, super worried the Minister can’t keep count
Only passenger line closure in 30+ years occurred with a green minister in the Department of Transport
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@SimonHarrisTD
Not pleasant but completely in line with protocol and procedure in the circumstances that the overhead power had failed.
No need for scaremongering
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Is there an election soon?
Last passenger train from Navan to Dublin (via Drogheda) was in 1996 and remains a realistic stop gap solution to the direct route. DART+ plans have a platform accessible from Navan in the plans for Drogheda
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Don't blame Irish Rail, NTA or the former RPA, its the politicians and civil servants who refuse to invest in our future. Not all of the money is wasted if we actually build but until we do its worthless.
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20 years after the first strategic rail review, of which little was implemented, here we go again
Until politicians actually commit to making it happen its just another report on a shelf
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Total number of extra seats provided at peak hour by Irish Rail in 2018, 0
Promises of extra seats for 2019 are now 2020 (and really its going to be 2021...)
Total number of pianos at stations added in 2018, 4?
Priorities are seriously messed up
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43
Landmark day in rail transport, the first journeys using print at home tickets took place this morning
Long time coming, we are interested to hear from anyone who has used a barcode ticket and any problems they encountered on the way.
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5
46
Bit of the throw it into Google translate there
@IrishRail
? It’s not difficult but it is legally required
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45
DART breakdown this evening, 39 year old train. Documentation obtained under FOI lists multiple major components which need replacement
No plan or funding, an assumption they can keep going for 10 years despite the safety certificate expiring in 2024
Passengers deserve better
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9
46
Vastly improved performance from Irish Rail today at Bray, just shows how poorly planned 2022 was.
Lots more staff on the ground and at all stations
All the extra trains are in the journey planner and real time system
Air conditioning working
1/N
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@IrishRail
@Trinivikram
@daveolofficial
Irish Rail have been making he same claim of an imminent order of 41 coaches since 2017
It’s like the boy why cried wolf at this stage
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It went unmarked today, but today marked 185 years of Rail services between Dún Laoghaire and Dublin. It was the first railway built for commuters.
Journey times remain mostly unchanged in 185 years...
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Passengers didn't know what was going on
3. Online information, none of the extra trains were listed in the timetable and not shown at stations.
(3/5)
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Its sad really how slow the NTA move. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland they don't bother with smartcards, or contactless.
You just pay in an app, show a barcode, no queuing or fumbling for a card/phone on entry and exit. That can be delivered in months.
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Work to remove the burned out tram from O'Connell Street underway. 2 sections are burned out so may be possible to repair it and return as shorter tram
Overhead wires badly damaged and require replacement almost the full length of O'Connell Street this will take most of the day
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6
44
Another complete collapse of the signalling system from Dundalk as far as Greystones
The signalling equipment is new, but the control room is a 1970's mess, some of the computer systems used are museum pieces
Last time we visited the signalling computer dated from 1996...
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Almost 3 years after Irish Rail sought approval we finally have confirmation of an order for 41 new carriages.
Problem is 41 is only 6.7% of the current fleet. Passenger numbers are climbing at 5% pa
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Irish Rails timetable is now uploaded to the Central European timetable database so you can plan journeys like this
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Original DART fleet left to rot by Irish Rail. The corrosion problem and breakdowns weren’t bad enough. On one single carriage;
Defective door for 6+ days
Torn seats
5 defective lights
7 missing route maps
Poorly cleaned graffiti
This train is to remain in service until 2034?
5
1
39
1 in 3 DART services were late in October, what will the numbers be for November?
Its not good enough
Irish Rail also hides the fact season ticket holders are actually entitled to compensation under EU law for this shockingly poor service
Passengers deserve better
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Irish Rail blame the leaves, the passengers blame a new timetable, the reality is short trains cause overcrowding, prolonged station stops and delays.
Irish Rail claim no spare trains, yet out of 154 DART coaches only 116 are in service today?
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40
Nothing surprising here, easy blame inflation but the budget was never enough and is typical of the political kite flying we have seen for decades of promises never realised
€14 billion hole in national rail and road plan, bombshell Cabinet memo reveals
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8
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Is it any wonder the DART service has become some unreliable and prone to delays and short trains
The condition of the trains themselves is appalling, corrosion, impact damage, holes
If you don’t maintain it will fail and that’s not good enough. Passengers deserve better
4
2
39
Another classic from Irish Rail
Let’s put the poster for Booterstown in Blackrock
Just can’t make this up how badly managed this is
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38
As the situation started to get out of control, action should have been taken
4. Station management. As crowds grew no attempt was made to stop more entering stations. This led to large groups stuck particularly at stations south of Dún Laoghaire
(4/5)
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0
40
As Irish Rail seem to have forgotten how to run trains to anything resembling a timetable
Do your fellow passengers a favour if standing place any bags at your feet
This frees up space, stops pickpocket and saves others from getting a bag in their face as you move around
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4
39
@EamonRyan
Been waiting since 1975 for a Metro system for Dublin
The problem isn’t planning the problem lies on Kildare Street who won’t fund/authorise or sit for weeks on simple requests like approving submission of a planning application
2
3
39
No extra bus services despite no DART services
29 minutes to next bus to city assuming you can get on…
Complete failure of planning by Irish Rail, Dublin Bus and the NTA.
This shutdown was confirmed in writing in 2023 so it’s no surprise, several more coming as well
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7
40
Part of that cost is to move a sewer main Meath CC put down on the rail alignment if fulll knowledge it was likely to be reopened
This is the kind of rubbish blocking public transport and inflating costs
1
2
39
Delays in multiple locations in Dublin
Just a light dusting of snow and the system cannot cope
It’s embarrassing
8
0
39
This is a great example at the leadership problems within Irish Rail
Too much time spent on gimmicks and not time focused on basic stuff like reliability, punctuality & accessibility
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2
39
42.5% of Dublin Belfast train services were more than 10 minutes late in the 4 weeks 6 Nov to 3 Dec
Thats embarrassing...
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2
36
This week we learned reported anti social behaviour is up 54%
Example two youths, messing with lighters trying to burn each other. Verbally abuse a passenger who intervened
Fortunately train was delayed by a door fault, staff appeared resulting in the troublemakers making off
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39
Irish Rail's increase in security is welcome but its failure to update its bye laws to ban alcohol on commuter services means security staff can do nothing. We need a transit police with full power of arrest, with severe fines, jail & bans from public transport for troublemakers
3
13
39
It not just the trains which are decaying, former best station award winner Seapoint is a case in point.
It’s been like this for months, and the southbound information displays is partially broken as well. No routine maintenance, no attention to detail, left to rot.
5
2
38
This evening isn’t much better significant delays due a train failure on the north side of Dublin
Clear pattern here, if you don’t maintain trains and keep kicking the can down the road for replacements you will be overstretched and bad things happen
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3
38
First extended train entered service last week
We were onboard one of the test trains last year
Hybrid ready transmission, larger reservation displays, multi purpose area for standing when used on commuter or for bikes and buggies on intercity, tip up seats + straps to secure
3
2
37
Finally Seapoint has seen some maintenance
The before & after photos tell a story. Our tweets in February resulted in a fair bit of embarrassment & irritation with Irish Rail
It shouldn’t be like this, proper inspection & asset management avoid this happening in the first place
4
1
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Please wear a face covering on public transport
Public transport is for essential use only, to get to work for those who must go to work, to get to medical treatment and for urgent shopping needs not available locally.
Going to the beach is NEVER essential
Stay at home
1
8
37
Irish Rail's solution to social distancing, run fewer shorter trains & remove seat reservations.
As if logic was ever part of Irish Rail's plans.
We still advise in line with government advice to make essential journeys only
But if the advice is to holiday at home.
Confused?
4
6
37
We found no evidence of any work between Dún Laoghaire & Dalkey yesterday
Irish Rail's internal plans published in late 2023 showed only Dalkey-Greystones closed on 14 April
If the closure is so essential where was the army of folks in orange hi vis working to improve the line?
1
2
36
Digging deeper into today’s announcement about Dublin Belfast
Hourly Dublin Belfast will start in September this year, aligned with the opening of Grand Central Station
Saves a little distance both on train & walking probably worth 10 minutes if heading into Belfast city centre
7
2
37
On with
@TodaywithClaire
shortly to discuss the crazy idea to force passengers travelling to Wexford and Rosslare to change trains at Wicklow
8
2
36
Another one at Tara Street
The emergency exit per the signage is locked and obstructed as well
Perhaps the folks in
@DubFireBrigade
can educate
@IrishRail
it’s only across the street from HQ
0
0
35
@aidan__m
@IrishRail
This is unacceptable, it would take 60 seconds to call HQ and get the card number checked, annual tickets do not need to be tagged on.
We have raised serious concerns as to the attitude and behavior of the RPU in the past.
3
2
31
Will this ever get built ?
MetroLink project to reopen to public consultation amid submission of ‘significant’ new information
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34
First trigger for a problem
2. A signalling fault at Grand Canal Dock. This led to the service getting out of step opening up gaps in the morning thus leading to overloaded trains which lost time at each station stop
(2/5)
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0
34
There has been some confusion on this so
The new DART fleet will be fitted with what are known as gap closers not ramps, this is standard fit out on European commuter/regional trains
For most situations this is sufficient for where a ramp would have been required today
1/2
1
3
34
Todays incident was a HGV vs a 3.68m bridge on Sandwich Street
Photos & details captured by Irish Rail, whats happens next
Legal action to recover costs
Prosecution under Rail Safety Act
None of the above?
Until we see jail time & financial pain these incidents will continue
3
0
34
Nothing new here sadly, lack of staff visibility, ineffective security staff more interested in their mobile phones and a lack of garda support.
Alcohol consumption, drug-taking, vaping, playing loud music among Irish Rail passenger complaints
5
4
33
Great to finally see the All Island Rail Review
A lot of good ideas, even some of those submitted by ourselves considered some accepted some not
The proposals within will go a long way to address many of the shortcomings and gaps in the current network and passenger experience
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