The punctuality of trains into Dublin’s Connolly station has continued to worsen since Irish Rail reversed its controversial timetable changes last month.
According to recent Irish Rail figures seen by The Irish Times, services on the Northern Commuter line to Drogheda were among the worst performing with just 68.8 per cent of trains now arriving at their destination within five minutes of the advertised time.
In the period between July 13th and August 11th, before Irish Rail initially introduced timetable changes, punctuality figures on this route were as high as 90.2 per cent.
On the Maynooth and M3 Parkway lines, the chances of a train arriving at its destination within five minutes of the advertised time fell from 94.3 per cent between July 15th and August 11th to 76.8 per cent in the reporting period of October 7th to November 3rd.
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Irish Rail introduced its new timetable in consultation with the National Transport Authority on August 25th. Following widespread public complaints, it made changes to Maynooth, Drogheda and some other routes into Connolly a few weeks later, on September 11th. From October 14th the morning Connolly route services were restored to pre-August service patterns.
But complaints have continued to grow, and Irish Rail saidpunctuality problems were now the result of seasonal, “low rail adhesion”. Low rail adhesion is a factor at this time of year when damp leaves affect adhesion of trains, forcing slower speeds.
Low rail adhesion is acknowledged as a factor in rail planning, particularly in damp climates. Irish Rail cuts back trees, sprays the rails and has sandboxes fixed to trains to grit the tracks, in a bid to tackle the issue. In 2021 a crash was narrowly averted on the Dart line at Clontarf, when a train slipped through two red lights and stopped about 10 feet from a train in front.
Barry Kenny, spokesman for Irish Rail, said this autumn had been particularly difficult in terms of low rail adhesion. He said the mild, damp start to November was “not wonderful” for efforts to tackle the problem.
But he said with the leaves now almost down, improvements to the scheduling on the routes in and out of Connolly would be noticeable over coming weeks.
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Mark Gleeson of Rail Users Ireland said, “The punctuality of everything going through Connolly is not good.”
Further documents secured under the Freedom of Information Act show the company received more than 1,500 written complaints from customers after the August timetable changes.
A total of 239 complaints referenced services to and from Drogheda. A number of commuters from Pearse Station said they had just eight minutes at Connolly to get from Platform 6 to platform 2. When the train coming from Pearse was late, commuters missed their connection, they said.
Morning commuters from Drogheda also expressed dismay, with one commenting: “This morning 26/08/2024 the train to Dublin 07:36am did not arrive. There was no announcement.” Commuters also complained of a lack of digital signage and crowded conditions.
Commuters on the Northern Line also criticised services from intermittent stations, saying the loss of through services to Bray was a particular burden to anyone working south of Pearse Station.
Complaints were made about the dropping of scheduled trains serving Adamstown and Clonsilla, and services to Newbridge and Sallins, as well as services between the capital and the regions.
Expressions used to describe the timetable introduced in August ranged from “absolute nuisance”, “inconvenient”, “frustrating” and “delay” to “inconsiderate” and “thoughtless”.
One Dublin commuter said: “What I had previously praised as a great service has become a miserable litany of delays and a horrible start and cap on a day’s work”.
Another asked: “The 07.28 train from Newbridge to Heuston was eight to 12 minutes late on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. This is the case more often than not for this train. Why is the train scheduled for a time that months if not years of it being late proves it not to be feasible?”
