Category Archives: Naas

What are they at with the Sallins road!?

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There seems to have been work going on along the Sallins road all Summer. Starting in around the GAA complex and moving back and forth past Oldtown/Morrell up to the Monread roundabout and back.

It was inconvenient when the road was regularly blocked in either direction but you could live with that if the end result was positive or at best neutral. However in the case of the Sallins road construction, the road appeared to  be left in a worse state after the works than it was before! The rain over the Summer didn’t help matters but the workmanship appeared plain shoddy and there were bumps and humps all over the place. The problem was exacerbated when children returned to school in September and parents told me they were uncomfortable sending them walking in along the road and footpaths in the state they were in.

I got onto Kildare County Council about it all and worked with Cllr. Creevey to get a motion laid down at Naas Town Council on the issue. Basically I argued for a standard of finishing to be enforced onto the contractor before he left site. It’s standard practice in any contract engagement whether you’re building a new billing system or building a new footpath (or digging up an old one to relay utilities as in this case). Anyway the builders have returned to the scene of the crime since so it seems they’re now being held accountable. Proper order and about time.

“Why can’t the trains run on time?!”

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Met with Irish Rail last week as planned. Was a good meeting. Myles (our Irish Rail contact) has an amiable approach and is always willing to hear our side of the story. He’s met us half-way many times in the past and at this stage I feel we finally have the service looking good on paper.

However like any good puzzle, the last piece may be the hardest,  being the perennial question of “why can’t the trains run on time?!”

Funnily enough this seems to a particular problem on our route (the Kildare line). Colleagues on the Maynooth line and elsewhere tell me whilst there may be other issues, their trains at least come when expected. We did get a few answers though and reassuring to hear at least they are cognisant of the problem and that there is work being done in the background. Points in detail below.


Heuston Station ; Multi-modal transport hub!

1. Punctuality
Deterioration of service recently. 8.04 always problematic but other services also becoming less reliable. 7.30, 6.22, 8.49, 8.24 all mentioned as regularly late. Some problems with evening services since Christmas.

Irish Rail response that punctuality was acknowledged below par in December/January and apologised for that. Currently examining timetable to reshuffle some services to remove bottlenecks. 6.30 ex Portlaoise (7.08 thru Sallins), 7.20 ex Portlaoise (8.04 thru Sallins), 6.30 ex Carlow (7.13 thru Sallins), amongst routes being remodeled at present to remove congestion. Will not result in any changes to timetable but will be applied in priority order at signal points etc.

2. Car Park Situation
Two fares currently in operation at car park as previously discussed. Irish Rail share NASRUG frustration and are working on issue in tandem.

3. Feeder Bus
Number of issues identified with feeder bus. Irish Rail committed to review of feeder bus operation. May consider centralising stops rather than current ad-hoc pickups. Acknowledged that traffic in Naas grown considerably since feeder bus journey time originally planned.

4. Kildare Direction Services
Limited service in Kildare town direction from Sallins/Dublin. Irish Rail stated that vast majority rolling stock deployed on inwards journeys morning time, reverse in evening. Leaves few options around opposite travel. Agreed to look at in next timetable.

5. Station Upgrade
NASRUG requested accessibility option, e.g lift across tracks. Not currently in scope but NASRUG to follow up request in writing. Station overall to be refitted and disused buildings to be opened as waiting room, offices, toilets, café etc.

6. Late Night Security on Trains
Security Detail employed around Heuston station and sometimes travel on night trains. NASRUG stated had never seen on Kildare trains. Irish Rail agreed to correct this and ensure included on routes. May not be on every train but randomly. Minimum Irish Rail staff should be present and visible on every train.

Naas Sallins Feeder Bus Route

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Something that’s come up a lot lately on the rail side, is the Naas Sallins feeder bus. The service was put in place when the Kildare line rail stations were being reopened some years back, as an incentive to encourage people onto the trains. However outside of the regular users, there remains some confusion as to the exact route or timetable followed. Now the whole area of feeder buses is due for review, there have been some queries on the Naas service and also talk of rolling out to other areas but in the short term I thought it would be useful to document the route. I came across a handy little widget, quikmap which allows you plot out your map online. Naas seems to have lost a few estates in their database and I’ll confess I’m not much on artist but the outline is below.


View Larger Map

Many thanks to Tom Cross for plotting out the paper route for me.

NASRUG meet with Irish Rail Weds 30th Jan

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As part of a NASRUG delegation I am meeting with Irish Rail tomorrow evening to discuss recent developments affecting Naas & Sallins commuters. The agenda at present is:

1. Punctuality
2. Car Park situation (fare structure below ground)
3. Feeder Bus
4. Kildare direction services
5. Station Upgrade – more details
6. Security on late trains

Though never great, punctuality has been a particular problem of late. Most people have long given up on the 8.04 ex-Sallins ever being on time but the malaise has spread to other services since the new year. This can also lead to overcrowding as a couple of train loads are waiting by the time one finally pulls in.

The car park goes from overcrowded to overcharged as previously discussed and there have been several requests to enhance the feeder bus service. The other items relate to plan by IR to upgrade Sallins station along with queries on the quality of service the other direction (away from Dublin) and lastly a few nasty incidents on night time trains over Christmas.

The next meeting is tomorrow but we meet up regularly, if there are other burning issues people are aware of please do get in touch.

Parking pandenomium at Sallins car park

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No parking here

The latest installment in this sorry saga unfolded this week when the rate of car parking in Sallins new undergound car park effectively doubled to €2 a day rather than €5 a week as before. After many jigs and reels and many phone conversations I have extracted some information (I won’t say logic) as to what’s happened.

Basically CIE own the above ground car park and the Waterways developer (G&K Developments) own the new underground facility. G&K built the underground as a condition of planning and were required to do so in order to secure permission for the rest of the development. They kept their side of the bargain and spent a couple of million building the thing.

Four weeks ago the new facility opened its gates whilst Irish Rail begin charging for station parking at the same time. Fair enough. However what is not fair enough is that the new facility is double the cost of the rest of the car park. In a nutshell it’s because the developer is still maintaining the underground and it costs more to run, whilst the above ground has minimal costs and is still owned by CIE. G&K say they have been left holding the baby to some extent and insist they must cover their costs at least if they are to end up running the facility and hence they cannot afford to offer the weekly ticket. I’ve seen their figures and they’re not lying.

But the overall feeling remains frustration as in all previous discussions on the car park we were quoted a parking fee of E5 a week. The first anyone heard about the underground being dearer was when the machines stopped taking the coins. The nightmare situation now is that people begin to boycott the new carpark and once again spill over into the surrounding areas. It goes from the ridiculous to the sublime.

CIE have gone to ground the last few days although I will get a chance to hear their side of the story when NASRUG formally meet with them next week. The whole thing is becoming a never ending story..