Tag Archives: Sallins & Naas

Clamping Relief for Sallins Commuters

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Have you read the small print?

If you were parking at Sallins train station over the past fortnight you may have been in for a nasty new year’s surprise if you came back to find your car clamped on your first day back. It turns out NCPS car parks who operate the Naas side station car park, increased the fees from one to two euro daily over the break but forgot to let people know about it. Not only did they not give adequate notice of the price increase, they then began to clamp people who hadn’t observed it!

It seems a few labels were placed on the parking meters but people who had being used to paying the previous fare for the past two years and who are typically parking in early morning and running to catch their train, not surprisingly, had not stopped to notice the changes in small print on the machine they had been using daily for the past two years.

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Pricing, planning and other railway problem children

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In the wake of the emergency subvention of €36 million announced for CIE, Fianna Fáil’s local area representative for Naas, James Lawless, has criticised Irish Rail management and said they need to innovate to succeed in today’s climate.

Ireland's Railways need strategic thinking fast

“I’ve always been a fan of public transport” explained James, who is also a spokesperson for the Naas and Sallins Rail User Group. “I use the train to Dublin almost every working day and when it’s done right there is no better way to travel” according to James.

“But you sometimes wonder what commercial acumen, if any, do Irish Rail apply to their operation or whether they employ any strategic considerations. We’ve been told their revenue is under pressure because the numbers are dropping and that rings true. But they must realise the prices they are charging are causing that drop-off as well. It’s not so bad on a commuter ticket but they are simply not competitive for day trippers or casual users. Compared with the bus or even taking the car, their fares are far steeper” claimed James.

“Their pricing structures are still rooted on the old tram lines from the beginning of the last century” explained James. “That’s apparently why it costs a couple of euro to travel from Hazelhatch or Maynooth but an extra tenner to travel one stop further onto Sallins. It’s not justifiable today. Also most businesses including hotels and airlines discount seats approaching departure as better a full house on half fare than an empty one at the same cost. The train is going anyway, surely half a loaf would be better than no bread” claimed James.

“Another example is the service quality on certain routes. The Wexford ‘commuter’ line takes two hours by train on a distance no longer than Portlaoise or Drogheda which take an hour. This is on a now primary commuter corridor and also what is a popular Summer base from which so many travel to the capital daily”.

“The ongoing fiasco regarding shelters at Sallins station also makes you wonder. It’s literally hard to see where the shelters will actually fit when they are hopefully installed. They will have to dismantle newly erected structures to make room. It beggars belief that they could spend all that money and end up with almost a worse station than they started with” concluded James.

Still no shelter in sight at Sallins and Naas train station.

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A commuter at Sallins station yesterday

Sallins and Naas railway station has been undergoing maintenance and upgrade works for the past several months and installation of a new footbridge and ramp has almost completed.

Whilst welcoming the upgrade, spokesperson for NASRUG (Naas and Sallins Rail Users Group) James Lawless said it was important the station retain the same level of facilities after the upgrade as beforehand or it risked defeating the purpose. “Well obviously the disability access is most welcome and was very important and we lobbied for that for some years before we got it” said James. “But as part of the process they removed the shelters which means people were literally kept waiting in the rain, hail and snow all through the winter months”.

“People could put up with that over a limited period but we are still wondering when and what kind of shelters will be installed at the finish” said James. “With the weather not exactly being Summery this is still a live issue and I am concerned that the new replacement shelters when they eventually arrive will be smaller and fewer than what we had before. Considering the new Adamstown station which still has low passenger volumes has almost a dozen shelters installed, with the much greater numbers at Sallins we need at least the previous capacity of platform shelters restored at Sallins” explained James. “I have raised this with Irish Rail management and I am hopeful they will now ensure these form part of the finished upgrade over the next few weeks. Anything less than the two Dublin bound shelters that previously existed would be a step backwards”.

James also criticised the council planning process – “It’s not clear from the planning permissions that much attention was given to use and role of Shelters in the upgraded station” said James. “The council did stipulate what colour of paint was allowed on the railings but do not appear to have mandated that at least the same level of shelter as before should be provided. Commuting can be trying at the best of times but at 7.30am standing in the lashing rain with not a shelter in sight is no fun at all. It’s a basic requirement and I hope now Irish Rail and Kildare County Council will ensure it is delivered” James concluded.

Accessibility at last for Sallins station

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Good news at last for disability access at Sallins train station as accessibility works have finally started this week.

The works have been sought for some considerable time, practically since the station re-opened a decade or so ago and whilst newer stations such as Adamstown got accessibility access from the off, we had to wait for the upgrade works to commence and there were a number of false dawns along the way.

Still better late than never and it’s great to now see the construction phase begin, the machinery is finally on site and the project is commencing. The accessibility access issue has been the most pressing item in terms of station works for some time. It will be a huge relief primarily for disabled passengers of course and am sure it will also be welcomed by anyone who has ever had to push a buggy or cart a load of shopping over the existing stairway.

The works will not put in an elevator as I understand it but rather a set of footbridges and ramps. This is probably not ideal as an elevator would be more convenient but this seems to be the model Irish Rail are going with now as it is lower mainteance and less vandalism prone given lesser complexity and fewer moving parts.

I do think longer term the station has a lot of development potential – there are a fine set of buildings there and there is a lot more that could be done in terms of facilities including an enhanced ticket office, waiting area and even a little café in the future. But we’ll certainly welcome the accessibilityworks for now as a basic requirement of the station’s users and an essential first priority for any station upgrades.

Disability access at Sallins and Naas station

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I was advised last week that accessibility works at Sallins and Naas train station are at an advanced stage of design and that Irish Rail have met with council officials in pre-planning sessions re the required works. I was told they expect to apply for planning permission in July and work will commence as soon as planning is received.

Obviously this would be very welcome but we have had false starts before. This is probably the most concrete update I have had though so hopefully it will happen this time.

On a separate note I am trying to get the station cleaned up for the Tidy Towns at present. Am sure all readers of this blog are model citizens with regard to litter etc but if everyone could make a special effort as the tidy towns judging is running at present and the station cost them points last year.