Tag Archives: Transport

NASRUG meet with Irish Rail Weds 30th Jan

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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..

Dublin underground

Posted on by

Was in a few conversations the last few days about Dublin’s planned transport infrastructure. Came up a number of times that Dublin needs a ‘Circle line’ the equivalent of the London tube line which executes an inner orbit around the city intersecting with radial routes. We absolutely do need this but the good news is it’s coming.

Here’s a diagram of the planned route infrastructure by 2015:

Dublin Rail Map
Click on the image to view full size.

It’s a pretty good map. You can see how the Interconnector connects the Kildare line, Maynooth line, Northern and Southern DART/coastal lines also the red and green LUAS and the planned Navan line.

The Metro(s) provide a form of outer circle line providing connectivity to the outer suburbs and allowing for example a Sallins commuter travel by Arrow as far as Clondalkin (new station Fonthill), switch once to Metro West, travel onto Metropark (new station Northside) and board Metro North for airport. A few changes but allowing more direct route. Once proper public transport routing is in place switching a few times is no big deal.

It opens up connections not only locally across the greater Dublin area, but nationally too, so you could start on the Rosslare line and end up on the Galway line for example. The LUAS lines haven’t been apart for long and lets get them connected but my personal view connecting the rail lines is far more important.

Sallins station car park finally opens

Posted on by

After months of waiting, grating and anticipating the new parking at Naas & Sallins rail station finally opened this week. The facility is part of the overall complex in the Waterways which includes a supermarket and apartments but the underground piece is exclusively for rail users. The old car parks on both sides of the station still exist but will also become pay parking and have been altered somewhat to allow link up with the new facility. Cars now enter the old Naas side and the underground facility via the entrance to the Waterways at the traffic lights. The Sallins entrance and parking remains unchanged although that will also now become chargeable. A net total of 202 extra spaces will be created by the development.

The charge will be 2 EURO a day or better value 5 EURO for a 7-day ticket. Whilst there were some quibbles over this my personal view is that it is not unreasonable. There is a brand new facility provided so it is not just charging for what used be free. Also whilst it is not an option for everyone, the charge may incentivise some to now walk, cycle or feeder bus to station rather than driving.

NASRUG have lobbied on this issue since the start and with the opening of this car park we negotiated an initial waiver of the pay-parking period until the new year to at least get people accustomed to the facility. So until the 31st Dec no charge applies.

With my Fianna Fáil hat on I also sought a form of tax relief on commuter parking. Whilst it was not granted in this budget I understand it will be considered over the next year and may well form part of the taxsaver scheme in future. (Some coverage here although typo on my name)

Many will breathe a sigh of relief that the new facility is finally in operation. Obviously the many motorists who had struggled day in, day out for the past year or two as the old car park creaked at the seams. Similarly the village had begun to suffer the effects of the overspill and parking all around the main street, community centre, canal view, nearby estates was becoming a nightmare for local residents and businesses. Not all due to rail users but it must be acknowledged the station shortage was a major factor. The extra spaces will hopefully encourage more people to use the service which again can only be a good thing. Less cars on the roads to Dublin and more people on the trains.

There is more to be done but this is definitely the right direction. With increased usage comes the need for greater capacity in car parking and greater capacity on trains. Continued investment in public transport is required to bring our service up to speed but I am heartened by the capital spending pledges of the budget. And the promise of Transport21 with all that will bring…

As my home broadband is switching providers this may be my last post of 2007. Seasons greetings and happy new year to all!

NASRUG negotiate extra train in evening gap

Posted on by

NASRUG (Naas and Sallins Rail Users Group) is a commuter lobby group serving the users of Naas and Sallins railway station. A strong advocate of public transport, and a daily commuter to Dublin myself, I have been involved with the group since its inception.

We lobby on a number of matters but primarily on timetable changes, station facilities (parking, shelters, buildings), service levels (punctuality, reliability, announcements), ticketing and fare structures and longer term projects such as Transport 21 and route upgrades.

Looking back over the last few years I would say we have consistently punched above our weight and no less this week.

As in previous years, we received an advance copy of the timetable and whilst it was reasonable overall and included a few sweeteners (such as a later last train at 11pm which we’d always listed as a ‘nice-to-have’), there was one outstanding issue.

This was a gap in the evening service between 18.35 and 20.05 returning from Heuston to Sallins. For many people working a little later than the traditional 9-5 this posed significant problems in getting home. Allowing for the fact that Heuston itself is a bit away from most workplaces, many folk were stranded between these trains until the 20.05 and were stuck getting home at 9pm daily as a result.

Previous years negotiations had seen repeated improvements (we made a lot of breakthroughs in the 07 timetable including an improved evening service and a Sunday service) but this gap was the one remaining ‘black spot’ in the Sallins timetable.

Armed with a flood of protest from the online group I approached our contact in Irish Rail and made him fully aware of the difficulties posed. There were challenges around rolling stock and conflicts with mainline trains, but we kept on the pressure and IR kept with it, and I finally got the good news on Wednesday that we would indeed get an additional train.

From Monday, 10th December, the 18.50 service ex-Heuston will stop in Sallins. It will not be printed in official timetables, being an 11th hour concession, but it will operate.

Credit where credit’s due and Irish Rail took our points on board here. They showed flexibility and a willingness to meet us halfway and I am certainly appreciative.

NASRUG have always had a policy of positive engagement and whilst we can and do get tough when the occasion calls for it, equally we listen to the other side at all times and usually we meet in the middle.

Communications build trust, trust builds communications. It’s certainly worked out this time.