Commuter confidence in service evaporates

Dublin's suburban rail service is suffering from a lack of confidence among commuters. Overcrowding, delays, cancellations, scheduling gaps and breakdowns have combined to undermine confidence in commuter rail travel.

At 85,000 passengers a day, the DART service is close to capacity and overcrowding at rush hours has raised concern over passenger safety. Iarnrod Eireann accepts the electronic timetable at DART stations is frequently incorrect, that staff motivation is low and that the standard of the service falls short of what it should be. The difficulties facing Iarnrod Eireann were demonstrated last December when much heralded improvements to the service to Malahide, Portmarnock and Greystones were introduced. A DART train from Malahide broke down at Portmarnock in the morning rush causing severe delays.

A replacement train was not available due to staff shortages and at Greystones, commuters discovered a gap in DART scheduling between 8.04 a.m. and 10.34 a.m. The new service had been described in advance by Iarnrod Eireann as the "introduction of a comprehensive peak-time service".

Complaints have ranged from stuffy, overheated DART carriages to freezing, elderly diesel cars on outer suburban services. Services are frequently cancelled "due to staff shortages" while, writing in this newspaper, Mr Conor Kavanagh complained of inaccuracies in the electronic timetable. There is sufficient additional anecdotal evidence to suggest the inaccuracy of the electronic displays is an ongoing problem.

Another criticism from users is the absence of automated ticket-selling machines which would greatly reduce queuing at stations. Working conditions in the stations have been described by staff as "Dickensian".

Conditions for DART users worsened in the run-up to Christmas, when an analysis showed that over a one-week period there was not a single day when a normal, modern and efficient service was provided. On the second last shopping day before Christmas, Iarnrod Eireann was warning that up to 20 DARTs a day would be cancelled for the foreseeable future.

After prolonged negotiations, DART drivers recently signed a deal giving them £29,500 a year for a 48-hour week - a basic pay increase from about £7.50p an hour to £12 an hour.

However, this deal has had a knock-on effect on the service in other areas, with the drivers on the Maynooth suburban service suggesting they should also get a pay rise.

Because suburban trains have to share track with the Maynooth service, there is a gap in scheduling of commuter trains leaving the city for Maynooth between 5.52 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. - a period that covers much of the evening rush. Such gaps make commuting on the Maynooth line difficult.

While the Arrow service into Kildare is well used, gaps in scheduling due to sharing the line with the Cork and Limerick trains, have created a patchy service. There are seven trains into Heuston Station before 9.30 a.m. on weekdays, but regular commuters say the service seldom matches the timetable. The Drogheda line is on the Belfast to Dublin corridor and has benefited from the investment made in the Enterprise service between those two cities. There are now eight trains arriving at Connolly on weekdays before 9.30 a.m. Again, however, anecdotal evidence suggests that delays and cancellations are frequent.