Sir, – Ken Early (”To travel by train for Euro 2024 is to see a textbook case of neoliberal capitalism’s endgame“, Sport, June 22) writes with feeling of the tribulations of footie fans accessing games by Deutsche Bahn.
Had a German visitor ventured to travel from Greystones to Dublin Pearse by Dart yesterday as I did, they would have been turfed out of the train in Dún Laoghaire to travel onward by bus (so arriving 30 minutes late for their meeting). On the return journey, our hypothetical visitor would have been similarly ejected from the Greystones train to wait outside the station for 20 minutes for an onward bus. No information was provided on either occasion as to what buses might be available or where they might be found, details which our German friend might well have found useful. But what matter – having wrestled with the vagaries of Deutsche Bahn, they would have been well-equipped to take on those of Iarnród Éireann, to which the rest of us have long become accustomed. We might even derive some comfort from your reports of the plight of our football-loving compatriots in Germany. Now, don’t the Germans have a word for that? – Yours, etc,
ROSEMARY RAUGHTER,
Greystones,
Co Wicklow.
Sir, – If the German transport system can’t handle the crowds for this edition of the Euros, how is our model railway system going to handle the crowds for 2028, even if we’re only co-hosting? – Yours, etc,
JOHN WHITE,
Arbour Hill,
Dublin 7.