Madam, - Iarnród Eireann's latest plan should not come as a surprise to any regular user of the DART "service". Over the years, such users have witnessed unmanned stations (leading to uncollected fares), filthy trains, illogical peak-time scheduling and potentially lethal over-crowding. It is indeed a miracle that no major rail accident has occurred in our city in recent memory. Indeed, it is possibly because of the snail-like pace of most DARTs that such an incident has not occurred.
Iarnród Eireann management, along with their political overlords, must accept responsibility for the utterly pathetic state of our capital city's railway service. This is a responsibility which also must apply to those in positions of power over the last decades also.
They deserve every bit of criticism they get. - Yours, etc.,
BEN HEADON, Raheny, Dublin 5.
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Madam, - Tunnels that are small for trucks, rail lines that need to be put up on stilts, and now the DART disruption. And I thought one of the basic tenets of project management was the elimination of surprises. - Yours, etc.
ULTAN Ó BROIN, Haight Ashbury, San Francisco, California.
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Madam, - If I were the project manager of the DART line upgrade project and had no option but to close the line for a substantial amount of time, to complete the project, I would agree with the Minister to communicate the message as follows:
a) Announce the closure at short notice.
b) Allow the Minister some righteous indignation - followed by a request for a project delay until after Christmas .
c) Respond with an offer of a two-week pause for Christmas shopping.
d) Continue to progress the other project tasks as planned; and then I would:
e) adjourn to the nearest aromatic pub, with the Minister, to celebrate a communication effectively executed, thereby successfully achieving a good work-life balance. - Yours, etc.,
LIZANN DOYLE, Rowanbyrn, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
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Madam, - After decades of neglect the railways are receiving the investment they need to bring us in line with our European neighbours.
However, Iarnród Éireann has again demonstrated its complete lack of customer focus with the recently announced DART upgrade programme.
Why can they not start at the end of the line at Greystones, concentrate their efforts in one area and work their way north to Dublin? Surely this would save money, as the remainder of the line could be kept open in the meantime. - Yours, etc.,
JARLATH MOLLOY, "Cloonlara", Dowth, Drogheda, Co Meath.