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IARNRÓD ÉIREANN HAS apologised for delays caused by recent timetable changes on the northern line into Dublin.
The changes took effect from 26 August and were made in advance of a new hourly Enterprise train service from Belfast, which is not yet fully operational.
Passengers were advised that departure times were proposed to change on many DART, Northern Commuter and Maynooth Commuter services in order to accommodate the extra Enterprise services.
The Enterprise is the cross-border rail service that connects Belfast and Dublin.
Earlier this month the new timetable was further altered to alleviate delays but to no avail. For the first time in decades, train punctuality dropped below to 80% in recent weeks.
The hourly service from Belfast begins at 6am but it is not yet known when trains will be able to run from the new Grand Central Station in the city.
The new €400 million Belfast transport hub officially opened on 9 September, having welcomed its first passengers the previous morning.
However, only buses are operating from the new station and rail services have yet to commence due to upgrades on the tracks.
Translink, Northern Ireland’s public transport service, said train services will commence once the company has the relevant safety certification.
It means rail passengers travelling from Belfast to Dublin board a bus to Newry, where the journey then continues to Dublin via train.
Those travelling from Dublin to Belfast also have to disembark the train at Newry, where a bus takes them onwards to Belfast.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Prime Time last night, Barry Kenny, the corporate communications manager of Iarnród Éireann, acknowledged that the new changes “haven’t been working the way it should have been”.
“We are sorry to our customers for what has happened,” Kenny added.
He said further changes will be made to the timetable in the coming weeks and that he is speaking to his northern colleagues in Translink on the issue.
"We are sorry to our customers... we will be making further changes to address this... in the next couple of weeks."
— RTÉ Prime Time (@RTE_PrimeTime) September 26, 2024
Barry Kenny of Iarnród Éireann apologises to rail users for delays caused by recent timetable changes on the northern line into Dublin.#rtept | @RTENews pic.twitter.com/YQL1Q04xRu
He also said that the 6am Belfast service, which currently starts out with a bus to Newry, is “having a disproportionate effect on commuters”.
Kenny said this 6am service from Belfast is “light enough at this point” and only serves hundreds of passengers.
Elsewhere, Minister of State Joe O’Brien said the changes have “very negatively on the commuter service, increasing journey times significantly for commuters in the towns of Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush, Lusk and Donabate”.
The Green Party TD for Dublin Fingal recently wrote a letter to Taoiseach Simon Harris, Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Transport Minister Eamon Ryan outlining his concerns.
He said the changes have resulted in a “problematic 30-minute gap at the peak morning period where there is no commuter service”.
“This not only leads to a significantly decreased level of service but existing services have been concentrated over a shorter time causing capacity issues on some trains and long delays,” added O’Brien.
He said these issues are “in addition to the frequent delays due to congestion at Connolly Station with customers missing connections to other transport services”.
O’Brien added that it is his understanding that the northern commuter line needs to be cleared at peak times in order for this new Enterprise service from Belfast to run on schedule”.
He added: “A delay or cancellation of the 6am Belfast service would go some way to alleviate some of these issues, while the Enterprise service is important, the knock on effect on Dublin commuters is unacceptable.
“It’s important to note that the previous first service out of Belfast was 6.50am.”
He noted that the Enterprise service from Belfast is currently starts out as a bus service, with passengers boarding a train in Newry.
“In my 20 years using the commuter line I have never seen such a poorly implemented change and would request an immediate intervention to resolve the ongoing issues,” said O’Brien.
“To sum up, we are simply trying to squeeze too many services onto a single train track,” said O’Brien.
“I believe it’s not wise to try to squeeze additional services into a line that is already at capacity especially ones that seriously disadvantage regular users and potentially discourage people from using the train for their regular commute.”
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Amazing how they won’t transfer wages today but they’ll charge and take out the quarterly fees before 8am, fees that wouldn’t apply if they’d actually transferred the wages!!
Pull them up on that one and you’ll get your charges refunded. You’ll have to fight them for it, but you’ll get it. My advice go into a branch and kick up a loud fuss – That’s what I did and it worked for me..
So that is why I got my wages yesterday
Why when a bank is closed does an automatic transaction not take place? Its all on computers. Doesnt need someone in the bank to happen
An extra day for them to make interest on your money
Nope it’s not automated. Systems have to work so they often stay the same for decades. We are not far from physical bags of cheques being passed around banks.
Good explanation
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2013/10/04/229224964/episode-489-the-invisible-plumbing-of-our-economy
The bank won’t be able to charge you for exceeding your overdraft!
So looking at the screenshot of BOI’s website, there are no payments today because most of Europe has the May Bank Holiday on the 1st of the month, but then there are no payments on Monday either because Ireland celebrates May Day on the first Monday. So you’re hit on the double. Surely payments within one country do not need to be affected by bank holidays in another. I’d understand international payments being affected alright.
At least Irelnd has the right idea to have the holiday on the Monday.
I’m in Sweden, so I’m off today. But most people will get tomorrow off too, so a four-day weekend. They call Monday/Friday a “squeeze day” whenever Tuesday or Thursday is a bank holiday. Sadly, I won’t be off, so no bank holiday beers for me today as even just looking at a bottle makes me die the next day. :-( Being a hungover teacher when the kids are back for just one day and are in no mood to work as a result would not exactly be my idea of a Fun Friday. :-)
I got an e-mail from Bank Of Ireland advising me to arrange some payments on April 29th to allow the working day of April 30th to process same because of this European bank holiday. And when did I get this e-mail ?? On April 30th 12 p.m. Banking reform me arse !!
Given all of the planning that went into SEPA’s recent introduction, banks REALLY ought to have taken their finger out long before today. Who exactly is profiting from all of this limbo-money today? The stock markets remain open…
there communication was rubbish, being the first year of this there should have been TV adverts and press adverts. sure even da Journal didnt have one that I remember
Times like this I’m glad there’s only one bank in my town.
Payroll/Finance where I work heard nothing from their bank about this, and only became aware of it when employees checked their online accounts this morning. Employees banking with AIB, Ulster Bank and PTSB all got paid, those banking with Bank of Ireland and EBS didn’t. However, contrary to what’s reported above in many cases direct debits *have* been made – or been called down at least – causing failed payment charges if there wasn’t enough money in the account because the deposit side of things was on holiday.
Complete f***ing cock-up and carelessness.
Got an email yesterday evening from payroll saying we would get paid friday instead of today. I got paid today. Wonder if I’ll get paid tomorrow too?!
If we got the 1st of May off instead of the first Monday in May off this wouldn’t be a problem. Simple change to bring us in line with Europe.
wrong! it would mean we would lose the day off 2 years in 7 , them call them “employer’s holidays” over there “in Europe”
Then why does that not happen on Christmas Day or St Patricks Day or New Years Day or St Stephen’s Day. I know it’s hard to think before you post – but please try
Paul, firstly, really mature. Secondly, he is right. Holidays that fall on the same dat, mean you don’t always get a day off. If the 1st of May is a Saturday or Sunday, you don’t get the Friday or Monday off. In Ireland we have.it as the first Monday, thus ensuring its a weekday and as a result, a day off (or extra pay, time in leue)
No Ailbhe – think about it – 25th December, 1st of January, 17th March. If these fall on a weekend then we get the Monday off – I don’t see the difference if this was changed to the 1st of May. Think about it. You would agree with me if you were right
You suggest changing to be in line with Europe Paul. In Germany, if the 1st of may is a Saturday, you do not get the following Monday off. Your idea would mean less days off per annum. Now, since you like to be patronising rather than civil, I’ll speak in a similar fashion when addressing you if you’d like. Is it that you don’t understand or you’re just looking for an argument as a sad little keyboard warrior?
Int it grat that were in the EU?
It’s like a non stop party
i get a small pension from the uk paidto my bank here in ireland, over the Easter holidays instead of the payment going in on the Monday it didn’t go in till the Thursday, banks explenation? ” well there were 2 bank holidays, good Friday and Easter Monday, meaning that those 2 ‘ working days’ were not actual ‘working days’ but public holidays, that meant that the Tuesday and Wednesday replaced the Friday and Monday as ‘working days’” so i asked them why the same thing did not apply to direct debts, that could not be paid because of ‘lack of funds ‘ on the Tuesday, i was charged for on the Wednesday “aah! that’s different” was the reply! talk about make up your own rules! i also asked that seeing as these payments are paid electronically these days and use the much heralded IBAN system, how come it still takes 7 ‘working days ‘to clear a payment, yet i can send or receive money from abroad using IBAN the same day ? no answer to that one.
And they are so shocked when you show annoyance with them.
F$#€# ¥€>|%}* “@£)& is what this is! 21. century they say. Screw u. U charge ppl when we are late with payments, but banks take holidays and ppl can go f%## themselfs! Disgrace
I blame the French. Strict laws prohibiting working on Labour Day.
i blame the french as well , but just because i dont like them!
Ah sure it’ll stop them drinking it !
Direct debit came from my BOI account this morning?
Would they f* off with their bank holidays in the middle of the week. What are we supposed to be celebrating with this “EU bank holiday” anyway? The EU’s financial conduct? farce
The same thing we’ll be “celebrating” on Monday. But feel free to go into work if you think it’s such a giant farce…
You mean May Day? Why do we need two bank holidays for the same occasion?
I absolutely will be going to work on Monday, just like I did today. Won’t you?
Because some countries have the holiday on the 1st of May and others have it on the first Monday. And no, I won’t be going into work on Monday, I’ll be enjoying the day off regardless of the “farcical” reason for it.
Suit yourself missus :P
Nothing today (Friday) either. what a shower of bankers. Id willingly swap my Bank holiday for a slap a banker day.
It’s into lunch hour now and still no wages in TSB Bank a/c. Just see on RTE, IPSO says this is something people can just get used to in the future….great response, must be a banking group.
They’re saying you won’t miss Direct Debits because of this. But what if you are the same bank as the company you are paying the DD to. The article says its interbank transfers that are affected, not same bank ones.
Y’know if we were all doing well, this would be no big deal. What’s a day or two if you’ve a wallet full of 20s?
But austerity…ah…the invisible pickpocket…makes us all a bit on edge about pay dates, doesn’t it?
Vote your wallet.
There’s no notification on TSB open24 webpage. My employer said they had no notification either and the first they knew was reading the papers this morning.
No wages in my account so far this morning!
Beware, next May 1st. will fall on a Friday, employers, make your contingency plans in advance!!
I can only imagine that are going ape sh1t in the UK about this.
And it’s not acceptable. Does it mean we’ll get his with twice as many “bank holidays”? If this was done right then payments between banks that are open should not be affected.
have your say