Lessons must be learnt from Irish Rail’s shambolic handling of recent timetable changes to DART and Northern Commuter services, according to Social Democrats councillor Joan Hopkins.
Cllr Hopkins, who is the party’s general election candidate in Dublin Fingal East, said:
“Today’s announcement by Iarnród Éireann that it has decided to scrap recent timetable changes will be met with widespread relief by frustrated commuters in north county Dublin.
“Since the original changes came into effect on August 26, there has been significant deterioration in the quality of rail services, with serious delays and disruption experienced by passengers. The prioritisation of the Belfast to Dublin service over commuter trains has been blamed for much of the chaos.
“In recent weeks, Irish Rail badly failed their customers, with constant delays resulting in seriously overcrowded carriages and trains stuck between stations due to congestion on the line near Connolly.
“Minor adjustments made to train times in mid-September did little to ease commuters’ misery, with many workers and students forced to change at Connolly when travelling to the southside of the city.
“While I welcome Irish Rail’s decision to revert to the previous timetable from October 14, lessons must be learnt from this debacle.
“I am grateful for the support of Social Democrats transport spokesperson Catherine Murphy TD, who made strong representations to Iarnród Éireann on my behalf.”
October 3, 2024