Tag Archives: Irish Rail

Continued Monitoring of DART Carriages Should Help to Resolve Overcrowding Issues

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Fine Gael Dun Laoghaire Deputy, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, today (Wednesday) said the continuous monitoring of carriage levels on DARTs, as committed to by the Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann, should help to resolve the issues of overcrowding that are being experienced by commuters.

Deputy Mitchell O’Connor also welcomed the fact that the Railway Safety Commission (RSC) is scheduled to discuss the issue with Iarnród Éireann at their next scheduled supervision meeting.

“I have been inundated with complaints from constituents in respect of the service being provided on the DART to Dun Laoghaire and beyond, following a survey I undertook to determine exactly what the public’s grievances were.

“I have been in regular contact with the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar TD, and the Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann, David Franks, in a bid to resolve the issues of overcrowding on DARTs and the subsequent health, safety and comfort implications for passengers. I recently presented the survey findings, which outline the experiences of more than 300 respondents to Mr. Franks, who was eager to act on the company’s shortcomings to meet commuters’ needs.

“Despite the fact that Iarnród Éireann is making headway in addressing these concerns, I am continuing to receive reports from constituents who are dissatisfied with the service. I take some comfort in the commitment given by Mr. Franks to continue to monitor the situation and to remain vigilant to the requirements of service users and to ensure that adequate carriages are being provided at all times.

“Reducing train sizes in a bid to minimise the use of electricity as a cost saving measure for the company makes sense but not at the expense of those who are using, and paying good money for, the service. I will continue to stay in close contact with Minister Varadkar and Mr. Franks and am confident that together we can sort this issue out so that a comfortable reliable and value for money DART service is delivered for the people of Dun Laoghaire.”

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98% of survey respondents report feeling dangerously overcrowded on the DART

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Active and honest engagement with survey exceptionally helpful in outlining concerns to Irish Rail

Fine Gael Dun Laoghaire Deputy, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, has today (Thursday) welcomed the active and honest engagement by Dun Laoghaire DART users with her online survey, which was launched last month and which aimed to determine the level of satisfaction, or otherwise, of local users with Irish Rail services.
“The results of my online survey, which was carried out in conjunction with my colleague Simon Harris TD, in response to representations we had been receiving about overcrowding on DART services were very telling. More than 300 people from the Dun Laoghaire catchment area took part in the survey and a staggering 98% of them said that they felt dangerously overcrowded on the DART at some point.
“The level of dissatisfaction coming through was palpable with people stating that using the DART had gone from being a ‘pleasure’ to an ‘ordeal, while others spoke of the ‘dangerous and extremely uncomfortable’ conditions being experienced, especially for older people, due to reduction in the number of carriages in use during peak times.
“Following the launch of my survey I wrote to both the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar TD, and the CEO of Irish Rail Mr. David Franks to outline the severity of the situation being experienced by rail users who are very frustrated by the fact that they are increasingly paying more for reduced, unreliable and substandard services.
“Mr. Franks unreservedly apologised for any overcrowding that may have occurred due to technical faults, industrial action and leaf falls, insisting that a policy of reducing carriages at peak times has not, and was never, employed. I have been assured that carriages have been restored to a number of services where capacity issues arose and that irish Rail  has identified a number of areas where policy issued needed to be revised in response to customer feedback.
“Minister Varadkar expressed a desire to ensure that ‘rail users are not expected to pay more for a service that is less’. I will be sending the survey result onto Mr. Franks and Minister Varadkar and will continue to keep the pressure on to ensure the all assurances are met and sustained.”

To View Survey Responces Click Below: