GrahamH

Sure that’s the same on every train isn’t it?

I appreciate it’s very easy to exaggerate issues such as this, and that for example my calling the service pathetic doesn’t exactly correlate with it being 10 minutes late or more 2/3 times a week.

What must be factored into account however is the utter frustration commuters feel when experiencing this – at times – three times in a row, or rushing to get to the station and then finding it’s delayed.
Or much more importantly, the total unreliablitity of the service.
If you have to be in Dublin for a meeting at a designated time, and it’s late, you get off steaming and fuming at Connolly threatening deep revenge. And if it’s more than 15 mins late leaving Belfast in the mornings, it misses its Dublin suburban/DART slots, meaning it’s half an hour late arriving at Connolly after crawling in from Malahide

Essentially, in the mornings, if you have to be somewhere at a designated time, you’ve to get a train nearly an hour earlier, that stops at every flippin station along the way. That earlier train thrives on the inefficency of the Enterprise, it’s packed by the time it reaches Drogheda, let alone Balbriggan or other busy stations.

The afternoon Enterprises are more reliable and punctual, but even then, they always leave Connolly 3 mins late – where they have direct control over closing the gates etc.
They really need to get their act together, but this type of thing has been complained about at length for the past 3/4 years now, directly to the companies, to staff, and in passenger surveys etc – all to no avail.

Your lot have taken over the city Alan – my eyes still haven’t readjusted from the acres of tartan and Carrolls Irish Tat hats!

Considering an inevitable bias in favour of the East coast and the services I use, and a lack of knowledge of some of the other routes, I don’t think I’m in a position to decide what is or isn’t important, taking the whole country into account.

Can I ask Brian what you think of the new Commuter trains?
I have not a single decent word to say of them. It is infuriating to see Min Brennan cutting ribbons and exclaiming the supposed wonders of these new trains, not to mention newspaper articles and Iarnrod Eireann advertising, all from people who never have to use them.
They are horrible, uncomfortable, glorified cattle trains.

The windows are positioned too high to get a comforable view out

The seating is not positioned in a fashion conducive to a decent view, often a chunk of plastic wall in your face.

Worst of all, it would appear that the engines are now under each carriage, rather than in the form of an engine-car pullling the train along. The noise of them is terrible, often unbearable if sitting right over them. And whatever about not being able to hear a radio or walkman – as long-suffering commuters use – you can barely even hear someone speaking.

The interiors are as bland as is possibly concievable, with the usual suspect – as Rory calls – vomit n blue identikit seating.

Wheras I appreciate that the romanticism of the train journey is now long gone (not that it should be) the sheer unpleasantness and blatent practicality of this model leaves a lot to be desired. Undoubtedly IR would argue that these are only commuter trains, with people only being on them for distances of 10-20 miles. But when that’s translated into actual time, and when you are travelling to the furthest reaches of the service, say down into Wicklow on the new line, or to Dundalk, it is most unpleasnat to be sitting in an uncomfortable seat, looking at a comparitively blank wall, not being able to listen to the radio, with an engine roaring benaeth you, for an hour and a half!
Obviously if you get a decent window seat, (assuming you get one at all) things are a little better.
They are also designed to maximise standing room, to the detriment of comfortable seating. And standing for 3/4 of an hour in one of these is less than pleasant too.
It’s such a shame that rail travel has nearly lost whatever special quality it had, as a result of these, crass, pile em high, cheap and very uncheerful trains.
And to think that 80 cars have been bought with ‘more on the way’…

And in Easons on O’Cll St at the moment there’s a pile of about 10 hardback books about Dublin Castle, that are being flogged at the grand price of €4.99, with a screaming VALUE sticker on them. I nabbed one straight away.
Nothing spectacular, but some facinating history inside, as well as many an old photo from the Laurence Collection.
Published in 1999.

The entrance portico works well, as does the stickey-out bit at the corner with Cook St, and the parapet level.
Otherwise, the black nature of the facade and lack of relief with the windows and stone walls are rubbish.
It acts in a similar manner as the bunkers originally did, offering a blank face to the public, protecting the Corpo from the little people.
This river facade is completely non-transparent and fundementally bland & boring.

I know not of what you speak 😉

Great building, wrong location.

The Central Bank looked great, pity College Green wasn’t included as well for the televised section, aside from that one ‘sneaky shot’!
That lovely block of Georgians opposite the entrance to Sth Great Georges St looked fantastic, almost made the place look like a Georgian city!
The only problem was that Dame Street was in complete shadow, with only the Bank and top storey of the buildings sunny, whereas Westmoreland was ablaze last year (and obviously this year, only we didn’t see it!)

O’ Connell Bridge/Westmoreland St looked really good last year, it was just a pity the Ballast Office is as crappy as it is considering how prominant it was. Have to say I prefered this location.