Archive for August, 2008

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The incompetence continues

Sunday, August 24th, 2008

It is August. There are still 4 months to go to the end of the year and my annual commuter ticket has stopped working. Issued by Irish Rail, it never worked in Dublin Bus machines, despite being a bus and rail ticket. Now it will not work in the automatic ticket validators on Irish Rail.

If I am detained in a station, platformside, and cannot leave because the ticket that you issued (and which you claim is your property) has failed to work, I will take the view that I have been falsely imprisoned.

You can issue a new ticket to me at your expense and inconvenience. I would suggest an exchange of tickets at Heuston Station.

Posted in CIE, Dublin Bus, Irish Rail, We Don't Care | No Comments »

Railway Trespass with a difference

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

There is railway trespass and there is railway trespass. I have no problems with the former, the latter I have an issue with. As an example, the Metro reported on a story from England, of some of Her Majesty’s finest subjects carrying a metal wheelchair ramp off the platform at Addlestone station in Surrey, on a third rail electrified line, down onto the track (very smart with a third rail - even if you are wearing a rubber suit (nice!)) and laying the metal ramp onto the 750 volts live rail. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get a Darwin Award, only an honourable mention.

Posted in Overseas, Railway Trespass | No Comments »

Monkey tries to travel without ticket - Japan

Thursday, August 21st, 2008

Today’s Herald AM reported on a story about a monkey on the loose in a train station in Tokyo. Evading capture for over two hours, when police finally caught up with it, they decided to not take the matter further as “It’s a monkey - its not like it did anything bad”.

I can only imagine that if that happened in Dublin, the monkey would have been issued with a penalty fare notice and charged with trespass as well as a breach of the peace and resisting arrest, never mind failure to follow a Garda directive. Of course, if it took out a cigarette and started to smoke, all IR staff would look the other way, because we all know that there is zero enforcement of the workplace smoking ban on Irish Rail - “sure even the Gardai don’t enforce that” was the response I got from the workfare recipient behind the customer service desk in Heuston Station when I previously reported a case of smoking in Heuston Station.

Posted in CIE Smoking, Irish Rail, Overseas | No Comments »

A Station called “Hundred”

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008

Where is it? IR have succeeded in withholding information from me. Every day, as I get the 1805 ex Heuston to Portlaoise, there is an automatic announcement that refers to a station called “Hundred”. Someone, anyone, put me out of my misery and tell me where it is.

Posted in Irish Rail | No Comments »

Is there light at the end of the tunnel?

Monday, August 18th, 2008

Or is it just the headlight of an oncoming train? Sorry. Couldn’t resist.

A report on Irish Railway News, the most comprehensive and accurate Irish railway website (after this one, of course) indicates that the former IFI site at Marino Point may be considered as a location for expansion of the Port of Cork. This has arisen as they wished to do something at Ringaskiddy and were blocked by An Bord Pleannala (the planning appeals board) as there is no rail link to Ringaskiddy. Marino Point, however, was served by rail as the anhydrous ammonia traffic passed between there and Shelton Abbey, outside Arklow, by train.

Now all we need is Irish Rail to screw it up by demanding exhorbitant fees to connect any such development to the railway network, or citing bullshit operational or engineering reasons as to why it cannot be done, such as the most recent “reason” I have heard for not using the Phoenix Park Tunnel in Dublin - which is that it is unsafe. First, it didn’t exist (lie). Second it was too narrow for modern trains (lie) and now it is unsafe. Based on the outcome of the previous two assertions, it is safe to conclude that this is also a lie.

Posted in Irish Rail | No Comments »

Irish Rail welcomes me back

Saturday, August 16th, 2008

like a long lost son (whatever!).

I navigated to the Irish Rail website for a project I am working on (of which, more later in the year) and the following link is to a screen shot of the website:

http://www.ironroadaaron.com/railways/images/other/irishraildotie.jpg

I’m touched, I really am, I thought that you didn’t like me.

Posted in Irish Rail | No Comments »

Polish rail builders screw up

Wednesday, August 13th, 2008

and I thought that it was just Irish Rail, what with the Phoenix Park Tunnel being too narrow and that (what, IR didn’t build that - Oh that’s alright then - its wide enough for modern trains).

A railway tunnel in Warsaw was built too low to allow trains to use the tunnel, allegedly due to the tracks being too high from the tunnel floor. Roll on the interconnector.

Posted in Overseas | No Comments »

Heuston Station 12th August 2008

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

A passenger who alighted from the arrival from Galway at 1735 commenced smoking on Platform 4 under the overall roof.

Posted in CIE Smoking | No Comments »

Proposal to rename Dargan Bridge

Monday, August 11th, 2008

Seamus Brennan is hardly in the grave and already the sycophants in Fianna Fail (look it up in a dictionary) are proposing the shafting of William Dargan again, with a gobshite suggestion to name the LUAS bridge in Dundrum after Brennan. FF gobshite Gerry Horkan attempted to attribute the building of LUAS to Brennan, despite the fact that the man prevaricated and fucked around on the issue for years.

Posted in LUAS | No Comments »

Police harassment at Heuston LUAS

Saturday, August 9th, 2008

Passing through Heuston Station this morning, there were no less than 3 Veolia officials and two gardai harassing one person on the Tallaght bound platform. Why isn’t this a civil matter? After all, there was no speed gun involved.

Posted in LUAS | No Comments »

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