Archive for Irish Rail

Request to Iarnród Éireann to move from X

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , on January 28, 2026 by telescoper

I’ve posted a number of items recently (e.g. here) about why public institutions in Ireland (and anywhere else, for that matter) should not be using X. I noticed today a message on BlueSky containing the following clear and compelling letter from a number of commuter organizations to Irish Rail (Iarnród Éireann), which can be found here but which I’m taking the liberty of sharing in full here to amplify.

–o–

We are writing as rail and commuter advocacy groups across Ireland, to request that Iarnród Éireann move its real-time service updates regarding cancellations and delays from the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to your own website and official channels.

Currently, passengers seeking up-to-date information about service disruptions must have an active X account to view these critical updates. This creates several significant problems:

Accessibility Concerns: Requiring passengers to maintain an account on a third-party social media platform to access essential public transport information creates an unnecessary barrier. Many passengers, particularly elderly travellers or those who choose not to use social media, are effectively excluded from receiving timely service updates.

Platform Concerns: Recent controversies surrounding X, including serious issues with child safety and content moderation failures involving Grok AI, make it an increasingly inappropriate platform for a state-owned public service to rely upon as its primary and in some cases, only communication channel. Iarnród Éireann should not require its customers to engage with a platform facing such significant ethical and safety concerns. Dublin City Council have this week stopped posting on the platform because of these concerns. 

Service Reliability: Relying on a third-party platform also creates vulnerability. Changes to X’s policies, accessibility, or availability are beyond Iarnród Éireann’s control and could impact passengers’ access to vital travel information. EU and Irish law limiting access to these platforms for under 16’s could be introduced in the coming years which would remove the ability for young people to receive up to date journey information.

I would respectfully suggest that Iarnród Éireann implement real-time service updates (including information on delays/cancellations/amendments) directly on irishrail.ie , along with TFI Live and the Irish Rail app, where they can be freely accessed by all passengers without requiring any third-party account. This information is essential public service data and should be universally accessible.

Recommendations for Improved Service Communication

Beyond relocating updates to your own platform, we would like to suggest several improvements to how disruption information is communicated to passengers:

Clear Alternative Transport Information: When disruptions occur, guidance on alternative transport options is often vague or incomplete. For example, announcements stating “Dublin Bus will accept tickets” leave passengers uncertain whether LUAS, Go-Ahead, or LocalLink services are also available. Clear, specific information about all accepted alternative services would significantly reduce passenger confusion and stress during disruptions. Additionally, when a delay does occur, stating ‘operational issues’ does not allow commuters to determine the length of disruption. Commuters could utilise alternate modes of transport in the event of disruption, but cannot make the decision on whether to do so or not without clear information from Iarnrod Éireann. Other international providers have recently switched to a more detailed information provision in the events of issues or delays. For example, Dutch Railways, instead of saying ‘operational reasons’ now say ‘a fallen wire, or broken down train’ that allow passengers to more accurately determine whether to find alternative transport or to wait. It may also be useful to include a scale, letting the customer know whether or not the incident is minor, notable, or major where possible. 

Visual Aids and Information Hierarchy: Reading lengthy blocks of text to understand service disruptions is inadequate, particularly for passengers trying to quickly assess their options whilst at stations or en route. Disruption information would benefit greatly from visual aids such as maps showing affected sections, clear headings, and structured information that allows passengers to quickly grasp the extent and nature of disruptions. A balance must be struck between providing sufficient detail and maintaining clarity.

Integration with Journey Planning Tools: Iarnród Éireann maintains a GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification) data feed that enables real-time information to be pushed to the TFI Live app and third-party applications such as Google Maps or Transit. We strongly encourage Iarnród Éireann to utilise this capability fully, ensuring that disruption information reaches passengers through the multiple platforms they already use for journey planning.

Location-Specific Disruption Guides: For locations where service disruptions occur regularly, Iarnród Éireann should provide dedicated journey planning resources. For instance, a guide explaining “My train has broken down in Greystones, what services can I access from here and where can I find further disruption information?” would be invaluable. Such resources would empower passengers to make informed decisions quickly during stressful situations.

We would appreciate your consideration of this matter and look forward to your response.

South East on Track, Cork Commuter Coalition, Dublin Commuter Coalition, Galway Commuter Coalition.

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Accessibility Upgrade at Maynooth Railway Station

Posted in Maynooth with tags , , , , on January 20, 2026 by telescoper

In these turbulent times I think it’s a good idea to stay grounded and pay attention to the small things in life that can make a positive difference. On that note I thought I’d share a picture of the new accessible footbridge and lifts at Maynooth railway station:

The new bridge and lifts, seen from the Mullen Bridge, looking in the direction of Kilcock.

These works took over a year to complete and were finished before Christmas, but I only just got round to taking a picture. The previous footbridge was rather rickety and had quite steep steps which made it difficult to get across between the platforms. It was also uncovered; the new one provides shelter from the elements. Moreover, without any lifts any person in a wheelchair would have to leave the station, go all the way up to the Mullen Bridge on one side of the track, cross the bridge, go all the way back down and enter the station again on the other side of the tracks.

Usually the trains heading to Dublin leave from the platform on the right (Platform 1) and those from Dublin arrive on the left (Platform 2), but this isn’t always the case. In fact when I’m travelling back on the late train from a concert in Dublin it seems to be random whether it arrives at Platform 1 or 2. It doesn’t make much of a difference for me getting home, though. Platform 2 is marginally closer to my house but the station is only 5 minutes’ walk anyway.

The new bridge took such a long time to construct because foundations needed to be laid for the towers containing the lifts and the station itself widened to accommodate them. Lifts are quite expensive to maintain and one quite often sees on the electronic signs in the station warnings that lifts in various places are out of order. I hope it’s a long time before we see a sign that the lifts at Maynooth aren’t working!

Update: Friday 23rd January, just three days after this post, the lifts at Maynooth station were not working.

The new bridge was built next to the old one, on the side towards the viewer in the photo above, but when the new one was finished the old one was dismantled. I for one am not sorry it has gone. Anyway, the new bridge is a welcome improvement for Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) users. Unfortunately Irish Rail persists in making its only service announcementd via Xitter, for which I can see no justification. Thanks, Irish Rail, for the Accessibility Upgrade at Maynooth, but you need to get off X. Now!

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To Wexford and Back

Posted in Biographical with tags , , , on June 5, 2025 by telescoper

I’m currently on the train travelling back from Wexford to Dublin. The WIFI is a bit flaky so I’ll post more about the reasons for this trip later on, when I get home.

For the moment, I’ll just say that Wexford (Irish name: Loch Garman) is a picturesque historic town at the  mouth of the River Slaney, near the Southeastern corner of Ireland. I had a nice walk around this morning. It’s a pleasant place to stroll about; the streets still follow an obviously mediaeval layout, and parts of the old city wall are still standing.

The train journey from Dublin is very enjoyable, right along the coast for a while, then heading inland, then along the banks of the Slaney. The train isn’t very fast, but it is comfortable and costs less than €10 each way. There’s only a single line from Wicklow to Wexford, which severely limits the number of trains that can operate on the route. The same is true of the Maynooth-Sligo service, actually.

When I moved to Ireland (about 7 1/2 years ago), I planned to travel around and see some of the historic places. Workload issues and the pandemic put paid to that idea for a while, but I have a bit more time to travel now.

P.S. Curracloe Beach, a few miles North of Wexford, stood in for Omaha Beach for the film Saving Private Ryan. I didn’t have time to go there.

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Go Corcaigh!

Posted in Biographical with tags , , , on August 23, 2023 by telescoper

So here I am, on an intercity train to Cork from Dublin Heuston Station, en route to the 2023 Irish National Astronomy Meeting (INAM 2023).

I’ve never been to Cork before, so I’ve been looking forward to this trip. I’ve never even been in Heuston Station before, actually. A terminus that serves the West and South, it is rather like a smaller version of London Paddington. At any rate, it’s rather nicer than Connolly in that it is more spacious and has a far better selection of places to get something to eat and/or drink.

I got to Heuston on the 115 bus from Maynooth. It’s the first time I’ve been on that bus too. I’m sure to be using that service much more in the future as it’s very convenient. It’s also very quick – just 25 minutes – and the bus I got was brand new. It was full of kids when I got on, but they all got off at Liffey Valley.

Anyway, it’s not a long journey and the train, though full, is very comfortable, so I think I’ll chill and read my book and refrain from updating until we get to our destination.

UPDATE: I arrived in Cork on time and found my hotel without difficulty. It’s sunnier and warmer here than Maynooth was this morning, so I think I’ll take a walk before finding a bite to eat.

My hotel is not as awful as its name might suggest:

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Not to Belfast and Back

Posted in Biographical, Talks and Reviews with tags , , , on January 23, 2019 by telescoper

Well, today I was supposed to give a seminar at the Astrophysics Research Centre at Queen’s University Belfast.

I was actually quite looking forward to visiting Belfast and to my first go on the Enterprise train service between Dublin Connolly and Belfast.

Unfortunately, although the train left Dublin on schedule at 9.30am (due into Belfast at 11.45), after about half an hour we came to a stop near Balbriggan and remained motionless for over an hour owing to a `mechanical fault’. The train eventually limped into Drogheda station after 2 hours and 15 minutes. Passengers were then obliged to get off at board the following service (departing Connolly at 11.20) which was due to arrive at Belfast station at 13.32. Since my talk was due to start at 1pm and finish at 2pm I asked the organizers what to do and, following their advice, am now on the 12.08 service from Drogheda to Dublin.

The defective train was shunted out of the way, but by the time I left the 11.20 from Connolly due into Drogheda at 11.56 had not arrived, so the onward train would also have been late.

Queen’s University Belfast, which I didn’t visit today.

Mechanical faults do happen, of course, but was reprehensible was the complete lack of communication between the crew and passengers. The decision to terminate the train at Drogheda was announced on Twitter over an hour before the train manager bothered to tell the passengers.

Apologies to everyone at QUB for having to cancel, but I really had no choice. I’ll try to reschedule it, and next time I’ll take the bus.

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Planes, Trains and Quaternions

Posted in Biographical, History, mathematics, Maynooth with tags , , , , , , , , on January 4, 2018 by telescoper

Well, here I am in Maynooth for the first time in 2018. I flew over from Cardiff yesterday. The flight was rather bumpy owing to the strong winds following Storm Eleanor, and it was rather chilly waiting for the bus to Maynooth from Dublin Airport; nevertheless I got to my flat safely and on time and found everything in order after the Christmas break.

This morning I had to make a trip by train to Dublin city  to keep an appointment at the Intreo Centre in Parnell Street, which is about 15 minutes walk from Dublin Connolly train station. I bought an Adult Day Return which costs the princely sum of €8.80. Trains, stations and track in Ireland are maintained and operated by Irish Rail (Iarnród Éireann), which is publicly owned. Just saying.

The distance between Maynooth and Dublin about 25 km, which takes about 40 minutes on the local stopping train or about 25 minutes on the longer distance trains which run nonstop from Maynooth to Dublin. As it happens I took one of the fast trains this morning, which arrived on schedule, as did the return journey on a commuter train. My first experience of the Irish railway system was therefore rather positive.

I had thought of having a bit of a wander around the city on my way to Parnell Street but it was raining and very cold so I headed straight there. I arrived about 20 minutes ahead of my scheduled appointment, but was seen straight away.

The reason for the interview was to acquire a Personal Public Services Number (PPSN), which is the equivalent of the National Insurance Number we have in the United Kingdom. This number is needed to be registered properly on the tax and benefit system in Ireland and is the key to access a host of public services, the electoral roll, and so on. You have to present yourself in person to get a PPSN, presumably to reduce the opportunity for fraud, and I was told the interview would take 15 minutes. In fact, it only took about 5 minutes and at the end a photograph was taken to go on the ID card that is issued with the number on it.

So there I was, all finished before I was even due to start. The staff were very friendly and it all seems rather easy. Fingers crossed that the letter informing me of my number will arrive soon. It should take a week or so, so I’m told. After that I should be able to access as many personal services as I want whenever I want them. (Are you sure you have the right idea? Ed.)

For  the return trip  to Maynooth I got one of the slower commuter trains, stopping at intermediate stations and running right next to the Royal Canal, which runs from Dublin for 90 miles through  Counties Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Westmeath before entering County Longford, where it joins the River Shannon. One of the intermediate stations along the route next to the canal is Broombridge, the name of which stirred a distant memory.

A quick application of Google reminded me that the town of Broombridge is the site of the bridge (Broom Bridge) beside which William Rowan Hamilton first wrote down the fundamental result of quaternions (on 16th October 1843). Apparently he was walking from Dunsink Observatory into town when he had a sudden flash of inspiration  and wrote the result down on the spot, now marked by a plaque:

Picture Credit: Brian Dolan

 

This episode  is commemorated on 16th October each year by an annual Hamilton Walk. I look forward to reporting from the 2018 walk in due course!

P.S. Maynooth is home to the Hamilton Institute which promotes and facilitates research links between mathematics and other fields.

 

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